SII Career Assessment History
The SII is a career assessment that was created following WW I by E.K. Strong, Jr. It was first published in 1927. The Inventory was created to assess the career interests of males and females. There have been substantial changes and updates to the Strong Interest Inventory in 1981 and 1985 by Jo-Ida Hansen as well as in 1994 by Lenore Harmon and Fred Borgen. These changes revised the major segments of the assessment. Two segments were additionally added to expand the reliability and validity of the assessment.
Start Here The 2004 revision exemplified a major breakthrough for the SII Assessment, with modifications to all, of the significant portions of the assessment, and is widely known to be the gold standard of occupational interest inventories available to the public. Along with the 2004 validity re-design, the Occupational Scales were revised in 2012. Updated information gathering techniques along with digital-age technology has allowed a more exact demonstration of wide-ranging populas interests. Alterations to the question have greatly improved the accuracy of varied representation of results.

What Is The Strong Interest Inventory Career Assessment?
The Strong Interest Inventory Assessment aids individuals match their interests with prospective educational and occupational pursuits. It utilizes individual’s preferred ways of functioning and activities in different areas to discover what they find most enjoyable occupationally and even academically when The SII College Edition is utilized. The varying careers contained within the instrument as well as the college majors have corresponding interest themes. Depending upon your responses, you will variably on those scales.
If you have recently completed the Strong Interest Inventory Assessment, then it is probably true to say you have been searching for the right career.
It might be that you wanted answers such as:
- What career advice do I need now that I have graduated college?
- As a college student, what is my most ideal college major that suits me?
- Are there jobs out there that I might like better than the one I have now?
- What jobs are available to me now that I have lost my job?
- What can I do to make my current employment better?
- How do I earn money from my hobbies or doing the things I enjoy?
You will have discovered you need to find work that fits your needs, personality type, and that you will find enjoyable. Additionally, as a college student, you might find that you want your college courses and college major to coincide with the areas that truly interest you and are the best fit for you.
Remember, as you go through life, your needs change, so do your likes, dislikes, and what you find enjoyable.
When looking at possible changes, you must ask yourself important questions before starting a new career or college major such as:
- Are there opportunities for promotion?
- Does this career opportunity ‘fit’ my life right now?
- Am I enjoying my career or college coursework?
- Will my current college major lead me to a career in which I am best suited and enjoy?
- Will my college major and career lead me to what I deem as successful?
The strong interest inventory assessment uses six themes to help you decide what ‘fits’ your preferences. These are described as GOTs (General Occupational Themes) and BISs (Basic Interest Scales). Both the GOTs and the BISs are based around the theme, for example, the realistic theme and asks questions around that theme; you will evaluate things like:
- An interest assessment – your likes and dislikes
- Your values
- The working environment you would like
- Activities in the workplace that you might enjoy
- The skills set required for this theme.
- The possible career fields that are incorporated in this theme
- Any leisure activities associated with that particular theme.
Once you have looked through the six themes, you will have a better understanding of precisely what will fit for you and where you should be heading right now.
References
- Where do I go next 2012 revised edition by Fred Borgen & Judith Grutter
- Strong Interest Inventory Manual (Donnay, D et al. CPP, 2005)
- Strong Interest Inventory Manual Supplement (Thompson, Richard, 2005, CPP Inc.)
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