“It’s a Wonderful Life” is one of my favorite movies. It displays the positive leadership of George Bailey and the reprehensible leadership of Mr. Potter. A great quote from George in that movie is: People were human beings to him (George’s father). But to you (Mr. Potter), a warped, frustrated old man, they’re cattle. Well in my book, my father died a much richer man than you’ll ever be! In this movie George received the gift of observing how life would have been for others without him.  Through this experience, he learned about the impact of his leadership and kindness on others.

I recommend four assessments to accelerate college and university students’ exploration of self and to uncover what’s most important to them in their career. They are:

The 8-page iStartStrong report identifies the client’s top two general themes with links to detailed definitions. Also, it provides one’s top five specific interests and the areas of study, career fields, activities, and related occupations that tie to them. Also, the related occupations link directly to the O*Net Online Summary Reports.

Although the assessment and report focuses on helping people choose their major in college and their first career, I believe it is also beneficial to people at any stage of their career. I give this assessment and report a “Thumbs-Up.”

The cost for this assessment is $9.99. To purchase and administer this report, you need either a master’s degree in an appropriate area or completion of a Strong Interest Inventory® Certification program.

The 8-page iStartStrong report identifies one’s top two general themes with links to detailed definitions. And, it provides one’s top five specific interests along with the related areas of study, career fields, activities, and related occupations. The related occupations link directly to the O*Net Online Summary Reports.

Although the report appears to focus on students who are selecting their college major and future career, I also think it is beneficial to people at any stage of their career. I give this assessment and report a “Thumbs-Up.”

The cost for this assessment is $9.99. To purchase and administer this report, you need either a master’s degree in an appropriate area or completion of a Strong Interest Inventory® Certification program.

© 2010. Nancy Branton.

A good way to get started is to ask your clients what’s going on  and what sort of assistance they’re seeking. Depending on the response, you can determine whether (or not) to use assessments and which assessments will work best. Here are some scenarios to help you sort out the appropriate use of assessments.

When clients say they know what their desired jobs and companies are but want a competitive edge, suggest they uncover their greatest assets and differentiators through a combination of coaching and a personal branding assessment, e.g., 360° Reach assessment (www.reachcc.com/360Reach) Then, you can assist them to incorporate their brand message into a verbal bio, resume, etc.

When clients share how much they dislike their current company’s management style and culture but like their work, you can suggest that you work together to heighten their awareness about their most important values. And, that can be accomplished through coaching and administering a values assessment, e.g., O*NET® Work Importance Profiler^TM (www.onetcenter.org/WIP.html)

When clients indicate they dislike the work itself and want to find a more satisfying career, suggest a combination of assessments and coaching. In this situation, it’s best to use a combination of a personality type assessment, e.g., M.B.T.I.^® (www.cpp.com), an interest inventory, e.g., Career Liftoff Interest Inventory (www.careerliftoff.com), and a strengths or skills assessment, e.g., Clifton StrengthsFinder 2.0 (www.strengthsfinder.com), SkillScan (www.skillscan.com).

When clients say they desire more fulfilling work and want to leave a lasting legacy, coach them on their vision, purpose, values and passions. A card sort to help them zero-in on their purpose is Calling Cards: A Journey of Discovery (www.inventuregroup.com). Also, e-life Plans (www.elifeplans.com) is a useful web-based system where your clients may record dreams, purpose, goals, actions, and timeframes, and then, set-up regular e-mail reminders for specific goals or dreams.

Referencing the above situations will help you determine a strategy to use assessments with specific clients situations. Feel free to let me know of other client situations you have and I’d be happy to post on them later.

Copyright 2010. Nancy Branton

1. Battery of ability assessments in Test Your Own Job Aptitude: Exploring Your Career Potential

In addition to exploring one’s personality, motivation, and interests, this handbook includes these short, paper-and-pencil ability assessments that measure the following areas:

• Verbal reasoning
• Numerical reasoning
• Perceptual reasoning
• Spatial ability
• Technical ability
• Acuity skills
• Analytical ability

After they complete the assessments, have them note their two highest scoring abilities and review typical occupations for their unique combination of abilities. (E.g., the verbal/numerical combination links to Commercial Managers, Senior Administrators, Insurance Agents and Head Teachers).

2. O*NET® Ability Profiler (AP)™

The AP helps candidates identify occupations that fit their abilities. The nine job related abilities measured are:

• Verbal Ability
• Arithmetic Reasoning
• Computation
• Spatial Ability
• Form Perception
• Clerical Perception
• Motor Coordination
• Finger Dexterity
• Manual Dexterity

Typically the AP is provided by workforce development professionals who have been trained to administer it. Ability results link to over 800 occupations in O*NET OnLine. Click here for further details on the administration of the AP.

3. The CALL: A Vocational and Life Purpose Guide

This Christian-based, online assessment measures 27 distinct dimensions and shows occupations that best match the candidates’ results. The six abilities are measured in this assessment are:

• Cognitive ability
• Learning Pace
• Verbal Skill
• Verbal Reasoning
• Numerical ability
• Numeric reasoning

Candidates may purchase this assessment at The Call http://www.thecallonline.com or take it through a coach who has completed The CALL assessment certification training. A detailed report is provided to the candidate which highlights occupations that best match their profile.

