There are many personality tests out there to help you gain a better understanding of yourself. And since knowing who you are is key to career happiness, you’ll benefit tremendously from using them.
The thing with personality tests is that each one uses a different language, they look at you from a slightly different perspective, giving you a different type information about who you are, and what’s more important in my opinion,* some of those* tests will resonate with you and others won’t.
The problem with relying on just one personality test is that it limits you too much. You can miss relevant information and it can even be counterproductive.
If only for that, it’s worth using at least two different methods to gain a deep self knowledge. But there is more to it than that.
3 Reasons to use several personality tests.
There are 3 main reasons why I always use more than one personality test (or self discovery tools as I like to call them) to help my clients know themselves.
Reason # 1 It will give you an increased sense of clarity and confidence.
Stay in a job you hate long enough, and your self esteem will plummet.
Low self esteem it’s rampant among those of us who reached the point of career burnout. We had to disconnect from ourselves in order to stay there, and tolerated less than good situations just to survive.
Then, when you try to reconnect with your passions and your natural talents, you simply can’t do it. Even when a coach points out to you a strength you have, your natural tendency will be to discard it.
I’ve seen it again and again.
But let’s say that we use a second tool to look at who you are. And it shows the same kind of talent, but says so with different words-The level of confidence that you’ll have about that quality you’ve been dismissing will raise.
We all do it.
When different tools start sharing the same kind of information about who you are, it’s more difficult to deny it. You’re forced to take an honest look at yourself, and stop minimizing who you truly are.
Reason #2 Every tool has its own limitations.
Some tools are easier to use and understand, while others seem more obscure, confusing and limited.
Let’s take the Myers Briggs personality test, for example.
Many people struggle to identify their Myers Brigss type correctly. They usually doubt between two different types. At times even more.
This tool can give you profound insights into how your mind is wired: what you are good at, what you need to be happy, why you don’t get along with some people or even what things stress you out the most.
But at first, it’s a difficult to identify your four letter code by yourself.
Why?
Because most free online tests aren’t very accurate, and it requires a high level of understanding about what this personality test is measuring in you, to fully grasp all the depth of information it offers.
While it might be easy to notice if you are an introvert or an extrovert (do you get energized by your inner world or by the outer world?), discerning if you have Perceiver or Judger preferences is quite confusing for most of us unless we acquire an understanding of the cognitive processes.
So once you have a most probable type, you can back it up with another self discovery tool. Let’s say you get a handwriting analysis done. This personality tool will help you validate your Myers Briggs type and give you a very accurate image of who you are, and what you need to be happy right now.
Reason # 3: Each tool is best used for a specific kind of knowledge.
Again, following with our example, your Myers Brigg 4 letter type will tell a lot about how you are naturally wired since childhood. However, your life experiences and problems may have forced you to develop other kind of skills out of necessity.
And so other tools different from the Myers Briggs will give you a very specific information as to what your current needs, values and desires are.
For identifying your values I love to use the Archetype Allies test.
When you understand what Archetype Allies are active in your life right now, you have a clear picture of your current reality and the kind of roles you need to embrace -or transcend- to reach the next level of happiness and fulfillment in your life. And that includes your career life.
And talking about Archetypes, I’m giving the final touches to a quiz that will help you discover your Archetype allies (One of my favorite ways to understand yourself and your talents).
I’m very excited about this quiz, and I’d love to invite you to take advantage of this wonderful information about who you truly are.
If you want to be the first to receive it, (Coming soon!) just fill up this form I’ll make sure you get access to it a soon as it’s released.
Which tests have you taken to know yourself? Were they useful? Let’s keep the conversation below.