A lot of my clients come to me knowing what's "wrong" with them, but not enough know what makes them amazing, different, unique, and valuable.
If you're like my clients and want some help tapping into your special sauce, I recommend trying some online assessments. There are so many that help you determine your strengths, preferences, and internal awesomenesses, and knowing these things is so powerful when understanding and talking about yourself (especially in interviews). My favorite free ones are sorted by type below.
Values/Strengths Assessments
Values In Action (VIA) Character Strengths Survey -- this one looks at 24 different character strengths organized into six different categories including wisdom & knowledge, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence.
Signature Strength Questionnaire (SSQ-72) -- Based on the VIA survey, this one looks at the role of your strengths in your wellbeing and the lessons on the site help you incorporate your strengths into your resilience.
I also love the Clifton Strengths assessment, but they don't provide a free version, so I only recommend it if you have the funds you want to invest.
Preferences
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator -- this looks at four different components of our personalities, and each has two dichotomies. Where do you get your energy (internally or externally)? What kind of information do you rely on and trust (gut instinct or data and facts)? How do you make decisions (with your head or your heart)? And what causes you stress (preparation or flexibility)? (Note: I'm a certified MBTI practitioner and loooooove walking people through their types, so if you're interested, please reach out!)
The DiSC Assessment -- this looks at your approach to the world, with two underlying assumptions; 1) that you view your environment as either favorable or unfavorable, and 2) you perceive yourself as having control or lack of control over the environment. (Again, my link is to a free version of the assessment but if you're interested, I recommend finding a certified practitioner to walk you through it.)
The PATH Assessment -- It's annoying to get results from this one -- they want you to sign up with your resume and desired work details (but you can get around that) but the outputs are interesting. They look at four different modes; Purpose, Approach, Thinking, and Habits.
Purpose
Purpose in Life Quiz from Greater Good -- this examines the strength of the purpose you feel and the quiz itself isn't my favorite part of it, the debrief at the end is what provided me with insight. (Essentially, if your purpose isn't super strong for you, there are clear steps you can take to make it stronger and if it is super strong for you, there are things you can do to reinforce it.)
(In fact, there are a number of entertaining and valuable quizzes on the Greater Good website -- the only one I don't really recommend is the Emotional Intelligence Quiz. It felt a little too hokey to be valuable.)
And, of course, coaches -- and this one, in particular -- are great resources for helping you identify, codify, and express your internal awesomeness.
Comments