Do you want to know what you are good at – your real strengths, that underlay who you are, not just what you think are your strengths?

Dan Pick, author of 5 best-selling business books including Drive took the Johnson O’Connor series of aptitude tests which confirmed he could generate ideas quickly and finds it hard to concentrate on complex tasks.
He was at a cross roads, unsure whether to move on from work as a speechwriter. He spent 9 hours over 2 days, taking short worksamples, like those used in the Highlands Ability Battery, which is based on this assessment process but available to take via a computer and through consultants like me.
His results included – high idea productivity, high classification, low structural visualisation suggested communication type work such as journalism, teaching, and advertising would be good choices, especially work that also uses his numerical aptitudes. He had other key abilities that could be used in a hobby, not necessarily work.

“As the results unfolded, the real value of the test seemed less in helping me decide precisely where to work than in confirming I had landed in more or less the right field. Had I been an unhappy architect or aerospace engineer, this test certainly would have helped me figure out why (if the crumbling houses and crashing planes hadn’t already tipped me off).”
“Aptitude tests can’t tell you exactly where to go with your life, but they do offer a compass to indicate whether you’re heading in a sensible direction. And sometimes that’s not a bad idea. As any ideaphoric person would surely agree.”

This assessment, like the Highlands Ability Battery, results in positive feedback from many. Every week I hear back from clients who tell me the benefits gained from the assessment. Recently Natalie sent me this review:

I undertook the Highlands Ability Battery with Denise over a year ago now. I was searching for natural ability testing, with the intention of changing careers, and up popped Denise at Amazing People.
I’ve been in the same career since the age of 16. Whilst I am good at my job, I always felt like something was just… missing. I was frustrated, and my needs were somehow not being met by my circumstances. I just couldn’t pin point which needs were being neglected though. I didn’t know what I was passionate about, what I was naturally good at. I was just totally lost – stuck in the system! So the HAB was a perfect starting point for my journey.
The HAB was a bit of a revelation to me. It explained so much – my results enabled me to make a lot of connections between all of the struggles and frustrations I’d had in life, and it explained a lot of my successes too.
There were areas that I had strong abilities in that had just never presented themselves to me for multiple reasons – because they weren’t part of my self-perception, because my upbringing didn’t include the opportunity to explore them, because I had notice a difference in myself versus my peers and thought some were actually weaknesses. The HAB really built my confidence to try new things and trust in myself.
Denise’s advice following the assessment was very valuable, she gave me ideas on how to incorporate what I’d found out into my existing career and how to get more out of life. I have been able to plan my career with much better focus, I’m now taking up hobbies to satisfy the abilities that I don’t use at work.

I’ve been slowly applying what I’ve learnt from the HAB and Denise, and reflecting on the outcomes. It has been so interesting! I’ve learnt how to work with my weaker areas by using my strengths to balance them off. In the last year, I have been able to study efficiently and pass an exam I’d previously failed multiple times. I’ve tried new hobbies out and, even at the first attempt, get good results straight away. I’ve had success in my work by simply trusting in myself more.
I continue to contact Denise every now and then along my journey! We have since carried out the Strong Interest Inventory and she’s been to my workplace to help my colleagues too. She is so approachable and knowledgeable, she has given me a very fresh perspective. I now feel like I’m well on my way to discovering myself and my career happiness.
Natalie
If you are interested in learning more about the Highlands Ability Battery assessment, you can arrange an enquiry call using this link. Denise has been a Highlands Consultant since May 2002 (nearly 15 years!)

Published On: February 2nd, 2017 / Categories: Assessments, Career Discovery /

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