Personality assessments
I can honestly say that I LOVE personality assessments. They really offer a view into who you are and why you do the things you do- engaging with the world, and the people in it. I can't tell you how much this has impacted my life. I never knew how much psychology was behind who we are and why we do what we do.
Self-awareness is the first step in setting goals for your future. Secondly, it gives you insight into what strengths you need to build up continually and what weaknesses you need to improve on. Lastly, its a great tool in figuring out what career or degree you should pursue.
For example, I'm an ENTJ/INTJ (Myers Briggs or 16 Personalities), it's a rare type. Once I knew this, I then googled, "what careers (or degrees) are best for ENTJ personalities types?" Eureka! It's not a crystal ball, but chances are you'll be much happier in a career that best suits your personality type. So if you're lacking direction, it's a great place to start.
Myers Briggs ($50) or 16 Personalities (Free!)
I don't so much care for the Myers Briggs assessment. I think it's valuable, but it's a little expensive.
The 16 personalities assessment is a free version and it's along the same lines as the Myers Briggs. I really enjoyed my results and appreciated the pin-point accuracy.
Berke (Free!)
Simply scroll down to the bottom and click on, "try now". I LOVED it! It was great! It came with a great about you section and explained the scale it graded you on. It's also a free version and it only takes about 15 minutes to complete. I also felt like it was super accurate.
StrengthsQuest ($10 or free videos)
One of the many assessments I LOVE talking about is StrengthsQuest. If you don't have the $10, watch the videos here, to get a good idea of what your top 5 could look like. Of course it doesn't replace the assessment, but I'm sure by reading the descriptions and watching the videos, you could pinpoint a couple that are, "totally you". I caught myself saying that about my top 5, after my assessment.
If you don't take the assessment, write down the top 5 that fit you most. Think about how those strengths shape your decision making. Write them down somewhere, somewhere you will see them daily.
Your weaknesses will never be your strengths, so focus your main energy on continually improving your strengths. That's not to say if you have a lagging weakness, totally ignore it. No- just get it to a point where you're a successful, functioning adult, then switch gears back to your strengths. You will be more efficient this way in getting where you want to be. When people talk about opposites attracting, a part of what they're talking about lays here. My husband and I are polar opposites when it comes to our strengths. We compliment each other nicely.
Next Steps
You know what your personality traits and what your strengths and weaknesses are, right? What are you supposed to do with those going forward?
- Keep the results somewhere accessible. Don't stuff them in a drawer somewhere.
- Try and grow your strengths continually by connecting with mentors, attending workshops, or googling how to improve those strengths. Read everything you can get your hands on
- Work on weaknesses that you see as threats to your success. Get those to a level where you're a functioning successful adult (same as how you would build the strengths above) and then check back in on the status of those annually.
- Google what careers/degrees would best suit your personality type or top strengths. This will insure that you get into a field that you're really good at and what makes you the happiest
- Track yourself. Keep a journal of weekly accomplishments or a white board with monthly goals.
- Take the tests again annually, you may find you've changed a little.
- Get a mentor. LinkedIn can be a great resource for this. Reach out to mentors you admire, with careers you would interested in having. Always feel free to reach out to us as well.
Download the Who Is worksheet and dive a little deeper.