4. The Highlands Ability Battery

This online, three-hour battery of tests includes nineteen different work samples. It measures candidates’ natural strengths, along with personal style that cluster results into these four broad areas:

• Personal style, e.g., generalist, introvert
• Driving abilities, e.g., classification, idea productivity, spatial relations visualization;
• Specialized abilities (design memory, verbal memory, number memory, visual speed, etc.
• Vocabulary

A 30-page report is generated from the battery of tests. A trained facilitator interprets the candidates’ results and guides them into careers that best fit their natural strengths. A list of affiliates who are trained to administer this assessment can be found at Follow Your Calling.

Since people’s abilities influence their career success, it is wise for career coaches to incorporate ability assessments as part of the overall career assessment process for candidates. If you know of other good ability assessments, I invite you to share them.

Copyright 2010. Nancy Branton.

• Golden™ Personality Type Profiler
• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®
• Keirsey Temperament Sorter®-II

Based on temperament, here are suggested coaching questions to use with candidates to enhance their job search success.

1. Clarifies Job/Career Objective(s)

NT (Rational)
How do these options tie to your most important values, including your family’s desires? If you set aside all your criteria, what are some other options? Which jobs are you most passionate about?

NF (Idealist)
Which of these options fits you best? What are your most important criteria to use in determining your job objective(s)? What’s your short-list of jobs to pursue now?

SJ (Guardian)
How about brainstorming more job possibilities? As you consider your most transferable skills, what other possibilities are there? Have you considered (x)? Which job(s) will be a stepping stone(s) to your ideal job?

SP (Artisan)
What are your long-term objectives? What next job(s) will get you to where you want to be 5-10 years from now?

2. Plans Job Search

NT (Rational)
What practical actions do you need to consider taking?

NF (Idealist)
What other pieces of the puzzle might there be? What else?

SJ (Guardian)
What are the broad categories of your job search? What adaptations might you need to make to ensure a successful job search?

SP (Artisan)
What structure do you need in your search to keep you moving forward?

3. Markets & Communicates about Self

NT (Rational)
Which accomplishments involved building and maintaining relationships and/or working successfully with others?

NF (Idealist)
What are your strongest technical abilities? What impact did your accomplishments have on the bottom line?

SJ (Guardian)
How could you say that more succinctly? What are the key points you want to make? How can you connect your accomplishments to other jobs?

SP (Artisan)
What are some examples of how you applied what you learned to avoid future problems?

4. Networks with Others

NT (Rational)
How can you build and nurture your relationships? What are the best ways to show appreciation toward others?

NF (Idealist)
Besides friends and other like-minded people, who else could you to reach out to? What is the desired outcome for your meetings?

SJ (Guardian)
What are the most important things to get out of each meeting? How can you open and close each meeting in a personal way?

SP (Artisan)
What are your most important goals for networking? Which people are most important to talk with first? What did you learn from your meetings?

5. Finds Jobs

NT (Rational)
What companies and job titles are in your tiers 2 & 3? How can you network to get a warm lead to the decision-makers in these companies?

NF (Idealist)
Besides friends, whom else would be important for you to reach out to? What’s most important for you to get from these contacts?

SJ (Guardian)
What steps could you could take to explore the hidden job market?

SP (Artisan)
How can you build consistency into your job search activities? Whom else could you reach out to?

6. Researches Companies

NT (Rational)
With whom could you talk to learn more about these companies? What questions could you ask them to learn more about the company’s culture?

NF (Idealist)
What are some objective ways to gather information about these companies? Who else could you talk with to learn more details?

SJ (Guardian)
With whom could you talk to learn more about the companies’ management style, brand, and culture?

SP (Artisan)
What have you learned about the company’s’ culture? Do they give people freedom to get their work done?

7. Prepares for the Job Interview

NT (Rational)
How will you answer questions about your ability to handle conflict, motivate people, and build relationships?

NF (Idealist)
How did your work contribute to the bottom-line? What are your top competencies? How can you demonstrate that you’re task-focused?

SJ (Guardian)
What have been your greatest accomplishments and what did you learn about your capabilities? How could they be transferable to the job(s)?

SP (Artisan)
How can you show the transferability of your competencies to the job duties? What trends are impacting the jobs/companies?

8. Considers Job Offers

NT (Rational)
What impact will each job have on your lifestyle, family, etc?

NF (Idealist)
What other criteria are important to consider? What’s most important to do now? What do you like most and least about the job(s)?

SJ (Guardian)
How will this position further develop you to achieve your long-term career goal? What risks do you need to take?

SP (Artisan)
What else do you need to know about this job and company? What are the best ways to gather further information? How does this position tie in with your long-term goals?

9.Negotiates Salary

NT (Rational)
How could you engage the decision-maker in your negotiations? What’s most important to them?

NF (Idealist)
What facts could you share with the decision-maker? What do you like most (and least) about the compensation package?

SJ (Guardian)
How much are you worth? What value could you bring to the company?

SP (Artisan)
What information do you need to be successful in your negotiations?

10. Starts New Job

NT (Rational)
–Coaching Questions: What relationships do you need to build to be most effective in this job?

NF (Idealist)
What are some quick wins you could have to show your competence and impact?

SJ (Guardian)
What are your most important goals for the near-term and longer-term? What trends are you seeing in your industry? Who could you delegate some of your work to?

SP (Artisan)
What’s most important for you to accomplish by the 3rd, 6th and 9th months in the job? What’s the strategic plan for your business unit?

Will you let me know how these questions work and share with me your suggestions to improve them? You may reach me at nancy@workplacecoachinstitute.com.

Copyright 2010. Nancy Branton