Educational/Ministry/Coaching FAQs

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1. With all the other career assessments out there, why did you come up with Career Direct®?

Our co-founder, Larry Burkett, noted that during the many years that he was counseling families on their finances, he frequently observed people in career fields that did not match their talents and abilities. It concerned him greatly that so many people were not aware of their strengths and, therefore, were not being good stewards of their talents. This resulted in his vision for what is now Career Direct®.

2. What makes Career Direct® unique?

In Larry Burkett’s vision for helping people to be aware of their talents and abilities, he wanted to start with biblical principles of work. Although there were many assessments, few if any, approached work from a biblical perspective. Fewer still covered all four aspects of career selection (Personality, Interests, Skills, and Values). Most only cover one or two of these areas. More than one test is usually necessary to cover all of the components of a complete personal profile. Career Direct® was developed based on biblical principles and designed to provide a full profile in one assessment report. Today, Career Direct® is still one of the only assessments that profile all four aspects of career selection.

3. How does Career Direct® compare to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or other well-known assessments on the market?

Components of Career Direct® provide information similar to other well-known assessments which cover those components such as personality, interests, or skills. However, Career Direct® includes personality, interests, skills, values, stress, and financial management factors in one assessment, making it one of the most comprehensive assessments available.

The results from the personality portion of Career Direct® are correlated significantly with two well-known personality assessments (Hogan Personality Assessment and Costa and McCrae’s Neo-PI), and compare favorably with results from other personality assessments such as the as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, but is more comprehensive.

The results from the interests section of Career Direct® are correlated significantly with the Strong Vocational Interest Inventory and compare favorably with other interests-based assessments such as Campbell and the Self-directed Search.

4. How long does it take to complete the Career Direct® assessment?

The assessment itself takes from forty-five minutes to one hour on the average. Individuals utilizing all of the Career Direct® Application and Career Direct® Resources in the full Guidance System including the Job Sampler, Action Plan, Questionnaires, and Audio Instructions components will need additional time.

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5. How long have you been in the career assessment business?

Larry Burkett initiated the Career Pathways program as part of Christian Financial Concepts in 1990. The program began with an assessment made up of several pre-existing assessments. After extensive research and development, the first version of what is now Career Direct® was introduced in 1995 as a paper assessment which was computer scored and printed. In 1999, the first CD-ROM version (1.8) was produced for use on individual computers. In 2003, this was revised and introduced with electronic documents and audio CDs in version 2.1. The Internet-based Career Direct® Complete Guidance System was released in 2006 and includes several streamlined improvements from the former CD-ROM software version.

6. How many people have taken Career Direct®?

An exact number is not possible since scoring is no longer done exclusively by the ministry, however based on projections of individual and institutional licenses distributed, it is estimated that well over 120,000 students and adults have taken Career Direct®.

7. I would like to buy additional administrations for my organization. How do I do that?

Each online assessment is a one-time use assessment. Follow the purchase instructions online to purchase as many assessments as you need, or see the Contact Us page to request more information.

8. How can I get a career ministry started in my church?

Crossroads Career® Network is an association of member churches with ministries to help career explorers discover God's calling, find or create the right job, and grow in Christ. This done by providing member churches a complete set of proven career ministry resources — everything needed to design a ministry and equip ministry volunteers to help people through career crossroads. Click here for more information.

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Cost

8. Why does Career Direct® cost what it does?

The assessment is more comprehensive than most of the other career-oriented assessments which only measure one or two dimensions. Two or more alternative assessments are usually required to cover all that is reported in a single Career Direct® assessment.

Please see the Contact Us page to request more information.

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Research History - Validity and Reliability

9. How valid is Career Direct®?

The factors from the personality portion of Career Direct® were validated against and are correlated significantly with similar factors in the Hogan Personality Inventory and Costa and McCrae’s NEO-PI.

The factors from the interests section of Career Direct® were validated against and are correlated significantly with similar factors in the Strong Interest Inventory.

10. How reliable is Career Direct®?

Reliability tests are well above acceptable levels as shown in the internal consistency and test-retest reliability measures below.

Personality Section
Internal Consistency - Cronbach Alpha ranged from .86 to .94 for the personality general factor scales, and .76 to .92 for the personality subfactor scales (n = 4463).

Test-retest Reliability - mean correlation and range:

Interests and Skills Sections

11. What is the research history behind Career Direct®?

A complete description of the research and development history is found under Research and Development. Briefly, the assessment was developed over a ten-year period using standard psychometric principles and testing thousands of people. The assessment is not based or derived from existing instruments but was developed from the item level using factor analysis and other statistical analyses to develop the factors and scoring.

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Uses of the assessment

12. High School (recommended for juniors and seniors, or students sixteen years of age or older)

Career Direct® provides the basis for decisions regarding appropriate types of post secondary education majors depending on the career direction, or for decisions regarding immediate entry into the work force following high school graduation.

13. Colleges and Universities

Career Direct® provides an excellent basis for pre-admission career exploration, freshmen and transfer student orientation and advisement, course and major field selection, and on-going career direction decisions. For those nearing graduation and recent graduates, it provides a sound foundation for determining which specific career and job opportunities to pursue. Many colleges also make Career Direct® available for alumni of all ages for assistance in career transition or re-direction.

14. Life Coaching and Counseling Programs

Career Direct® provides a sound basis for informed life coaching and career counseling, specifically, and for counseling in general.

15. Church-based Career Ministries

Career Direct® provides a biblically-based, comprehensive assessment as a foundation for church-based career guidance ministries of all types.

16. Outplacement, Career Transition, Career Maximization, and Retirement Programs

People of ages can benefit from Career Direct® whether they are preparing for a career, entering the workforce for the first time, re-entering the workforce, seeking to maximize their God-given talents and abilities in their current situation, or desiring to use their life and work experience during retirement.

Age-appropriateness

17. Are there keys points in a person’s life when you would recommend he/she take an assessment?

Certainly at the beginning of career selection is a critical time, either in high school beginning at age sixteen, or early in the college experience, in order to select an appropriate college or technical school major and course of study. Before entering the workforce, Career Direct® can help narrow the focus of jobs that will best match one’s pattern. Mid-career assessments can help to make critical mid-course corrections to help best use the prime income-earning years. And even at retirement age, it is helpful to know what options for paid or volunteer work would best use the talents and accumulated experience to benefit others and provide enjoyable and satisfying work.

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Assistance

18. Do I need to be a counselor to interpret Career Direct® for me?

Although Career Direct® is designed to provide the user with the tools needed to interpret one’s own results, an interested family member or friend may be very helpful in acting as a coach, assisting the user to fully understand his or her results and to make appropriate plans for the future.

Training

19. Do you offer training on how to administer and interpret Career Direct®?

We do not offer training at the present time. However, because of the ease of use and simple, easy-to-read reports, most persons trained in evaluation and counseling are able to use and interpret Career Direct® simply by using the assessment. Please see Contact Us for updates in the future on this topic.

20. Is there a certification program for administration and interpretation of Career Direct®?

We do not offer a certification program at the present time.

Please see the Contact Us page to request more information.

Reseller/Distributor

21. Can I become a reseller of Career Direct®?

No, we do not have reseller options at the present time.

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