VoSPA (Vocational Style & Personality Assessment)

Report for: John Smith
Completion: August 9, 2012 at 1:03 pm

introduction

graphs

detailed results

career matches

Now more than ever, people are defining themselves by their work. With 40 plus hours a week of work becoming the norm for many, it has become increasingly important that people find jobs with which they are compatible, and ultimately enjoy doing. A career mismatch can lead to a great deal of frustration and unhappiness. Across all jobs and careers, it is clear that people who enjoy their work tend to be better at what they do. We take this principle as the premise of this Career Path & Aptitude Assessment. Aiming to measure particular aspects of John's values and preferences and match him with jobs that he would likely excel at, this assessment can help broaden his understanding of the available jobs out there.

The results for the assessment will be structured in the following manner: First you will receive a description of John's career interests. These will also be ranked from most to least important. Second, you will receive information about John's intelligence types, which are the areas that he is either most naturally skilled in or the areas in which he has best developed his abilities. These will be ordered from his most skilled areas to his least skilled areas. Thirdly, you will find John's values and work styles. These include information about what he considers important to accomplish in his career and what drives him, and a description of the type of employee he would be. In the last section, John's career picks identified by the test will be listed, along with a description of what the job entails, and information about salary and job requirements. The job titles, descriptions and basic information provided are taken from the O*NET database, created by the U.S. Department of Labor. You can find more information about the recommended careers at the online O*NET Resource Center

In terms of the careers to which this assessment matched John, it is important that he try to picture actually doing each job that he is matched with. Questions he may want to ask himself are:

"Where could I live if I had this job?"
"What would my day-to-day duties consist of?"
"Would I be proud to tell my friends or family that this is how I make a living?"
"Do I see myself doing this job well?"
"Do I see myself being happy while doing this job?"
"Would it satisfy my intellectual needs, financial needs, and mesh with my values?"
"For how long could I imagine myself working at each of these jobs? Could I enjoy this for a year, 5 years, 10 years, or my entire working life?"

John may not be able to answer some of the questions listed above depending on how much he knows about each career. We recommend that he conduct some of his own research on the careers and fields that interest him. Even if he thinks he has a good idea of what a particular job means on a day-to-day basis, he might want to check again - duties often change with the times and technology, and the definition of what it means to hold that job might have changed significantly. In terms of long-term job satisfaction, it is essential to have a clear idea about what his day-to-day duties will include should he choose that occupation.

VoSPA (Vocational Style & Personality Assessment)

Report for: John Smith
Completion: August 9, 2012 at 1:03 pm

introduction

graphs

detailed results

career matches

Interests

Conventional

Investigative

Social

Artistic

Enterprising

Realistic

Intelligence Types

Linguistic

Interpersonal

Logical

Intrapersonal

Naturalistic

Existential

Musical

Mathematical

Spatial

Bodily-Kinesthetic

Values

Achievement

Not important

Very important

Recognition

Not important

Very important

Independence

Not important

Very important

Teamwork

Not important

Very important

Altruism

Not important

Very important

Work Styles

The Entrepreneur

Not descriptive

Very descriptive

The Generalist vs. Specialist

Generalist

Specialist

The Steadfast Worker

Not descriptive

Very descriptive

The Master of Details

Not descriptive

Very descriptive

The Stoic Rock

Not descriptive

Very descriptive

The Adapter

Not descriptive

Very descriptive

The Innovator

Not descriptive

Very descriptive

The Initiator

Not descriptive

Very descriptive

The Achiever

Not descriptive

Very descriptive

The Leader

Not descriptive

Very descriptive

VoSPA (Vocational Style & Personality Assessment)

Report for: John Smith
Completion: August 9, 2012 at 1:03 pm

introduction

graphs

detailed results

career matches

In this section, you will find detailed information about John's career interests, intelligence types, values, and work styles.

