Career Fitness

1. Mental Exercise: Discover and Define your Personality Strengths

When it comes to career decisions, it makes sense to begin by discovering and defining your strengths. Research indicates when individuals apply their strengths; they have the most potential to perform their best. Personality assessments help individuals know and differentiate themselves. I recommend three assessments:

  • Authentichappiness.org – Try the VIA scale. This free scale measures character strengths and virtues, listing 5 signature strengths.
  • Strengthsfinder2.0 – Created by the renowned Gallup organization, this scale identifies at least 5 major personality strengths.
  • The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator – Based on Carl Jung’s Personality type theory. Users come away with a greater understanding of their unique personality strengths.

Taking one or more of these insightful assessments will equip you with an inventory of qualities to relate to interviewers.

2. Do the 3BCQ Exercise: Three Big Career Questions

Take the time to answer the Three Big Career Questions. When you’re finished, look for patterns and redundancies in your answers. They are indicators of career strengths and passions. Here’s an example:

  • What Do I Value? Helping others, Working with youth, learning new things, information
  • What do I Enjoy? Helping people with career decisions, being with young people, reading and learning, knowing random information
  • What am I good at? Helping and mentoring, giving advice, learning, remembering info, collecting random info

3. Collect “Me at My Best” stories.

These are stories that demonstrate pivotal events such as overcoming adversities and insurmountable obstacles, significant accomplishments, and tough-it-out issues. These stories reveal to listeners your natural and inner strengths. Tell these stories to someone you trust and admire. Ask the listener to tell you what the story reveals to them about you. These stories tell others the content of your personality and character.

Photo Courtesy of Orlando Sentinel