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Essentive

Career assessment for your next step

Gain insight into who you are, what you can do and which direction fits your future

Written by Patrick van Dalsum
Assessmentpsychologist at Essentive

Career assessment

Give direction to your next step with the ITTI® method

Are you uncertain about your next career move, or do you want to help employees with their development, mobility or redeployment as an employer? A career assessment provides insight into talents, drivers and development opportunities, enabling more confident decisions about the future. Below, you will discover how a career assessment supports well-considered choices, the limitations of many existing assessment methods and why Essentive’s ITTI® method provides in-depth, reliable insight.

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Career assessment

What is a career assessment?

A career assessment is an evaluation that provides insight into a person’s talents, interests, personality and opportunities at work, both within their current position and beyond it. The assessment examines which roles, working environments or career moves are the best fit. The result is advice that supports targeted decisions for the future.

Career assessment

Why use a career assessment?

It is not always immediately clear which step in work or career is the best fit. A career assessment can provide direction when someone has questions about change, development or uncertainty at work. It offers not only insight but also practical guidance, enabling people to make choices with greater confidence and look ahead more purposefully.

Career assessment

Components of our career assessment

Our career assessment provides insight into 67 talents and the relationships between them. A unique feature of our method is that we distinguish between innate talents and talents that can be developed effectively. This creates a clear picture of who someone is, what suits them and which direction offers the best opportunities for development in the labour market. It therefore provides a strong basis for targeted, realistic decisions about the next step in a person’s career.

Career assessment

When is a career assessment valuable?

A career assessment is valuable for individuals who have doubts about their role, job satisfaction or the next step in their career. It is also highly valuable for employers, for example when an employee is not in the right position or when an organisation is dealing with restructuring or outplacement. In all of these situations, a career assessment provides insight, helps determine direction and supports appropriate decisions for the future.

Method

Where do conventional career assessments fall short?

Many career assessments are available, but not every method offers the same level of depth or reliability. In practice, many assessments remain limited to general labels and superficial observations, which means they do not always produce a complete and useful picture. You can read more here about the shortcomings of conventional assessments. They often fall short in the following areas:

  • Insufficient scientific validation
  • Focus on behaviour rather than who someone really is
  • Susceptible to influence and subjectivity
  • Overly simplistic and lacking nuance
  • Poor candidate experience

Method

Essentive’s ITTI® method: a stronger alternative

Essentive’s ITTI® method provides a clear answer to these limitations. Whereas many assessments remain focused on observable behaviour and are vulnerable to subjectivity, the ITTI® method scientifically identifies drivers, thought patterns and personality structure. This produces a richer, more objective and more useful career profile (you can read more about our method here).

  • Scientifically sound and ethically safeguarded
  • Focus on drivers and thought patterns
  • Moving away from subjectivity
  • Rich and nuanced personality profile
  • People-centred and respectful
  • Practical and specific advice

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Method

At a glance: what ITTI® adds

AspectCommonly used assessmentsEssentive's ITTI® method
Scientific foundationQuality varies; not always scientifically validatedConsistent use of valid, reliable and evidence-based instruments
FocusOften focused on observable behaviourFocus on underlying drivers, thought patterns and personality structure
ObjectivitySusceptible to influence from self-reporting and assessorsStandardised measurement that cannot be manipulated, combined with professional interpretation
Accuracy / depthOften simplistic, insufficiently nuanced profilesNuanced, detailed profile showing the interrelationships between 67 traits
Candidate experienceCan feel impersonal; candidates may not sufficiently recognise themselves in the resultsPeople-centred approach with explanation, dialogue and high candidate acceptance

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Do you want more information about our process and method?

Case study

After the restructuring — a talent he had never recognised in himself

Following a restructuring, Peter, who was in his fifties and had worked in financial administration for twenty years, lost his job. The obvious choice seemed to be a similar role with a new employer, but he lacked motivation. He no longer knew whether he truly wanted what he thought he wanted, and contacted Essentive for a career assessment.

He deliberately chose Essentive because it does not use superficial colour-based results or put people into boxes. Many career programmes quickly focus on what a person can do or which role seems logical, while the deeper layer — sources of energy, values, personal preferences and broader talents — determines which work will genuinely suit someone in the long term. The ITTI® methodology therefore examined not only his experience and skills, but above all what truly motivated him.

The outcome genuinely surprised him: beneath his financial expertise was a pronounced talent for explaining complex subject matter to others. It was an ability he had never regarded as exceptional, although his colleagues had always valued it. Combined with his experience, it pointed unequivocally towards education, training and knowledge transfer.
Peter now works as an instructor at a training institute for financial professionals. He says that, for the first time in years, he enjoys going to work and that, in retrospect, losing his job was the best thing that could have happened to him.

“Essentive showed me what I had apparently possessed for twenty years but had never started using.”

Would you like to view more similar cases? Here you can find case studies showing how we help organisations with assessments.

For whom

Who is our career assessment suitable for?

Our career assessment can be used in any sector when an employer needs support with career-related questions, for example regarding mobility, restructuring or guiding employees towards a new and suitable role. It is also suitable for any individual who wants a change in their career and is looking for greater insight, direction and appropriate opportunities.

Process

Process

A career assessment using the ITTI® method follows clear steps. Each step contributes to a careful, in-depth and practically useful result that helps create insight and determine a suitable career direction. More information about our process (process & method) can be found on this page.

  • Client intake & role analysis
  • Practical information for the candidate
  • Completing the assessment
  • ITTI® analysis: talent analysis using the ITTI® method
  • Results and advisory meeting
  • Report

FAQ

The cost of a career assessment varies according to the type of assessment and the depth of the programme. Simple online assessments are available from a few hundred euros, while comprehensive career assessments with personal analysis, an advisory meeting and a report generally cost between €1,200 and €3,000. Our career assessment costs €1,995 and is distinguished by the high quality and depth of the programme. It therefore offers excellent value for money.

For an individual, a career assessment primarily delivers greater insight, direction and confidence. It clarifies which roles, working environments and career moves genuinely suit a person’s talents, drivers and personality. Understanding yourself better makes it easier to find work that is truly right for you, which can contribute to greater job satisfaction and fulfilment over the long term.

For an employer, a career assessment primarily provides greater insight into which role, working environment or next step best suits an employee. This supports better decisions regarding mobility, restructuring, redeployment and sustainable employability. It can also generate significant financial benefits by reducing the costs of absence, turnover, poor placement decisions and lengthy programmes. A strong career assessment therefore contributes to better use of talent, greater satisfaction and a stronger cost-benefit ratio for the organisation.

Interested in the possibilities?

Contact us, we would like to get to know you.