So how do I work?

While at LMM, I was lucky enough to take part in a psychometric test, to find out exactly how I work, what my strengths were, and importantly for me, where I could work on my skill set to make me more employable in the future.  The truth is that I have never really got on with these tests… I did a few while applying for Graduate roles, and while I am ok on the maths and reasoning side of it, the personality questions usually show an ‘exaggerated’ or ‘false’ response.  I always try and answer them with total honestly, but obviously deep down I am thinking about what the job would require, rather than what I actually believe, so that is tip number one… Always go with your first response! At least that way you are assured of the most accurate results.

So, I went into this particular test, the People Clues Assessment  with a very open mind… I had an idea about what sort of person I was, about how I work, and about where I needed to improve, but I was very interested to see what the test thought about me.  The test took about 40 minutes to complete and consisted of a numerical test (30 questions in seven minutes), a rating exercise where I rated a response as either most or least like me, and a numerical reasoning exercise.  It was pretty tough, and where possible, I tried not to think about my answer, but choose the option which was the most obvious to me.

The results were worrying similar to my personal perceptions about myself, which I guess means that it works!  I came out as a very organised, adaptable, friendly team player.  I find it relatively simple to take on new information and solve problems with my own initiative.  However, when making decisions, I some times try to please everyone, and I tend to try and avoid conflict before it becomes an issue.  Thats what the report says… and in terms of my typical behavior, I think its pretty close.

So now I have some good points to work on… I need to make decisions with less information, need to try and work in non-threatening environments which encourage me to speak my opinion and to attempt to work more on my own.  I have always worked in teams (apart from my paper-round), so I guess this is something that will come as the Apprentice takes on more responsibility.  However, in all, I was pretty pleased with the results… and it restored my faith in this form of testing.  While I may have not appreciated it while a Graduate applying for every role under the sun, it has a vital role in understanding what decisions an individual will make when under pressure, and ultimately how they would cope within a particular situation.  That information is key in employment situations, and now that I am armed with some tips on how I make sure that my ‘development factors’ can be achieved, I aim to make myself a very employable candidate by the end of my time as the Graduate Apprentice. 

The test was run by Davo Ruthven-Stuart, a consulting partner at Personal Consultancy Solutions, and I want to thank him for his time in explaining my results.  I am sure that it will have a significant impact on my future career… where-ever that may be.