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Listed below are the most frequently asked questions about SIGMA 's career instruments. If you do not find your answer below click here to ask a question.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Will the results of the JVIS (Jackson Vocational Interest Survey) tell me whether or not I will succeed at a particular job?
- Is the JVIS report 100% accurate?
- With whom can I discuss these results?
- For which specific target group is the CDI most appropriate?
- Do you have any recommendations about administering the CDI?
- What do you see as the best application for the SDS?
- Does the SDS require any supervision during administration?
- Does the JVIS work well in a group setting?
- What is the value of the Administrative Indices in the JVIS?
- What are the specified disabilities reported by the normative groups for the Ashland Interest Assessment?
- Is the JVIS appropriate for mid-and upper-level executives considering a mid-life career change?
1. Will the results of the JVIS (Jackson Vocational Interest Survey) tell me whether or not I will succeed at a particular job?
The JVIS measures interests, not abilities. A high score on a scale or similarity to an occupational cluster indicates that you will probably be more satisfied working in that area. Whether or not you will be successful is another matter, depending on your skills, motivation, and opportunities.
2. Is the JVIS report 100% accurate?
The JVIS was developed using the best and most modern procedures available. This report has also been very carefully designed to help you better understand your career interests, and you may have confidence in your results. However, no career interest survey is 100% accurate. Your interests may change somewhat from time to time. You should also consider other things in addition to interests in planning your education and career. The JVIS report shows you a "snapshot" of your present career impulses.
3. With whom can I discuss these results?
If possible, you should discuss these results and your plans and aspirations with a counselor whose professional training and experience with career interest surveys and with the world of work may be helpful. Also, your counselor can tell you where to get additional educational and career information.
4. For which specific target group is the CDI most appropriate?
Whereas the JVIS tends to focus toward university-directed clients, the CDI is an excellent decisional-resource for clients who are considering community/junior colleges, or direct-entry into the workplace and the trades/apprenticeships. The correlations listings for over 100 community/junior college programs are an excellent vehicle for motivating non-university oriented clients.
5. Do you have any recommendations about administering the CDI?
It should be clarified that there are no right or wrong answers. Even though some of the activities listed may be new or unfamiliar, the client should not rule out that activity. All question-sets are to be completed; leaving some blank will prevent the report from being generated.
6. What do you see as the best application for the SDS?
The SDS is an ideal catalyst for career exploration, especially as a group task in a career counseling group. Because it allows for immediate manual-scoring, the SDS is an effective resource that can be administered, scored and applied in the same session.
7. Does the SDS require any supervision during administration?
The directions and language are very client-friendly. However, when the SDS is used in a group-format, a "buddy-system" is recommended when the RIASEC codes are calculated. Because a miscalculation of the code-totals can result in an inaccurate occupational coding-sequence, it is recommended that another group-member recheck these calculations.
8. Does the JVIS work well in a group setting?
The JVIS can readily be group-interpreted. [Overhead templates are available in the JVIS Applications Handbook.] The "Where Do I Go From Here?" section of the extended profile provides ideal tasks for follow-up assignments within a career-educational group or program.
9. What is the value of the Administrative Indices in the JVIS?
This section of the report is frequently overlooked. Ironically, it should be the first section to be perused because it reflects how much confidence can be placed in the rest of the profile. A client whose A.I. scores fall outside the normal range may been unmotivated or careless in completing the answers, may have language comprehension problems, or may be attempting to skew the profile because of noncompliance or other external variables. The text accompanying these scores will usually indicate an alert to inconsistent profile data.
10. What are the specified disabilities reported by the normative groups for the Ashland Interest Assessment?
The respondents' reported disabilities include mobility, learning disability, visual impairment, mental health, mental handicap, and hearing impairment.
11. Is the JVIS appropriate for mid-and upper-level executives considering a mid-life career change?
The JVIS is a very effective vehicle for the career counseling of adults. The benefit of the JVIS is its holistic career profile, flagging the client's entire lifestyle in addition to one's job. I have had significant success with hundreds of clients in all career-path phases - job-starters, mid-life job transitioners, and more recently, executive "golden handshakers" (recipients of early-retirement packages). I have also longitudinally tracked many of these clients over a period of ten years.
An additional application is that of "team management", wherein all the members of a department complete the JVIS. The General Occupational Themes are then overlaid to provide an interactional snapshot of the team members. This process assists in the validation of the contributions of the individuals as well as the group chemistry within the department.
Further details about the interpretation-protocols for adult clients, longitudinal reports and the above applications can be found in my JVIS Applications Handbook, published by SIGMA Assessment Systems.
