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    Interactive assessment

    Career Values Clarifier

    A 20-question assessment identifying what you genuinely want from work across five dimensions: achievement, security, purpose, connection, and autonomy.

    Most people make career decisions based on salary, status, or what seems sensible — not on what they actually value. Career satisfaction research consistently shows that sustained fulfilment depends on alignment between your core values and your work. This assessment maps your values across five dimensions so you can make career decisions grounded in what genuinely matters to you, not what you think should matter.

    Questions or items
    20 questions or items
    Completion time
    Around 10 minutes
    Dimensions
    Achievement & Ambition, Security & Stability, Purpose & Impact, Connection & Belonging, Freedom & Autonomy
    What you receive
    Personalised results with configured interpretation bands, section scores and development guidance.

    What it covers

    • Achievement & Ambition
    • Security & Stability
    • Purpose & Impact
    • Connection & Belonging
    • Freedom & Autonomy

    For each statement, rate how true it is for you from 1 (not at all true) to 5 (completely true). Respond based on how you actually feel, not how you think you should feel. There are no right or wrong answers.

    Results: Personalised results with configured interpretation bands, section scores and development guidance.

    How this interactive diagnostic works

    This page provides the documented overview before the interactive experience is loaded. It lets you read the purpose, the material covered and the way the result is presented without entering answers or sending a request. When you choose to continue, the interactive version uses the same material shown here. It records your selections while you work and only calculates its result when its required items are complete.

    Analytics consent is required before the interactive experience is mounted. Declining consent does not start the diagnostic or its tracking. If you continue, the existing experience remains responsible for its own input, score and lead-capture step. Where the route requests a first name and work email, its existing form handles validation and submission. This overview does not replace those steps or submit a lead.

    Statements in this diagnostic

    The interactive version groups the statements below by section. Read them in relation to the situation named in the instructions, then use the response scale shown by the diagnostic. The section descriptions are part of the existing configuration and explain the aspect each group is intended to examine.

    Achievement & Ambition

    How much you are driven by progression, recognition, and measurable success. High scorers need to be advancing, winning, and seeing tangible results from their effort.

    1. I am motivated by being recognised and rewarded for high performance
    2. I want to be in roles where I can progress and advance over time
    3. Achieving measurable results and meeting stretch targets energises me
    4. I am motivated by competing and improving, whether against myself or others

    Security & Stability

    How much you value predictability, financial reliability, and a stable environment. High scorers need to feel secure before they can do their best work.

    1. I value knowing what to expect from my role and having a predictable routine
    2. Financial security and a reliable income are important to my sense of wellbeing
    3. I prefer to work in an organisation that feels stable and established
    4. Knowing my role is secure and long-term matters greatly to me

    Purpose & Impact

    How much you need your work to connect to something meaningful beyond personal gain. High scorers find it difficult to sustain motivation unless they believe in the mission.

    1. I need my work to connect to something I believe is genuinely important
    2. Making a visible difference in the world through my work drives me
    3. I find it difficult to feel engaged if I don't believe in what the organisation does
    4. Contributing to something bigger than my personal success matters to me

    Connection & Belonging

    How much strong relationships, collaboration, and community at work matter to you. High scorers draw their energy from people and culture as much as from the work itself.

    1. Having strong, genuine relationships with the people I work with is essential to me
    2. Collaboration and working as part of a team is where I do my best work
    3. I care deeply about the culture and community of the organisation I work in
    4. Feeling like I belong and am valued by my colleagues matters to me

    Freedom & Autonomy

    How much independence, flexibility, and self-direction you need to thrive. High scorers struggle in heavily managed, structured environments and need significant ownership of their time and approach.

    1. I work best when I have significant independence in how I approach my work
    2. I value being trusted to make my own decisions without excessive oversight
    3. Flexible working and control over my schedule is important to me
    4. I am more motivated when I can set my own direction and priorities

    How the result is read

    The interactive diagnostic totals the selected item scores by section and across the whole assessment. It then matches those totals to the configured interpretation bands and shows the section-level results alongside the overall result.

    • Broadly Values-Rich, 80 to 100: You find meaning and motivation across many dimensions of work. This breadth can be a strength — you are adaptable to many environments. The risk is that no single role satisfies everything, leading to a sense that something is always missing. Your section scores are the real insight: your two or three highest-scoring sections are your non-negotiables. These are the dimensions a role must satisfy for you to sustain engagement.
    • Selective, 60 to 79: You have clear priorities while remaining open to some breadth. Your highest-scoring sections are your primary drivers — these should be explicit criteria in any role evaluation. Your lower-scoring sections are genuine trade-offs you can make. In career decisions, focus your energy on finding roles and environments that strongly deliver on your top two sections.
    • Focused, 40 to 59: A small number of core values drive your career decisions. This focus is powerful — you know what you need. The risk is rigidity: holding out for the perfect role that scores highly on your specific values can limit opportunity. Your highest-scoring sections are your essential criteria; your lowest-scoring sections are things you can genuinely deprioritise.
    • Highly Specific, 20 to 39: You are very clear about the one or two things that genuinely drive you. This level of specificity is valuable self-knowledge. Look carefully at your highest-scoring section — this is where you will find your greatest motivation and where misalignment will cost you most. Roles that don't deliver on this dimension are unlikely to sustain your engagement regardless of other benefits.

    Sources named in this diagnostic

    • Super, D.E. (1970) Work Values Inventory. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
    • Schein, E.H. (1978) Career Dynamics: Matching Individual and Organisational Needs. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
    • Pink, D.H. (2009) Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. New York: Riverhead Books.
    • Rounds, J.B. and Armstrong, P.I. (2005) 'Assessment of needs and values', in Brown, S.D. and Lent, R.W. (eds) Career Development and Counselling. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Where to take the next step

    Explore coaching support for leadership reflection, challenge and sustained performance.

    Explore Executive Coaching

    Frequently asked questions

    What does the Career Values Clarifier measure?

    Most people make career decisions based on salary, status, or what seems sensible — not on what they actually value. Career satisfaction research consistently shows that sustained fulfilment depends on alignment between your core values and your work. This assessment maps your values across five dimensions so you can make career decisions grounded in what genuinely matters to you, not what you think should matter.

    How many questions are in the Career Values Clarifier?

    It contains 20 questions grouped into 5 dimensions: Achievement & Ambition, Security & Stability, Purpose & Impact, Connection & Belonging, Freedom & Autonomy.

    How is the Career Values Clarifier scored?

    Responses are scored within each section and totalled across the diagnostic. The total is compared with the configured interpretation bands.

    What happens after I complete the Career Values Clarifier?

    After the required items are answered, the existing first-name and email gate is shown before the results are displayed. The result includes an overall interpretation, section scores and development guidance.

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