A lot of people are stuck in their job search today. If you find yourself there, rest assured you’re not alone. Most successful job searches consist of at least 4 steps including strengths assessment, industry research and targeting, resume building and interviewing. A good psychometric profile can help with each of these steps, even if it just helps you discover where your biggest challenge is and get some help.
There are a number of terrific strengths profiles available today. The DISC Profile may be the most used strengths indicator by businesses world-wide. Close behind, might be Myers-Briggs and Strengths-finder, which was developed by the Gallup Organization a little over a decade ago. I like Stand Out, a new instrument developed by the Marcus Buckingham Company as well. Values Index is another that may add some helpful insight. Each of these instruments can be very useful.
The first way a profile or strengths indicator may help is in identifying the best potential job match. Even if you’re at the place of being willing to take a job doing anything, you’ll be better off in the long run if you have a clear idea what your natural talents and non-talents are and how they match up with specific positions. While not fool proof, most of the mentioned profiles can be useful when debriefed with a skilled job coach that is familiar with the specific instrument.
For example, sales work is potentially a good match for those scoring high in the “I” dimension on DISC. High “Extraversion” on Myers-Briggs, “Woo” on Strengthsfinder and “Influencer” on Stand Out might point in a similar direction. A high score on the “Economic” dimension in the Values Index might be a natural fit for commissioned sales work where there is no ceiling on income.
Can you be successful in sales without these attributes or traits? Perhaps, but sales usually involves meeting a lot of new people. If you find this activity draining or even terrifying, it might become a barrier to both job success and satisfaction.