Career Interests

Below are John's results on the Career Interests. His career interests are the type of tasks that he would enjoy doing on daily basis or, to put it more broadly, the general "theme" of a typical work day. These interests are known as the "Holland Codes".

Primary Interest

Conventional

Those with a Conventional personality are considered the "organizers". These are people who thrive on structure, and can create order out of chaos. Organizers tackle everything in life in a step-by-step manner, and tend to be masters at tasks that require an eye for detail and absolute precision. They are often known to have a knack for clerical tasks.

Typical Characteristics:

Methodical
Conscientious
Detail-oriented
Efficient
Conforming
Persistent

Secondary Interest

Investigative

Those with an Investigative personality are considered the "thinkers". These are people who enjoy solving problems, analyzing information, exploring, and conducting experiments. They thrive on mind-boggling, complex challenges and putting their intellectual skills to the test. Investigators are on a constant learning curve, continuously adding to their well of knowledge.

Typical Characteristics:

Inquisitive
Analytical
Observant
Logical
Intellectual
Meticulous

Intelligence Types

Below are John's results on the Intelligence Types section. When investigating different jobs, he should consider the benefit of focusing on those that take advantage of his strengths. Evidently, he is more likely to excel in a career in which the type of intelligence he possesses is an advantage.

Primary Intelligence Type

Linguistic

Individuals with linguistic intelligence have a highly developed capacity to use words effectively in writing or in speech, as well as the ability to persuade, remember information, and explain. They possess excellent writing skills, are good at expressing themselves, and may have a knack for learning languages. They understand things best when they are put into words, and probably read more than most people. At a young age, they probably picked up vocabulary quickly and learned to read quite easily.

Common capacities and strengths, or interests:

Advanced vocabulary
Writing
Spelling
Playing with words
Public speaking, Journalism
Convincing others
Teaching, explaining
Debating
Languages
Good memory for quotes, people's names, etc.
Telling jokes and stories
Reading, story-telling
Word games, puns
Crossword puzzles or games such as Scrabble ®

Famous people with Linguistic Intelligence:

William Shakespeare (playwright)
Barbara Walters (broadcast journalist)
Martin Luther King Jr. (activist, clergyman)
Robert Frost (poet)
Jerry Seinfeld (actor, comedian)
Abraham Lincoln (16th President of the United States)

Secondary Intelligence Type

Interpersonal

Interpersonal intelligence is the capacity to understand and interact effectively with others. This intelligence involves the ability to discern the moods, temperaments, dispositions, motivations, and desires of other people and respond appropriately. This is the "people-person" intelligence. It involves skills such as effective communication, working together with others towards a common goal, and noticing distinctions among individuals. People with this intelligence tend to have a talent for interpreting and understanding the feelings of others. They learn best when involved in team activities and cooperative ventures.

Common capacities and strengths, or interests:

Extroverted, cooperative
Sought out by others for advice and counseling
Good communication and social skills
Empathy/sensitivity to others' feelings, moods, motivations (social insight)
Leadership ability
Negotiating skills
Socializing
Group activities, brainstorming
Social sciences, teaching, training, coaching, politics, social work
Talking over problems with someone else rather than alone

Famous people with Interpersonal Intelligence:

Oprah Winfrey (talk show host, actress, entrepreneur)
Winston Churchill (politician, writer, historian)
Florence Nightingale (nurse and health-care reformer)
Erich Fromm (Sociologist)
John F. Kennedy (politician)
Mother Teresa (humanitarian)

Influencing Intelligence Types

Logical

Individuals with logical intelligence tend to possess excellent reasoning skills. They can easily recognize and solve problems using logical patterns to categorize, infer, make generalizations, and test hypotheses. This intelligence is most often associated with scientific thinking. People with this intelligence type enjoy playing with abstract and logical ideas. They learn best by approaching each problem as a puzzle to be solved.

