Personality Tests
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Before you leap towards a new career, do yourself a huge favor and take a career personality test to ensure you’re on a 
career path that will be satisfying and rewarding for years to come.
Not much will burn you out faster than trudging away at a job you dislike and that is ill suited to your personality type. Not only will you feel endlessly stuck, you may even be paying on student loans every month, which make you resent the job even more. Now taking the assessment is not a guarantee that won’t happen… But it will cut down the odds!!
Getting education for a career is expensive in both time and money. Before investing two to four years – or even more – plus tens of thousands of dollars to go to school, it’s wise to take a few career personality tests.
Even if You’re Sure…
Even if you’re absolutely sure what you want to do, spare a few moments to take a career personality test. What you might find is that you’re well suited to a career you’d never even thought about, but now that it’s in your head, you realize it’s something you’d like to explore further. Maybe there are more job opportunities in this other field, or more travel, or more room to work from home.
Taking a career test and contemplating other career choices certainly doesn’t mean you have to follow that path, but it’s wise to explore more options rather than fewer when making an initial career choice or a career change.
A Career Personality Test Will Give You Insight
They will give you a lot of insight. The more complex tests like the Golden Personality Type Profiler and the Meyers-Briggs will have some interesting tendencies. There will be things that vary from the normal type and they usually show those in the results.
One I recommend is Dr. Keirsey’s assessment, it’s really a career test but is gives a detailed report and is free. I’ve had several clients take the assessment and so have I, it’s detailed, free, reputable and you don’t need to worry about them sending you a bunch of spam or putting you on a mailing list. They might send you one follow-up email but that’s it. And no, I’m not getting anything for recommending them.
For example, in my results it shows I am an Extrovert. Introvert is not far behind in my score, that means I typically can move into either role and be comfortable, I adapt to the situation.
Another interesting tidbit I learned from Dr. Golden’s training program is that between ages 30 to 45 people tend to develop their Auxiliary skill which is your second strongest skill.
When used effectively these assessments have been shown to help individuals understand differences, improve productivity, direction, self-esteem and satisfaction. People usually appreciate the difference in others and have stronger relationships.
They also help with succession planning, parenting, relationship counseling. The Golden Personality report is 11 pages plus a summary report and another 6 or 7 pages describing some of the other personality types.
How do They Work?
A career assessment test isn’t painful and you can’t fail it. They don’t even take very long. Career tests ask you a series of questions about your preferences and tendencies, such as:
- Do you make decisions based on feelings or fact?
- Do you prefer to work alone or in groups?
- Do you prefer to start projects or finish projects?
- Do you tend to be punctual or usually running late?
You answer the questions as best you can and that’s it! Next you’ll see a list of potentially well-suited careers.
Realistically, you’re probably leaning towards a career that does suit your personality. Unless you’re only looking at the highest paying or fastest growing jobs, there’s a reason you’re leaning towards the careers you are.
Even if you are only looking at the fastest growing jobs, you’re still going to be drawn to some fast-growing careers over others. A career personality test may not surprise you in confirming that you’re suited to what you’re pursuing, but what it can do is open your eyes to other career options that you have never considered, but might enjoy.
