We’re all fascinating?
To be honest, taking a personality test is just as exciting as having lobster for dinner, but I’m severely allergic to seafood. My brain screams, “Danger! Danger!”.
When 16personalities was all the rage, I regretted caving into my friends’ demands to take the quiz (I’m a Mediator) because I had no idea what to do with the results and it took forever to complete.
So when my lecturer told us that this week’s assignment revolved around the Fascinate Test, I might have grumbled a bit inside.
How to Fascinate Test
Sally Hogshead designed this test to help utilise your personality to the best of your ability with just 28 short questions, revealing your Fascination Advantages and personality Archetype. What caught my interest was the fact that this test revolved around how the world sees you, instead of the other way around. It didn’t take long to complete but I was quite irritated at the fact that there weren’t any ‘neutral’ options to select.
My results showed that my archetype was ‘The Ace’, often known for being decisive, tireless, forthright, goal-oriented and shielded.
According to Sally Hogshead, my Fascination Advantage is my ability to keep things on track and getting groups to act despite the difficulties we might face.
With my primary advantage as ‘alert’, it means that I prioritise details and precision. Meanwhile, my secondary advantage is ‘power’, being equated to confidence, as I am able to express my opinions with conviction.
Alert & Power
These two traits seemed incongruous to me at first. When you think about it, power is described to mean that you have the utmost confidence in yourself and opinions, while alert revolves around perfecting everything.
If I was so confident, would there be a possibility that I’d be too arrogant to admit that there might be mistakes in my work?
Then, I thought of it the other way around.
If I was such a perfectionist, I’d have a striking air of self-assurance in my work.
That made sense.
What now?
Now, we focus on the less impressive parts of ‘The Ace’.
Your style tends to be intellectual rather than emotional. You base your decisions on facts rather than anecdotal information.
This was shocking as most would regard impulsiveness as a negative attribute.
It’s also funny because I mentioned in my first blog post that I applied to NYU on a whim. My dad’s wallet would argue that I’m too impulsive.
But didn’t we just talk about ‘alert’ being my primary advantage?
In a sense, I understand that certain decisions must be carefully thought of, while some matters should be solely based on feeling. Recognising this makes for a great attribute as it can truly add value to my career and my personal brand.
However, while I think it’s important to evaluate yourself every now and then, it’s also essential not to let a personality test dictate your future. What we’re feeling one day may not be the same as the next. Thus, the way we would answer the test could change depending on the mood we’re in.
All in all, we should take personality tests with a grain of salt. It’s up to you in terms of who you’re going to be tomorrow.
One thing’s for sure, personality tests provide tons of descriptors for us to add into our cover letters!
