Career Values Inventory

Abstract

The Career Values Inventory (CVI) is a structured, self-report instrument primarily utilized in Vocational Psychology and career counseling settings. Developed for use by students and career explorers, the inventory is designed to facilitate self-assessment by helping individuals systematically identify and prioritize the intrinsic and extrinsic values they deem essential for job satisfaction and success. The CVI presents a comprehensive list of approximately 40 distinct career values, prompting users to reflect on their personal definitions of meaningful work, motivation, and accomplishment. By articulating these core values, individuals can make more informed decisions regarding career paths, organizational fit, and long-term professional fulfillment.

Keywords

Career values, vocational guidance, self-assessment, career planning, work motivation, job satisfaction, intrinsic rewards, extrinsic rewards, organizational fit, University of Saskatchewan

Authors

Student Employment and Career Centre (SECC), University of Saskatchewan

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Career Values Inventory is to serve as a practical tool for career planning and exploration. It guides individuals through a reflective process, structured in two parts: initial qualitative reflection and subsequent quantitative evaluation of defined career values. The scale aims to bridge the gap between abstract desires (e.g., “success” or “purpose”) and concrete job characteristics (e.g., “security” or “creativity”). By prioritizing these values, users can generate criteria against which potential jobs or industries can be evaluated, thereby enhancing the relevance and longevity of their career choices.

The scale encourages users to move beyond immediate job requirements and consider long-term motivational factors. Part I of the instrument asks reflective questions concerning past motivations and definitions of success, setting the necessary internal context before the user proceeds to rate the specific values listed in Part II. This structured approach ensures that the resulting value hierarchy is deeply rooted in personal experience and aspiration.

Construct

The CVI measures the psychological construct of Career Values, which are defined as the enduring beliefs about the desirable outcomes or characteristics of a work environment. These values function as motivational drivers and standards for evaluating job alternatives. The CVI addresses a wide range of value dimensions, which can typically be categorized into:

• Intrinsic Values: Relating to the work content itself, such as ACHIEVEMENT, CREATIVITY, KNOWLEDGE/LEARNING, and MENTAL CHALLENGE.
• Extrinsic Values: Relating to the outcomes or context of the work, such as MONEY, BENEFITS, SECURITY, and WORKING CONDITIONS.
• Social/Relational Values: Relating to interactions with others, such as COLLABORATION, HELP OTHERS, and CONTACT.
• Lifestyle/Autonomy Values: Relating to work-life boundaries and control, such as BALANCE, INDEPENDENCE, and TIME FREEDOM.

By assessing these multiple facets, the CVI provides a holistic profile of an individual’s vocational priorities, which is critical for achieving professional satisfaction and reducing vocational misalignment.

Validity

As the version of the Career Values Inventory provided by the Student Employment and Career Centre (SECC) is utilized primarily as a guidance worksheet rather than a formal research instrument, detailed empirical data concerning its psychometrics (including construct and criterion validity) are not typically published alongside the instrument. Its validity is primarily based on face validity and content validity, ensuring that the items presented are relevant and representative of the broad spectrum of known career values identified within Vocational Psychology literature.

The utility and practical validity of the CVI are demonstrated through its efficacy in career counseling. Counselors use the structured framework to elicit meaningful self-reflection, leading to clearer vocational goals, which serves as a form of applied validity in a counseling context. Users often report increased clarity regarding their career direction after completing the inventory.

Reliability

Specific test-retest reliability coefficients or internal consistency measures (such as Cronbach’s Alpha) for this specific iteration of the CVI are not publicly documented by the SECC. Given that career values, as a psychological construct, are generally considered stable over time, the underlying theoretical reliability of the measurement of these values is assumed high.

However, the reliability of the CVI as a self-assessment tool depends heavily on the user’s honesty and careful reflection during the rating process. The instructions provided emphasize careful consideration of personal experiences and definitions of success, which helps to maximize the internal consistency of the resulting value hierarchy at the time of administration.

Factor Analysis

Since the SECC version of the CVI is presented as a list of independent, descriptive values intended for self-prioritization rather than a formalized, factor-analyzed scale, empirical factor analysis data is not available or applicable in the traditional sense. The approximately 40 items are designed to cover distinct domains of work life. In formal psychological inventories of career values (upon which tools like the CVI are conceptually based), factor analysis typically groups items into broad dimensions such as Economic Rewards, Social Interaction, Status, and Autonomy, but the CVI structure allows users to prioritize these specific descriptive items individually.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Inventory / Career Guidance Worksheet

Format: Checklist and 4-point Likert-style rating scale applied to descriptive value statements.

Language Available: English (based on the provided source document).

Population Group: Students, recent graduates, and individuals undergoing career transition or exploration.

Age Group: Generally applicable to late adolescence (16+) through adulthood.

