A psychometric assessment is a great starting point to help you understand your strengths and possible career interests, but it will only tell you part of the story if you’re on a mission to find a fulfilling career. Here are 5 things a psychometric test won’t reveal:
Values
The first step in identifying the right career path is to understand yourself. The more you know yourself, the clearer you’ll be about the type of work that is likely to suit you. Understanding yourself is partly about knowing your strengths and interests, something which a psychometric test can help you to understand. However, it’s also important to be aware of your values, i.e. what’s important to you when it comes to work. We all have different values and it’s these values that drive us. For some it might be creativity or independence. For others it could be a sense of purpose or financial security. If you’re in a job that’s not in line with your core values, you won’t be happy.
Labour Market Information
Although a psychometric test might give you realistic suggestions about the type of work that might suit you, it won’t give you any information on how readily available the work is in your current location or indeed whether the role will eventually be taken over by AI. This is why labour market intelligence is vital.
Once you have an idea of a potential career path, research is key. I always say research before job search. For example you’ll need to find out which local organisations that offer such a role. In fact, do they need to be local? Could you work from home? What does the future hold for such organisations and the industry as a whole? Who are the main competitors, if any? The answers to such questions may be found online but it’s always good to actually speak to people who currently work in the industry.
Limiting Beliefs
It’s one thing to identify an exciting pathway but it’s another thing to actually believe it’s possible. Our limiting beliefs about ourselves or the world of work can hold us back. They’re often hidden until we’re faced with a big challenge. That’s when we might say to ourselves, ‘I’d never be good at that’ or ‘that’s too hard to get into’, for example.
Limiting beliefs are natural and even the most successful people have doubts. The difference between those that make it and those that don’t often lies in the extent to which we allow these limiting beliefs to impact our actions. A good Career Coach can help you to challenge and overcome such limiting beliefs.
What you care about
If you’re going to find fulfilling work it’s not simply a case of finding something that will be a platform for you to use your skills. It’s important to apply your strengths to something you actually care about. You need to be able to answer questions like, ‘what problem would you like to help solve?’ ‘In what way would you want to make a positive impact?’ What difference would you want to make in business or community?
Current Challenges of role
For any job, you might be attracted to the job description and perhaps the sense of satisfaction you’d get from performing the role on a daily basis. However, it won’t tell you what the current challenges of such a role might be. What about the work and life balance? Does the culture fit in with your values? Like I said, research before job search. It’s important to find the answers to these questions as part of your research before you commit to making the transition.
Perhaps it sounds as if I’m trying to put you off taking a psychometric test. Far from it. In fact I believe it can be a great starting point when you’re feeling stuck because it will give you some valuable information quickly and boost your confidence as your strengths are revealed. But it will only tell you part of your story. That’s why it’s important to get a qualified coach to help you interpret the results and help you to fill in the missing pieces on your career journey..