In the third of our 4-part series on Personality Assessments we look at a couple of the most popular tests on the market.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
One of the world’s most popular personality tools, the MBTI assessment uses a multiple-choice questionnaire to identify your preferred way of doing things.
Similar to the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, your natural preferences sort into one of 16 distinct patterns of behavior — called personality types — that are framed around how you:
1) direct and receive energy,
2) take in information,
3) make decisions, and
4) approach the outside world.
These personality types are represented by specific letters.
These designations are:
- Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I): Your preference indicates whether you tend to focus on and draw energy from people and activity “outside yourself” (E) or your own inner world of thought and reflection (I).
- Sensing (S) or Intuition (N): Your preference indicates whether you tend to focus on information that’s real and tangible (S) or to take in the big picture and the connections between facts (N).
- Thinking (T) or Feeling (F): Your preference indicates whether you tend to make decisions through logical analysis (T) or by considering what is important to you and to other people involved (F).
- Judging (J) or Perceiving (P): Your preference indicates whether you generally like to live your life in a planned, orderly way (J) or in a flexible, spontaneous way (P).
The underlying assumption of the MBTI is that we all have specific preferences in the way we view our life experiences, and these preferences underlie our interests, needs, values, and motivation. Knowing your Myers-Briggs personality type gives you a better idea of what makes you tick and how this translates into all aspects of your life — including your career. Hundreds of independent studies have established the MTBI’s validity and its reliability has been proven statistically.
You can take the Myers-Briggs assessment online, receive a report, and access an MBTI tool that will provide you with actionable tips and articles for your personality type. To ensure you are accessing the authentic online instrument, log on to http://www.mbtionline.com. The fee is $49.95 plus tax.
There is also a referral network that will help you locate a career counselor who is certified in use of the MBTI instrument, which you can access through the following site:
http://www.mbtireferralnetwork.org/
True Colors
Carolyn Kalil’s Personality Assessment (True Colors) is a personality system that is modeled as a graphical presentation of both Keirsey’s Temperament Sorter and the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator. True Colors differentiates the four personality types as Gold, Blue, Green, and Orange.
This free assessment asks you to choose one of two ways to finish 36 statements. When finished, you will be provided with web-based results in terms of four colors, with one-paragraph descriptions of each. The results can help you define your skills and talents — and possibly direct you to various career paths.
You can access the assessment here:
http://www.innerheroes.com/quiz.asp
Kalil’s book, “Follow Your True Colors to the Work You Love” provides additional insight about your “true self” and how to find your path to career success.
DISC
DISC is a needs-motivated, observable behavioral profiling system which measures the energy put into approaching problems and challenges, influencing and coping with people, steadying and facing the environment, and complying and justifying rules and details. DISC measures our underlying emotions, needs, fears, and the primary concerns that drive behavior.
DISC in notably easier to understand than the more complicated MBTI and is more intuitive to read and apply. DISC is also based on four basic styles and is simple and practical, even with the scoring process allowing for nearly 20,000 different combinations of plotting points for determining the uniqueness of people (the MBTI offers only 16 combinations of 4 different letters).
The DISC measures your tendencies and preferences — your patterns of behavior. It does not measure intelligence, aptitude, mental health, or values.
This assessment breaks down four core behavior styles, each represented by a letter:
- Dominance: The “D” style places emphasis on accomplishing results.
- Influence: The “I” style places emphasis on influencing or persuading others.
- Steadiness: The “S” style places emphasis on cooperation.
- Conscientiousness: The “C” style places emphasis on quality and accuracy.
This assessment contains 28 groups of four words or statements. Through self-selection, you choose words that are most like you and words that are least like you, and through those responses, the report reveals your behavioral style and communication preferences. Not only does it describe the real (natural) you, it also identifies your style and preferences as you display them according to your perception of the demands of your environment (your adapted style).
One of the most widely-used assessments by professionals in the career services industry, the DISC Career Management Report provides value to jobseekers who are starting their careers, returning to the workforce, or in transition and unsure about the best career path. The fee for this online assessment and comprehensive report is $139.
Learn more here:
