Examples, case studies, exercises
The first Kuder inventory, paper-pencil (which yielded all the other versions), is in the
form of a brochure containing the questions for identifying occupational interests, the
corresponding answer sheet, and the occupational profile to be handed to the client. This
inventory is applicable individually or in a group.
The instrument includes 168 question groups, printed in 14 set (each group comprising
three questions) on each of the 12 pages of the brochure, in total 504 questions. In each
three-question group the clients must mark the activity / situation they are most interested
in (column M) and the one they are least interested in (column L). This way, in each
group of three questions there will always remain an unmarked activity / situation (see
Appendix 1 – Instructions).
The questions on the 12 pages are printed on increasingly shorter pages, so that the
answer sheet at the end of the brochure should always be visible and so that the each new
work page should offer only a column to mark. Having marked their options on the
Answer sheet, 11 grids are placed over the sheets (V and 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9).
Scale V verifies the accuracy of completing the exercise; values below a certain minimal
threshold imply reconsidering the results and checking whether the instructions were
understood and the answers correctly marked.
The scales marked with 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 correspond to the ten domains of interest:
Outdoor, (0), Mechanical (1), Computational (2), Scientific (3), Persuasive (4), Artistic
(5), Literary (6), Musical (7), Social Service (8), Clerical (9).
Each score is obtained by adding up the answers identified with the 10 grids. The scores
are compared against 10 standards expressed in percentages (corresponding to the 10
domains of interest). One identifies thus – in each category of vocational interests of the
clients – three categories of intensity: high (100-75), medium (75-25) and low (25-0)
without forgetting to take into account whether the respondent’s gender.
The data obtained are transcribed on a sheet called Vocational Profile. It is handed to
clients and it contains the results of the evaluation of their vocational interests in an easily
understandable graphic format (see Appendix 2 – Vocational Profile). Certainly, each
“personal profile” can be accompanied by a brief interpretation, offered to the client by
the counsellor either in writing or verbally (see Appendix 3 – Brief interpretations of
professional profiles).
Total administration time: 30-60 minutes.