Success Through Data

SET UP FOR SUCCESS

HOW DATA CAN HELP YOU MAKE THE RIGHT CAREER DECISION

STORY BY ANTHONY GARZILLI

Finding the best career for you can be a challenge, but science is helping make those decisions a little bit easier.

Through a mix of assessments, professional development leaders can help you find the path to a perfect career. These assessments help a professional development expert understand a person’s strengths and help guide them to reach their professional goals.

Beth Bloom, a certified professional development expert and founder and president of Bloom Institute Inc., uses a variety of assessments, but her favorites are the Birkman Method, and the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument.

“I believe these two assessments are the best assessments to help us understand ourselves,” she said.

Birkman, a behavioral and occupational assessment company, uses the “Careertyping” method that measures how we behave. The HBDI system measures how we think and communicate, Bloom said.

“Used in conjunction, this gives me a deeper understanding of a person, before I even meet them,” Bloom said. “This is extremely valuable as I can quickly assess the individual’s strengths, needs and stress behavior and how they think and communicate under those situations.

“Communication is one of the most important skills to master as we meet diverse people along our journey, particularly as we approach our adult years in college and in business.”

Careertyping involves the “analysis of the unique parts of one’s personality to form hypotheses about their most fitting careers,” according to Birkman’s website. The method’s reports generate hypotheses you can make about your future, such as: • How I best learn. • Careers I am most interested in exploring. • My top strengths. • The types of people and environments that make me feel most comfortable. • The activities I should pursue and which should I avoid.

According to the HBDI website, the way individuals and teams think “guides their learning and work.”

“Using diverse thought is the key to strategic success,” Bloom said.

Whole Brain Thinking means being able to “fully leverage one’s own preferences,” stretch our perceptions

and adapt to improve learning, performance and results, the HBDI website said.

“Employers are looking for potential employees who are the best examples of those who already work within the organization,” Bloom said.

They are looking for the best “fit”; those who can do the job well and also influence others to do their job.

Assessments give potential employers valuable insights that will help them decide if you’re the right fit.

“By sharing these assessments with an interviewer and or potential employer, you are enforcing the fact that you understand yourself and others and can work as a team player,” Bloom said.

The assessments, combined with her coaching, helps individuals and teams behave and communicate productively with diverse populations, Bloom said.

Bloom said she also uses a Professional Presence Assessment to assess how an individual projects themselves to the world. This assessment helps “package” a person by creating a “professional image” or “personal brand,” she said.

Coupled with their enhanced behavior and communication skills, Bloom said an individual’s image is then consistent with their personal and professional goals.