Assessing the older worker: The career counselor's dilemma

Abstract

As more older workers choose to remain in the work force, the need for career planning is going to increase for this population. Those seeking second careers after retirement, or women reentering the work force, are sometimes unaware of their transferable skills, alternate interests and changing needs. In order to assess them, counselors are facing new challenges in locating relevant assessment instruments. The purposes of this article are: to identify methods of adapting existing instruments so they can be used with older adults; and to highlight the psychological as well as the physical factors that affect the counseling process. Research indicates that when administered to older adults, assessment methods may pose serious problems of test reliability, validity, and inadequate norms (Olson, Johnston, & Kunce, 1985). In particular, there are physical as well as emotional factors that influence testing of the elderly (Aiken, 1980). Physical factors that are more evident in the older adult are decreases in visual and auditory capabilities. These can affect response time in test taking, may increase distractibility, and can lead to difficulty in reading small type and hearing directions. Aiken says that emotional factors that can affect the reliability and validity of tests are fear of failure, lack of self-confidence, and lack of assertiveness. In my private practice as a career consultant, I have encountered these problems when evaluating or utilizing instruments with older