Self-Assessments — A sorting hat
“Hmm… difficult, very difficult.
Plenty of courage, I see.
Not a bad mind either.
There is talent, oh yes, and a thirst to prove yourself… but where to put you?
I think… GRYFFINDOR!”
Ok, so self-assessments aren’t exactly like getting assigned to a house at Hogwarts, but it isn’t that far off.
Learning about yourself, how you think and the environment you thrive in is a great way to land the job of your dreams. It allows you to personalize the way you approach your work and will help you prepare for an interview.
There are many different personality tests out there such as Keirsey Temperament, the Big Five, Clifton StrengthsFinder, and Myers-Briggs, each one is a little different and you should choose the best one for you.
The All-in-One
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator measures four important areas:
- How you get your energy
- How you take information and learn
- How you make decisions
- How you like to organize your time and environment
With the purchase of the assessment ($50), you also receive a ton of resources to interpret your results and apply them to everyday life. You can take lessons on confidence, stress, and motivation.
This is by far, my favorite self-assessment, and I recommend it to anyone looking to improve not only their work-self but their whole-self.
This assessment also gives you some insight into how others view the world and interact, helping you understand them better.
The Personality Quiz
The Keirsey Temperament assessment classifies you as 1 of 4 temperaments:
- Artisan
- Guardian
- Idealist
- Rational
The basic results are free which gives you a good amount of surface-level information but if you want to go in-depth on your temperament, you have to purchase a report from their portal.
There are different kinds of reports making your results more detailed.
If you are taking these self-assessments to boost your career, I recommend purchasing the leadership, career, and learning style reports.
Knowing the best way you receive information is very important in your career, so you can ensure you are learning information in a way that makes the most sense to you.
Only the Good Stuff
The Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment analyzes what your top 5 strengths are. They explain each strength in depth, including questions to ask yourself and make suggestions on how you can maximize your potential.
This assessment is best to analyze your strengths in the workplace.
The one pitfall to the Clifton StrengthsFinder is that it only analyzes your strengths, not your weaknesses. For better results, pair this self-assessment with another assessment that outlines your weaknesses.
The Simple Truth
The Big Five scores you a percentage in each of the following categories:
- Openness
- Conscientiousness
- Extraversion
- Agreeableness
- Neuroticism
You receive a score for each trait, a brief explanation, and the difference in personality between a high score and a low score for no cost.
It is interesting to see what you score in each category and some scores might be surprising to you. It gives a good picture of who you are, in a simple way.
The Big Five should be taken alongside another self-assessment to be more insightful.
Remember, it’s important to decide why you are taking a self-assessment in order to choose the best one for you.
Be honest when choosing your answers to get an accurate assessment. It’s recommended that you answer with the first thing that pops into your head, as it’s usually the most honest.
Don’t fall into the pitfall of selecting the answer you wish to be true. Honesty will get you the best results and lead you to more success.
Check out this episode of the Work Awesome podcast featuring an amazing conversation about self-assessments!