Common capacities and strengths, or interests:

Good sense of cause and effect
Abstract pattern recognition; symbolic thought
Inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, sequential reasoning
Finding relationships and connections
Scientific reasoning; proposing and testing hypotheses
Logical thinking
Deciphering codes, solving mysteries, strategy games
Problem-solving
Keeping things in order
Curious about how things work
Logic puzzles, games of strategy (e.g. chess)
Solving scientific/technological problems
IT-related stuff, science

Famous people with Logical Intelligence:

Albert Einstein (physicist)
Bill Gates (computer tycoon)
Mae Jamison (female astronaut, chemical engineer, and medical doctor)
Galileo Galilei (physicist, astronomer)
Thomas Edison (inventor)
Sherlock Holmes (famous detective character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Work Styles and Values

Below are John's results on the Styles and Values section. They can offer helpful information about what's important to him in a job, and the type of employee he would be.

The Generalist vs. Specialist

According to John's answers, he seems to fall in between the Generalist and the Specialist type career path. He may want to focus on one or two areas, but does not want to box himself in too much at this point. Both Generalists (people who like to try out a number of different positions during their career and who wish to develop a variety of skill areas) and Specialists (people who like to develop their career in a particular job and become experts in that field) have their positive and negative aspects. See below for more information.

Pros of Generalist career path:

Offers more variety and adventure than the typical, more linear career path
Allows for the development of a variety of skill sets
Less likely to get into a career rut
Takes advantage of different aspects of intelligence and interests
Allows people to become more flexible and develop learning techniques

Cons of Generalist career path:

May at times prevent people from climbing the ranks in any one organization
CVs can look scattered to potential employers
Might appear to lack commitment
Prevents development of expertise in any one particular area
Starting over in a new career or company can be stressful

Pros of Specialist career path:

A linear career path makes it easier to climb the career ladder
Allows for a person to become a real expert in his or her field
Employers often value employees who devote themselves to one job
Loyalty is often rewarded financially

Cons of Specialist career path:

May at times lead to boredom if the person is not in the right field
CVs can appear to lack depth and variety
Development of expertise can be overly focused in one particular area
Can make it difficult to adjust to forced changes, i.e., job losses, changes in
technologies, etc.

The Entrepreneur

This assessment identified that John has the potential makings of an entrepreneur. Although he didn't score at the highest level on this scale, he might have what it takes to carve out his own niche in the world and to start a business. Entrepreneurs are special kind of people who have a special kind of job. In order to succeed as an entrepreneur, John has to be skilled and talented in multiple disciplines and have the willingness to work long hours. In addition to needing people skills, business sense, a strong work ethic, and good ideas, entrepreneurs also must be willing to take calculated risks. Inherent in this risk-taking is the possibility of losing everything and having to start over again. On the flip side, entrepreneurs have the highest potential for earnings and monetary success.

Keep in mind that having some of the makings of an entrepreneur does not mean that John is ready to drop everything and start up a business. There is no foolproof manual or higher-up to guide his progress and make decisions for him. He will need to learn as he goes, make mistakes, and learn from them. That being said, it's essential that he do his homework prior to starting a project or business. There is no guarantee of success - regardless of the brilliance of the idea, the people John has working for him, or the strength of the market. The risk involved in starting a business is precisely what makes the thought of being an entrepreneur so terrifying to some, and so exciting to others.

In addition, simply having entrepreneurial potential does not mean that John has to become one. There are many people happily employed by others who would make excellent entrepreneurs, but choose not to take that path for any number of reasons. It is worth noting that being an entrepreneur does not have to be a full time job - there are ways John can act as a mini-entrepreneur. One such example is people who are known as freelancers. Instead of starting a business around a product, freelancers are essentially their own business, their product either being their time, talents, ideas, or skills. If John doesn't feel completely comfortable with the risk factors of entrepreneurialism, or if he doesn't think he has a strong enough concept to create a business around, he can always freelance his talents. Many people are employed part time and freelance their work part-time. There is no magic formula to going it alone; everyone has different security needs and different ideas of what makes them happy.

