This entry will probably be the concluding post in my series about life-story interventions that guide career choice. My goal has been to explore tools and assessments that employ stories/narrative to assist users in discerning what they want to do (or do next) in their careers. Two came from print books. Two were online but not currently publicly available (I explored them to show possible approaches to this kind of intervention.) Only today’s featured tool is an online assessment available to the public (for $29.95, which covers a subscription that gives users a year to work on the tool). I’m sure other life-story interventions exist out there, and I’ve love to know about them. Yvette Hyater-Adams’s Transformative Narrative Portrait, about which I’ve written before, is related but deals less with career choice than with having users re-story unhelpful habits into new and thriving stories that move toward a desired vision.
Today’s concluding tool, True Path, from Turning Points, communicates 
mixed messages about its purpose. As you can see from the graphic above, True Path is marketed as a branding tool. In another place on the site, users are urged to “click the button to find your True Path.” User testimonials on the site suggest that True Path was most helpful to them in guiding them to determine what they wanted to do in life and career.
I’ve explored the components of True Path but haven’t actually entered any information for myself. As far as I can tell, the final output of the tool is simply an aggregation of all the information the user has entered, and it is up to him or her to put it all together and interpret it. A $199 premium package is available that includes a coaching session, resume versions, cover letters, a career biography, a Linked In profile, and an elevator pitch.
True Path’s components are a mix of narrative and non-narrative:
- In Qualities, users choose from a list of personal qualities those that apply to them.
- The Values section has users rank a list of values based on their importance to the user.
- In the Three Things section, users describe three enjoyable things they’ve done in their lives, three things they’ve done they’re proud of, and three things that have been challenging.
- The Skills section refers users to assessments that specifically help users identify their skills.
- The Typology section is an assessment-within-an-assessment and is in the Jungian/Myers-Briggs vein.
- In Turning Points, we come to the first story-based section, in which users list at least five events that have played a significant role in shaping their lives.
- Success Stories, obviously, is another storied component, this one asking for at least four stories of successes that have played a major role in shaping the user, who also has the ability to add more stories anytime during his or her year’s subscription. Seven followup questions help users identify themes and patterns in their Success Stories.
- The Meaning of Work section asks five questions about how users feel about work.
- In Interests and Experience, users pick from a list career fields in which they have experience and/or interest.
- The Network section offers links to online networking sites, such as LinkedIn.
- The My Brand section asks users to create a personal branding statement. (I’m not sure it offers enough guidance in how to do so).
I have no doubt that True Path is an excellent tool to prepare job-seekers for networking and interviewing, as well as crafting resumes and cover letters. Finding a career path through this tool seems — at least without more guidance — like a murkier proposition, as does developing a personal brand.
One very nice feature of True Path is that users are invited during each step to ask for assistance.