Layoffs affected 1.17 million workers in 2025, and the outlook isn’t improving. In fact, JPMorgan expects unemployment to peak in 2026, with job growth remaining slow. For many professionals, career uncertainty no longer feels like a distant threat—it’s their reality. In this environment, contemplating a career move can feel daunting. Knowing where to begin is often the hardest part.

Career assessment tools can help. By evaluating your skills, interests, values and personality traits—and introducing you to roles you may not have considered—they offer a practical entry point for navigating what comes next.

Job search and online recruiting platform Monster has published a guide to nine free career assessment tools designed to help professionals navigate job uncertainty and career transitions. This curated list spans multiple assessment types that highlight natural strengths, personality traits and interests, as well as potential career paths.

Here’s a closer look at the tools.

What Career Assessments Cannot Be Used For

Before diving in, it’s worth setting expectations. Career assessments can be helpful starting points, but they have limits. They can’t account for every variable that might shape your career nor can they predict job market outcomes.

Results can also be influenced by your mood, the timing of the assessment and your own self-perception. This means assessments are best used as tools for reflection—not end-all, be-all answers to your biggest career questions.

Take these career assessments with a grain of salt. Used thoughtfully, and they can spark inspiration and help you clarify your next move. Just don’t let them be the only factor guiding it.

9 Career Assessment Tools

Holland Code Career Test

At work, are you realistic? Enterprising? Investigative? The Holland Code Career Test identifies occupational themes that best match your interests, then maps them to compatible careers and work environments. This alignment matters: only 31% of employees report being engaged at work, highlighting how fit can shape satisfaction on the job.

O*NET Interest Profiler

Would you enjoy laying brick? What about buying and selling stocks? The O*NET Interest Profiler asks you to rate how much you’d like to perform a wide range of tasks to identify broad areas of work you might enjoy. Part of the U.S. Department of Labor’s O*NET system, the profiler is extremely comprehensive—and time-intensive, with 60 questions.

Keirsey Temperament Sorter

Life satisfaction tends to rise when your personality and work align. The Keirsey Temperament Sorter can help you tap into this benefit. Based on Keirsey’s Temperament Theory, this lengthy test uses your answers to 71 questions to assign you to one of four temperaments—guardian, idealist, rational or artisan—and suggests careers that align with each type.

MAPP Test

What workplace tasks energize you? Which do you tend to avoid? The Motivational Appraisal Personal Potential analyzes your responses to work-related scenarios to uncover your preferences, motivations and interests, helping you figure out which kinds of work assignments and environments might help you thrive.

Big Five Personality Test

The widely used Big Five Personality Assessment measures five core traits: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and emotional stability. While commonly used in psychology, it can also help you determine which work styles and career paths might suit you.

16 Personalities Test

Drawing on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and elements of the Big Five, the 16 Personalities Test sorts participants into one of 16 personality types. Monster calls it one of the most detailed career assessments available, offering insights into your personality type, communication style, strengths and weaknesses and potential career paths.

The Princeton Review Career Quiz

Designed for students or early-career workers, the Princeton Review Career Quiz assigns users to one of 24 “Interest Colors,” each tied to different preferences and motivations. The results highlight your dominant work style and suggest careers that match. Because interest in your work is a strong predictor of job satisfaction, this quiz is a valuable first step in figuring out which career paths you might enjoy.

CareerExplorer

The CareerExplorer Test uses an AI-assisted algorithm to match users with careers based on interests, work preferences, values and interpersonal style. Results include ranked job matches and detailed information on outlook, education requirements and salary expectations.

CareerFitter

The CareerFitter Test is a quick personality assessment that evaluates work preferences and behavioral tendencies. You’ll receive a report outlining your work personality type, traits and strengths and potential challenges across different work environments.

Getting Started With a Career Assessment

If you’re considering a career move, assessments can be a smart place to start. They clarify your strengths, surface possibilities and help you think more strategically about what comes next—or at the very least, get your wheels turning.

But remember, these tools offer guidance, not a roadmap. The best career decisions combine self-reflection, market research and real-world experimentation.

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If you are interested in doing a deeper dive and getting personalize feedback from an executive career coach (me!), your next step would be to take the Career Reset.