How can you personalize self-assessment tools for your industry?

1 Choose the right tool

The first step is to choose a self-assessment tool that matches your industry's needs and expectations. There are many types of self-assessment tools available, such as personality tests, skills inventories, career interest inventories, and values assessments. Some tools are more general and applicable to any industry, while others are more specific and tailored to certain fields or roles. For example, if you work in the creative industry, you might benefit from a tool that measures your creative thinking style, such as the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory. On the other hand, if you work in the healthcare industry, you might prefer a tool that assesses your emotional intelligence, such as the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test.

3 Interpret the results

The third step is to interpret the results of the self-assessment tool in relation to your industry's standards and expectations. The results of a self-assessment tool might give you a score, a profile, or a feedback report that summarizes your characteristics, abilities, or preferences. However, these results might not tell you how they compare to your industry's norms or benchmarks. Therefore, you need to do some research and analysis to understand how your results fit into your industry's context. For example, if you are using a career interest inventory that tells you that you have a high interest in artistic occupations, you need to find out what kinds of artistic occupations are available and in demand in your industry. Similarly, if you are using a values assessment that tells you that you value autonomy and flexibility, you need to explore what kinds of work arrangements and environments offer those values in your industry.

4 Apply the insights

The fourth and final step is to apply the insights from the self-assessment tool to your personal development plan. The insights from the self-assessment tool can help you set realistic and meaningful goals, identify your strengths and areas for improvement, choose suitable learning opportunities and resources, and evaluate your progress and achievements. However, these insights are only valuable if you act on them and use them to guide your actions and decisions. For example, if you are using a personality test that tells you that you are an introvert who prefers working independently, you can use this insight to seek projects and tasks that match your preference, or to communicate your needs and expectations to your manager and team members. Likewise, if you are using a skills inventory that tells you that you have a gap in a certain skill that is important for your industry, you can use this insight to enroll in a training course, find a mentor, or practice the skill on your own.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?