Who This Course Is For
Counselors & Career Advisors
Administering and interpreting interest, skills,
and work values assessments with students
District & Program Leaders
Ensuring consistent, ethical assessment practices across an advising program
Educators
Helping students connect assessment
results to coursework and career pathways
What You'll Learn
Define assessment and distinguish between formal and informal assessment types
Understand the theoretical foundations of assessment, including Holland's theory and Super's self-concept theory
Interpret Holland code results, including profile consistency and differentiation
Interpret interest inventories, skills confidence assessments, and work values inventories
Prepare clients for taking and understanding online assessments
Evaluate whether an assessment is valid and reliable before relying on its results with a client
Help clients translate assessment results into focused career exploration and action steps
Avoid common pitfalls in assessment interpretation, such as treating results as prescriptive answers
Outcomes
Gain the skills to confidently prepare, guide, and interpret career assessments with the people you serve. This course equips career advisors with practical tools to interpret Holland codes, work values rankings, and skills confidence results, connecting assessment data to real decisions about high school plans of study, postsecondary majors, occupations, and jobs.
​
By the end of the course, you'll be equipped to help clients move beyond raw scores into meaningful, actionable next steps in their career exploration, using language that informs without overpromising what any single assessment can tell someone about their future.
Applied Learning
Throughout this course, you'll apply core interpretation skills using realistic assessment score reports. You will:
Practice preparing a client for taking an online assessment, including explaining its purpose and what to expect
Interpret a sample Holland code, including its consistency and differentiation
Practice explaining a work values inventory rank-order report to a hypothetical client
Identify appropriate next steps for a client based on combined interest, skills, and values results
Practice using appropriately hedged language ("it seems," "perhaps") when discussing results, rather than presenting them as definitive
Identify ways a hypothetical client could express an unmet interest or value through a life role outside of work
By completing these activities, you'll leave with practical, repeatable language and a process you can use with your own clients right away.
Why Career Advisors Choose ICAD
"This course has provided me with the skills needed to better assist my high school seniors in selecting the best paths for them as they graduate and head out into the world."
"Learning how to scan the environment, identify stakeholders, and build a strong promotion plan gives structure to the work we are already doing in connecting students to career opportunities. It reinforces the importance of being intentional and strategic, rather than reactive, which leads to stronger program outcomes."
"The course was easy to navigate and the assignments challenged me to rethink how I engage with students."