The following is a list of the pros and cons of working as an entrepreneur:

Pros:

Freedom to make own decisions
Ability to make own schedule
Potential for great financial payoff
A sense of ownership over career
A good outlet for personal creativity and ingenuity
A good opportunity to dabble in a number of different aspects of business
Working for self rather than for an organization

Cons:

Financially risky to start a business; many start-ups fail
Having to endure hardship while in the initial, difficult start-up phase

Values

Below are John's results on the Values section. His values define what is important to him to achieve in his career and the type of characteristics that he might look for in a company.

The following is a list of John's Influencing values - while he may not have scored extremely high on them, they can still have a slight impact on his life. If he so chooses, he could potentially make these values play a much more significant role in his actions and decisions.

Influencing Values

Achievement

People with high Achievement values are driven by a sense of satisfaction at reaching goals or rising up to meet challenges at work. What those challenges are depends specifically on each individual - they could range from making a big sale to successfully managing a team or designing a new product. They are typically energized by the opportunity to move up or advance in their career in some way, and enjoy excelling at their chosen endeavor. Goals, either their own personal objectives or those set by the company they're working for, give them the fuel they need to progress. As for character traits, person with this motivator likely have high self-confidence, an on-going desire to better themselves, a proactive approach, and a positive outlook. They possess true devotion to goals and want to stick things through.

Things that can hinder or sidetrack achievement-oriented people:

Not knowing what is expected of them.
Lack of alignment between organizational goals and personal goals.
Lack of opportunities to improve their skills.
Stagnation.
Lack of feedback about their performance.
Lack of recognition.
Colleagues who are too laidback and not pulling their weight. Sharing credit with slackers when it comes to teamwork.

Recognition

Individuals motivated by Recognition want to feel valued and see the visible signs that others are grateful for their work. This does not necessarily mean any public recognition, but involves acknowledgment at a root-level of the organization - they want encouragement from their boss, co-workers, clients or anyone else their work might affect directly. Essentially, they are driven by the positive feelings they get from the knowledge that they are making a valuable, recognized contribution to the company. While they don't need their praises sung daily, a more regular form of appreciation would keep them energized.

Things that can hinder or sidetrack recognition-oriented people:

Unfairness, credit-hoggers.
Managers who only give negative feedback (or no feedback at all), and don't praise for a job well done.
Disapproval and criticism.
A high need for approval, dependency issues, and selective attention to negative feedback.

Work Styles

Below are John's results on the Work Styles section. They characterize the type of employee he would be - namely, what would drive him and the type of assets he would bring to a company. In essence, his work style can be considered his "professional identity".

Primary Work Style

The Master of Details

As their name implies, people with this work style are incredibly meticulous. Tasks and projects that require painstaking, precise work or simply have a lot of small but important details to cover are perfect for these sharp-eyed workers. Although their meticulous tendencies could sometimes border on perfectionism, or occasionally cause them to lose sight of the big picture, these are workers who would excel in jobs that require strict quality control.

Influencing Work Styles

The Steadfast Worker

Steadfast workers are always there when needed. They are highly dependable, and will be the go-to people when someone is in a pinch - these are people who can be trusted to get a job done to the best of their abilities. They are loyal, hardworking people who strive to put in a steady effort, and may even go above and beyond the call of duty on some occasions. Steadfast workers often become the solid foundation beneath the success of many companies, thanks to their unwavering effort, dependability, and dedication.

The Innovator

Those with an Innovator work style frequently turn old ideas on their ear and come up with a creative, new approach to a tired old problem. Their remarkable insight allows them to perceive opportunities that others might miss. Their innovative attitude can not only inspire creativity, but also helps in the problem-solving process. Innovators tend to be creative, open to new ideas, and can approach projects and problems in an inventive manner, which is essential in dynamic job fields where staying fresh and new is crucial to success.

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