ALT-1 Career Assessment Dos and Donts
TAKE MY ADVICE: COMPLETE AN ASSESSMENT WITH A LIE DETECTOR!
Have you ever completed a career assessment? I've done a few in my time and I've also supported others trying to recognize themselves in the maize of opportunities called careers that are available. It is my assessment of career assessments that they may require the assistance of a lie detector, because it is all too easy to give a dishonest appraisal of ourselves when completing them! Therefore the first point in my list of do's and don'ts is:
DO - Be honest. Be true to yourself. You are only fooling yourself if you lie. Choose the option that describes you on a bad day! On a bad day you have no energy for false personas and the real you comes to the fore.
DON'T - Lie to make you feel better about yourself. You are only deceiving yourself and making it harder to get a correct assessment. If you are not accurate with figures, then don't say you are.
DO - Take the time to do an assessment. They can be very accurate and even if you don't find out something completely new about yourself, they can encourage you that you are already on the right track.
DON'T - Try to complete an assessment when you are under pressure to complete other tasks. To get a proper assessment result, you need to take the time to think through your answers and not be distracted.
DO - Assess the assessment. If you get a result that doesn't sit right with you heart, try to work out why it is off track. It may be that you have answered a couple of questions inaccurately. Stick with your gut instinct as you will always know yourself better than assessment will know you.
DON'T - Accept the assessment as being the final word on you! People change as they experience life and what was suitable for you at 18 may not be as suitable at 58. Give yourself the grace to change.
DO - Discuss the results with someone you trust. They will be able to be objective, whereas you may be too close to know.
DON'T - Allow a career assessment to discourage you if you have your heart set on a particular career. It may be that you are not like the majority who have proven the test to be accurate. Only you can be responsible for your dreams.
I remember when I completed the Motivational and Personal Preferences assessment in 2000. My husband and I paid to complete the online assessment as we were both at a crossroads in our careers. It was the best investment, as not only did it confirm that the five jobs I'd had, all in different fields, were totally right for me (they featured in the top 5 jobs for my personality out of 20!), but also I learned so much about my husband. Finding out what we did allowed us to take ownership of ourselves and to respect our innate abilities and gifts so much more. In fact, it was this assessment that led me to become a motivational and business trainer and also explained why I had such a love for words.
A career assessment is just like a street sign. It points the way, but you ultimately have to choose to take the pathway to which it is pointing. Enjoy the process of finding out more about yourself, but don't get hung up on the results if they are disappointing.
