Ever wondered how those personality tests can actually boost your career? Turns out, they’re not just about knowing yourself but also showcasing your skills to improve your current credibility, but also land that dream job you have been eyeing.
At this point in your career, you should know who you are. But if you need a refresher, or are looking for a job that requires certain leadership skills, assessment tests are the way to go.
Assessment Test Types
There are many types of assessment tests: skills, job knowledge, personality, cognitive ability, emotional intelligence, integrity, and physical tests.
Skill assessments tests are used to rank your intangible skills from most prevalent to least prevalent.
Improve Your Credibility
When entering into a leadership role or if you just want to improve your credibility in your current job, ask the human resources department or your manager to give you an assessment test. There are also many assessment tests on-line and some are free!
The assessment tests or personality tests, such as the Myers-Briggs Personality Test, The Big Five Model Tests and Motivation Tests are used to measure your interests, motivation, preferences and interactions. Cognitive ability tests are used to measure your thought processes such as problem-solving, reasoning, memory and perception. Emotional intelligence tests are used to measure your self-awareness, empathy and ability to manage your emotions and relationships. Integrity tests are used to measure your honesty and dependability. Physical ability test are just that, they test your ability to measure strength and stamina.
To measure intangible skills, a personality test is given. The results will show to the human resources department and the hiring manager if you are a fit for the job. Sometimes its not about what you know, but how you will interact (‘fit in’) with the department and company.
3 Types of Tests
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the Caliper Profile and 16PF are just three personality test types.
The Myers-Briggs Assessment Test www.themyersbriggs.com gives insights into what makes you – you!
The results show a sense of self-awareness and awareness of others, ability to frame decisions, provide clear communication and understand personal needs more effectively.
The Caliper Profile, according to their web page https://calipercorp.com/caliper-profile/ measures your personality characteristics and motivations to predict on the job behaviors and potential.
The 16PF or 16 Personality Factors Questionnaire, developed by Raymond B. Cattell, Maurice Tatsuoka, and Herbert Eber.
The test aims to help diagnose psychiatric disorders and help with prognosis and therapy planning. The test can be found on line for free online, Myers-Briggs or at the Pearson Assessments www.pearsonassessments.com.
Results of Tests
If you ever took an assessment test at your job, ask for the results. If not or you just want to take one, there are many free personality tests online. I typed in ‘free personality test to show soft skills’ and over 66 million results showed up.
TIP: If you decide to go this route, do your research into the company first. Every now and then I take a test. I found that the results will be provided via my email. Be careful as to not get scammed and provide your email to a reputable company.
You have the results of your assessment test. Now what?
If you took the Myers Briggs test, you will receive a personality test result. Myers Briggs defines 16 different personality
types (found here: https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/the-16-mbti-personality-types/).
Based on your answer, a personality type will be assigned to you. You can use the answers to improve your stance in your current position or it can help you find your perfect job.
My final words: assessment tests are subjective. Answering faster is better than analyzing the question and wondering if the question really means something other that what it says.
Test Results Examples
For instance, a question on the test may be: “Who is your hero?” On the surface, the answer may reveal information about your career aspirations.
Well, I have a few heroes: my dad for my home life, my friend for her strength, and my associate for her willingness to pivot jobs. For the purposes of the test answer, I would have to quickly pick associate. But if I would stop and analyze who my hero really is, then the final test analysis becomes skewed.
Another question that may come up is: “What are you most proud of?” Mid-level professionals at this level have lots to be proud of (degrees, jobs, projects, kids, etc). Pick one that relates closely to the job you are applying for.
Tip: Have your career goal in mind or read the job description first before taking the test.
If you took any other personality test, you should have been provided a list of intangible skills that are strong, are good and do not need improvement, that are good but need improvement, or that are weak. These tests will provide you with tools that can be used to improve your credibility at work. If the tests show that you are an introvert and you work in public relations, working on your communication skills are a must. If the test show that love to speak in public and currently you work remotely or by yourself, you may want to change jobs for something in the field.
This is a chance to improve upon your intangible skills. Find the results that have the lowest scores, make a list of those results.
If communication is one of the results, look into public speaking classes just as Toastmasters (https://www.toastmasters.org/).
What Will You Do With Your Results?
Addressing areas for improvement identified by the tests becomes a to-do list for focused professional development. By evaluating your assessment results and then creating goals to achieve your improvements will help you not only stay on track but also improve your position in your job or take you to your next great job. Use SMART goals to set Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound to-dos.
