Leah I. Johnson, M.

A
CNS 743: Career Development and Counseling

Interest Inventory Evaluation

The O*Net Interest Profiler told me that I was would work best in the social category as a

teacher, giving advice, or being of service to others. This aligns perfectly with my chosen profes-

sion and is accurate in that counselors teach others how to cope with life’s struggles; they give

advice on how to work through some of their inner-most conflicts. My second interest was inves-

tigative, indicating I enjoy searching for facts and figuring out problems. As my first master’s

degree is in Forensic Psychology, I would have to agree that I love to discover the why being the

what and investigate the unknown. These are things that I already knew about myself because

those interests and quests for knowledge have led me to where I am today. These interests have

presented in other professions that I have explored over the years as well, such as being a proba-

tion officer and a certified pharmacy technician. I believe they all resort back to a very primal

need to help others be better. I thoroughly enjoy helping others, absolutely selflessly without the

expectation of anything in return. I believe, to counsel was my calling, my anointing, to be able

to bless others with a means to obtain peace of mind in their lives. My third highest interest was

realistic, meaning that I, once again liked work that involved hands-on, practical problems and

answers. While these professions tend to work better independently, I agree that I can still apply

these principles to my current profession.

When I was younger I always wanted to become a mechanic, like my father, and some-

day take over the family business. He would never let me because he felt that I had too much po-

tential to be a “grease monkey”. I would beg and plead, insisting I just wanted to understand how

things worked and to be able to fix them when they were no longer working. My father did not

waiver on his decision. When I graduated with my first master’s degree, my father looked at me
and told me congratulations on finally becoming a mechanic. As I looked at him, quite per-

plexed, he simply stated that now I was a mechanic of the mind. I could help fix what had been

broken inside of people. I have always carried that mentality with me.

I was quite familiar with the O*Net Interest Profiler. I used it often as a school counselor

in Richmond, VA. It was implemented in my treatment plans as transition planning for Juniors

and Seniors. Interest inventories are powerful tools in that they can help an individual understand

more about themselves and explore professions they may have never considered prior to taking

them. They also provide a platform for, a student with little direction, to begin thinking of their

future in a more positive way. The potential for greatness was limitless if they just knew where

to start.