How do you choose a career exploration tool that matches your personality and goals?

Align passion, purpose, and talent. What are you great at or could care enough about to get great at that can solve problems you perceive or make your world a better place? Figure this out, and much clarity may present itself on the other side. Also, always he skating to where the puck is headed.

I am a fan of using an enneagram assessment for this. We can find good direction when we know what motivates and inspires us. Gaining awareness around one's strengths and challenges based on your enneagram results can feel quite liberating and justifying. My clients often report back that they have never felt so connected to themselves in a clear and concise way. It is empowering to have words to describe your optimal work environment and how you best work with others. We often go about it the wrong way. We find jobs and ask questions to understand their environment better. But what if we know how we work best and then see what matches that?

There are so many career planning tools available and they all range in type and cost. Some are independent while others require the assistance. Some are free while others cost money. A sample of these types of tools can be a SWOT analysis, Career Testing & Personality Tests. Career planning tools can help you determine what jobs might interest you, what jobs are available in your field of interest and what skills you already have that are transferable to a career. Additionally, career planning tools can help establish a path to obtain a job, guiding you through the necessary educational and experience-based steps.

Assessments like DISC & MBTI (Meyers-Briggs) are only personality assessments. The most holistic tool I know is the YouMap Career Profile Assessment (2020 career innovator award winner). With 4 assessments in 1: top 5 Strengths from StrengthsFinder (which is a statistically valid tool) explaining HOW you do what you do with your natural talents, Values or WHY you do what you do, helping with values-aligned choices; your "motivated" & "burn-out" Skills or WHAT you like to do, & a Personality assessment (the Holland), telling you WHO you are. Personality assessments only give you 1 pillar of career satisfaction and this gives you a complete picture of YOU. Before investing time and money check it out.

There is a saying, "It is hard to read the label when you are inside of the jar." A qualified coach may be able to help you interpret your results in a way you can use the results of assessments both personally and professionally.

We often want to try and go about understanding the results ourselves. And sometimes that can work. But more often than not, I hear clients say they have tried it solo but can't make enough sense of it and wish they would have sought help earlier. Time is money... and many of us have limited resources for both. Invest in yourself early. The return is way better than going at it solo.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket! Take several assessments from different sources. This gives you a more complete picture of your strengths and what makes you tick. According to me, the best career exploration tool is the one that helps you discover what makes YOU special and guides you towards a path that feels fulfilling. It's like finding that perfect vacation spot – a place where you can truly be yourself and thrive.