Population Details: The instrument was distributed by the Student Employment and Career Centre, suggesting a primary focus on the student population of the University of Saskatchewan and affiliated career services clientele.

Test Methodology: The methodology involves two stages: qualitative reflection (answering open-ended questions about motivation and success) followed by a quantitative rating of specific values using a 4-point importance scale.

Keywords

Career assessment, vocational interests, motivational factors, career development, work attributes, job characteristics, SECC, career counseling, professional values, intrinsic motivation

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not applicable (Institutional authorship)

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected]

Correspondence Address: Student Employment and Career Centre, G50, Lower Marquis Hall (below the bookstore), 97 Campus Drive, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada S7N 4L3

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The instrument is provided freely by the University of Saskatchewan Student Employment and Career Centre for educational and non-commercial career guidance purposes. Given its source, it is generally considered a public domain resource for personal use and counseling. No specific test year is provided in the source material, but the supporting institution is clearly identified.

The original PDF can be downloaded here: https://students.usask.ca/documents/secc/career-values-worksheet.pdf

Reference’s

• Student Employment and Career Centre. (n.d.). Career Values Worksheet. University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.

Items of the Career Values Inventory

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Part I: Reflecting on your career values

• What activities bring meaning and purpose to your life? /How do you define success?
• Think about a time you felt motivated in your life‚ in a job‚ or in a volunteer position. What contributed to that feeling of motivation?
• What would you miss if you left your current job or what do you miss about the best job you ever had?

Part II: Career Values Inventory

• ACHIEVEMENT – Results orientation; using your strongest skills; feeling a sense of accomplishment
• ADVANCEMENT – Move forward in your career and have opportunities for growth through seniority
• ADVENTURE/EXCITEMENT – Risk taking‚ lots of activity‚ and thrill seeking through action
• AESTHETICS – Appreciation for the beauty of things‚ people‚ art‚ nature‚ and surroundings
• ALTRUISM/HELP SOCIETY – Contribute to the greater good
• BALANCE – The ability to pursue interests and fulfill commitments outside of work
• BENEFITS – Additional work compensation such as insurance‚ vacation‚ sick leave‚ etc.
• COLLABORATION – Provide support/service to others; opportunity to work with others to find common ground and achieve shared goals
• COMMUNITY – Work connected with service‚ politics‚ or community affairs
• COMPETITION – Opportunities to test your skills or match your performance against others
• CONSISTENCY – Consistent duties that are dependable and do not change over time
• CONTACT – Frequent contact with colleagues‚ clients‚ students‚ patients‚ customers‚ etc.
• CREATIVITY – Express new ideas‚ programs‚ systems‚ etc.
• EXPERTISE – Be known as someone with special knowledge‚ skill‚ and ability in a specific area
• FUN – A playful‚ light hearted work environment where humour is appreciated
• FAST PACE – Quick pace of activity with quick outcomes
• HARMONY – A calm‚ harmonious‚ environment with minimal conflict
• HELP OTHERS – Assist others in direct ways‚ either in groups or individually
• INDEPENDENCE – Work without constant supervision; the ability to make decisions without consult
• INFLUENCE OTHERS – Have significant impact on others to change attitudes or opinions
• KINESTHETIC – Use your hands and body
• KNOWLEDGE/LEARNING – Gather new information and ideas
• LEADERSHIP – Inspire‚ motivate‚ or direct others
• LOCATION – Live somewhere conducive to your lifestyle and priorities
• MAKE DECISIONS – Power to decide course of action/policies
• MENTAL CHALLENGE – Perform tasks requiring mental effort in order to be done successfully
• MONEY – Significant financial benefit / making a lot of money
• PERSONAL GROWTH – Opportunities to grow as a person
• PHYSICAL CHALLENGE – Physical demands you find rewarding
• RECOGNITION – Acknowledgement and/or praise for your work
• SPIRITUAL FULFILLMENT – Consistency with your ideals‚ beliefs‚ and/or morals
• SECURITY – Stable work environment and financial stability
• STATUS/PRESTIGE – Respect from others given nature and level of your work
• SUPPORT – Advocacy‚ resources‚ training‚ and guidance from management
• TECHNOLOGY – Use computers‚ electronic equipment‚ and technical software
• TIME FREEDOM – Management of your own schedule/workload
• TRAVEL – Opportunity to travel
• VARIETY – Frequent changes in your work tasks
• WORK ALONE – Do projects individually; little contact with others
• WORKING CONDITIONS – Comfortable work environment‚ dress code‚ additional amenities
• WORK UNDER PRESSURE – Time pressure is significant and quality is critically reviewed

Rating Scale:

• VERY IMPORTANT – You could not go without this / give this up.
• IMPORTANT – You like this; it would be good / nice to have.
• NEUTRAL – Undecided; you feel no strong emotion towards this one way or the other.
• NOT IMPORTANT – This is something you could easily go without or may choose to avoid altogether