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Career Self-Efficacy Sources Scale3

Career Self-Efficacy Sources Scale Test

Understand what fuels your career confidence in just 4 minutes. Pinpoint what boosts or holds it back so you can focus your next steps and build momentum.

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Questions: 204 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

25,432 views

2,851 completion

2,543 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

12/20

Negative Emotional State (NES)

Measures the extent to which negative emotions, insecurity, and past failures inhibit job search and career-building activity.

Low inhibition

Moderate inhibition

High inhibition

4 – 9: Low inhibition | 10 – 15: Moderate inhibition | 16 – 20: High inhibition

A score of 12 falls in the Moderate inhibition range, suggesting negative feelings and self-doubt sometimes slow career actions, but are not consistently blocking progress.

example score

13/20

Positive Emotional State (PES)

Measures how much a generally positive emotional state, self-motivation, and reliance on positive emotions support active job searching and career building.

Low positive state

Moderate positive state

High positive state

4 – 9: Low positive state | 10 – 15: Moderate positive state | 16 – 20: High positive state

A score of 13 indicates a moderately positive emotional state that generally supports career activity, though it may fluctuate depending on circumstances.

example score

19/20

Mastery Experiences (ME)

Personal Experience measures how strongly you draw confidence from past successes and apply proven strategies to current and future career tasks.

Low reliance

Moderate reliance

High reliance

4 – 9: Low reliance | 10 – 15: Moderate reliance | 16 – 20: High reliance

A score of 19 indicates a high reliance on past achievements as a key source of career confidence and a tendency to carry effective approaches forward.

example score

13/20

Verbal Persuasion (VP)

Measures how much your confidence in starting and developing a career is supported by encouragement and approval from significant others.

Low

Moderate

High

4 – 9: Low | 10 – 15: Moderate | 16 – 20: High

A score of 13 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting you generally draw some career-start confidence from others’ verbal support, though it is not consistently strong.

example score

17/20

Vicarious Learning (VL)

Indirect Learning measures how much you build career confidence by observing and applying others’ successful job-search and career-building strategies.

Low

Moderate

High

4 – 9: Low | 10 – 15: Moderate | 16 – 20: High

A score of 17 falls in the High range, suggesting you frequently draw on role models and proven approaches from others to strengthen your career self-efficacy.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Career changers and returners

41%OF USERS

People planning a new direction or coming back after a break use it to understand what fuels their confidence and where they need more support.

Early-career professionals

34%OF USERS

Students, interns, and junior specialists take it to see which experiences and skills most strengthen their belief that they can succeed.

Coaching and HR clients

25%OF USERS

Clients in counseling, training, or development programs use it to pinpoint confidence drivers and prioritize concrete next steps.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Emotional state (neg) (Es()

Average

8.6

Normal range

6 — 11.2

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Emotional State (Posture) (ES()

Average

9.6

Normal range

7.4 — 11.9

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Personal Experience (PE)

Average

Normal range

10.5 — 15.4

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Verbal Suggestion (VS)

Average

14.4

Normal range

11.5 — 17.3

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Indirect Learning (IL)

Average

10.5

Normal range

7.5 — 13.5

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very often
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very often
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very often

These are 3 of the 20 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Career Self-Efficacy Sources Scale Test - Symptoms and Signs

career growth

self-efficacy

This self-report measure is designed to evaluate perceived sources of confidence related to career development and goal attainment. The Career Self-Efficacy Sources Scale helps identify factors that contribute to an individual’s career-related self-efficacy in educational, counseling, and career planning contexts.

The instrument includes 20 items and typically takes about 4 minutes to complete. Items ask respondents to rate experiences and influences that may strengthen or undermine confidence in performing career-related tasks. Scores are intended to support clinical interpretation of patterns in perceived supports and barriers, rather than to provide a stand-alone diagnosis.

Developed by N. E. Betz and G. Hackett, the Career Self-Efficacy Sources Scale may be used to inform case conceptualization and to guide intervention targets (e.g., reinforcing effective sources of confidence and addressing areas of diminished self-efficacy) in conjunction with other clinical information.

Author: G. Hackett, N. E. Betz

Literature: Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 1994.; Nasta, K. A. Influence of career self-efficacy beliefs on career exploration behaviors. Doctoral dissertation. 2007.