Career & further education Important
17.11.2022

Find your dream job with these 6 career orientation tests

Are you still looking for your dream job? Whether you are fresh out of school and just starting your career or have already gained experience in the world of work - we have selected the 6 best career tests for you. 

In view of the countless opportunities offered by the professional world, most people find the decision quite difficult. What's more, we spend a considerable part of our lives working. This makes the choice of profession a significant and momentous decision. However, this also means that for many people, choosing a career is not only difficult, but also frightening. In this case, it can help if you talk to friends, family and acquaintances - they may be able to give you tips, share experiences and help you identify your interests and aspirations. 

Career choice tests are also a useful way to shed light on your areas of interest and find your dream job. Because if you are clear about what you like to do and what you are good at, it is easier to choose a career or training. Knowing your strengths and interests also boosts your self-confidence and your job prospects. Being aware of your own skills and abilities is particularly helpful in job interviews. Here you will find tips on how to successfully apply to NGOs and social businesses, which are also generally useful for applications in other sectors.

But beware, there are countless such tests on the internet! Only very few of them are reliable and produce results that can help you. What's more, many are subject to a fee, as some of them offer subsequent advice. However, there are also many good free career tests with detailed results reports that can be helpful in your decision.

To help you find the best free career tests and make this part of your journey to your dream job easier, we present 6 free career choice tests here. These are designed to help you find out which professions suit you and your interests. 

1. the personal career orientation test

The BOA career test from Zeit Campus helps you to find careers that really suit you. To do this, you are asked 72 questions about your job aspirations and your personality. A detailed personality profile is then created to help you better understand your professional strengths and interests. Because when applying for your dream job, it's not just professional qualifications that are decisive, but also personality traits. 

The matching algorithm compares your personality profile with over 100,000 job advertisements and suggests suitable jobs for you. Depending on your preferences, internships, trainee programs, apprenticeships, student jobs, junior & entry-level jobs or mid-level & senior jobs are suggested to you. The jobs that match your personality profile and formal settings will also be sent to you regularly by email if you wish. You will also receive invitations to career entry and career events by email.

After completing the test, you can log in to your BOA profile at any time to view your results and job suggestions and customize your search profile. You can also share your profile if you wish - so companies can contact you directly. 

  • Duration: approx. 15 minutes
  • Registration required
  • Concrete job proposals - but only jobs in Germany

If you are looking for the right degree program, you might also be interested in the study interest test from Zeit Campus . This scientifically based test was developed with psychologists and student advisors and will help you with your study orientation.

2. the general career interest test

The career test of the Austrian Chamber of Labor does not show you job suggestions with specific vacancies, but rather general career suggestions. These are listed in a ranking according to how well they match your answers. For each of these job suggestions, you can also look at the trends in the occupational area and find out, for example, the demand for labor or the distribution of women and men. Once you have answered all the questions, you can also set the level of education your dream job should have. 

In addition to the career suggestions, you will also receive a detailed personality and interest profile. In this evaluation, personality traits such as sociability, value orientation, information processing, work activity or working style are classified. The classification is divided into high, average and low. 

You will also receive an evaluation and classification of your interest in sectors and professional areas. These sectors include "Business and finance", "Art and culture", "Environment, fauna, flora" and "Social affairs, education, health".

It also evaluates which activities and areas of work correspond to your interest profile. For example, your "Interaction/Communication", "Administration/Organization" or "Application/Implementation" will be classified. 

  • Duration: approx. 20 minutes
  • Without registration
  • General career suggestions - no specific job suggestions
  • Trends for Austria only

3. the detailed professional profiling

The career test from the Institute for Career Profiling is the most detailed of the tests presented and is aimed not only at job starters, but also at people who are changing or reorienting themselves. Your individual strengths and interests are determined in 9 sub-areas. These various tests and tasks cover a number of basic professional tasks, such as logical thinking, spatial awareness and fast, creative reactions. Some tasks are also time-limited and you have to complete them within a certain specified time. This may seem intimidating at first compared to the other tests presented, but don't worry, you can usually practise on an example first. What's more, the job test does not have to be completed in one go. As you register at the beginning, you can complete the test in several sessions. The detailed questions provide a comprehensive picture of you and your interests and skills, which makes your test result even more reliable. 

You will receive the link to your test result by email within an hour. The career profiling results report records the characteristics of features such as problem-solving ability, resilience or conscientiousness and lists your 10 strongest career interests. This is because your professional interests have a decisive influence on how happy and satisfied you are with your work.

  • Duration: approx. 60 minutes
  • Registration required
  • 10 areas of professional interest that suit you

4. the short orientation test

The orientation test from Schülerpilot is the shortest of the career tests presented. You are shown 30 different statements and asked to indicate on a scale to what extent they apply to you. Two examples of such statements are: "I prefer working with people to working with things or ideas." or "I enjoy planning and organizing."

A personality profile is created based on the information you provide. This is divided into 6 dimensions: entrepreneurial, administrative, social, scientific, practical and artistic. You will be shown which of these dimensions best match your personality.

You will then receive various career suggestions that match your profile. Here you can also find out more about the respective professions: about everyday working life, training, salary, further training and career prospects.

As this career test aims to provide a quick overview with just a few questions, unlike some other tests, you cannot set any filters (e.g. level of education or location). However, if you register on Schülerpilot, you will also receive more detailed results. 

  • Duration: maximum 5 minutes
  • Without registration or registration required for detailed results
  • General career suggestions

5. the clear interest check

The Einstieg career test has a simple structure and helps you to find out your career interests more quickly. Activities that are typical for certain professions are listed and you indicate your interest in these on a scale. This should encourage you to take a closer look at the various professional activities. 

The result of the interest check helps you to better recognize your personal interests and inclinations. After you have evaluated the various activities, an individual interest profile is created.

Unlike other career tests, the initial focus is not on specific career suggestions, but on identifying your areas of professional interest. A distinction is made between 6 areas of interest and the extent to which these match your profile is determined.

Afterwards, you can also view a list of specific career suggestions that may be of interest to you, including apprenticeships. To be able to access your results at any time, you can register at the end and save your test results.

  • Duration: maximum 15 minutes
  • Without registration, but registration possible afterwards
  • Specific apprenticeships and degree programs - only for Germany

6 The comprehensive career test

With 100 questions, JobGuru's career choice test shows you which career fields suit you best. Unlike most of the career tests presented here, the test not only asks questions about your interests, but also knowledge questions, grammar tasks and arithmetic examples. In addition to your personality, various skills such as logical thinking are also taken into account in the evaluation.

Once you have answered all the questions, you will receive a list of the job areas that best match your answers instead of specific career suggestions. These areas include, for example, "Journalism & Law", "Health & Nutrition" or "Science & Technology". You can then see which specific jobs belong to these sectors in the job overview on JobGuru. Perhaps you will find your dream job among them?

  • Duration: approx. 20 minutes
  • Without registration
  • Occupational field match

BONUS: Jobs with meaning

Are you looking for a job that suits you and makes the world a better place? You're not alone. More and more people are also attaching importance to work that adds value to society. After all, making a positive contribution with your own work is not only meaningful, but also makes you happy and satisfied. Jobs at NGOs or social businesses are particularly suitable for this purpose. You can find out exactly what an NGO or social business is and much more in the NGOjobs magazine.

If you are interested in jobs at NGOs or a social business, take a look at the job directory at NGOjobs.

Other useful career tests:

Still haven't found what you're looking for? Then we have listed some more career tests for you here that may help you in your search: