Careers conversations mostly stall in the same place. Ask "what do you want to be?" and back comes "I don't know". The parent is frustrated and the child feels put on the spot.

The problem is not the child's indifference but the size of the question. Being asked to name a single occupation is hard for adults too. So you need a tool that breaks the question into smaller pieces.

CareerNet — a free public tool

CareerNet is the careers information network run by the Ministry of Education. The careers assessments it provides are free once you register. Unlike private assessments there is no cost, and they are widely used in school careers lessons.

The middle and high school assessments are generally made up as follows.

• Occupational aptitude — in which areas of ability do you show strengths?
• Occupational interest (K and H forms) — which activities do you find interesting?
• Work values — what do you consider important in work?
• Career maturity — at what stage are your attitude to and understanding of career preparation?

These four look at different things. It is in fact more common than not for what you are good at (aptitude), what you enjoy (interest) and what you value (work values) to disagree. That disagreement is what there is to talk about.

Junior CareerNet for primary school

Putting a list of occupations in front of a primary school child is both too early and ineffective. Junior CareerNet provides interest exploration, career cards and occupational information pitched at this age group.

The purpose at this stage is not a decision. It is finding out what kinds of work exist in the world. So it is better not to look at the result sheet and conclude "right, let us aim for this".

How to use the result sheet — three principles

1. Do not start with the list of recommended occupations. The list is only a summary of the result, and it is the part children react most defensively to. Read the interest and values sections together first.
2. Ask "why do you think it came out like this?" Do not rule it right or wrong; let the child explain their own answers. That conversation is itself careers education.
3. Do not turn your own interpretation into a conclusion. Wrapping up with "you really are a science person" means that from the next assessment onwards the child answers to produce the result they think is wanted.

Do not treat it as a one-off

The value of a careers assessment lies less in a single result than in change. Used with an account, CareerNet accumulates results so they can be compared with earlier ones.

If interests in Year 7 differ from interests in Year 10, that is not the assessment being inaccurate — it is the child growing up. Looking at that change together is more useful than one precise diagnosis.

Once interests have settled somewhat, the next step is checking at the level of the degree. Why a department's name is not enough to judge by is set out in Choosing a Major.

In summary

Careers conversations stall because the question is too big. Using free public assessments as material lets you shrink it. Instead of "what do you want to be?", start with "this item came out high — why do you think that is?". A conversation that does not try to reach a conclusion ends up going further.