TL; DR:

Workstyle assessment is a type of personality test to determine which of the following types you fall into:

• Logical, analytical, linear, and data-oriented
• Organized, sequential, planned, and detailed-oriented
• Supportive, expressive, and emotionally oriented
• Big-picture, integrative, and ideation-oriented

In other words, to check if you are a:

• Focuser (Self-Starter)
• Relater (Enthusiastic)
• Integrator (Finisher)
• or an Operator (Detailer)

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Trawling randomly on the internet has its benefits. As you know by now, I am always on the hunt for new ways of improving job-hunting strategies. This week, I discovered a concept called work style assessment and tried to learn a lot about it.

Turns out I'm a 3-4-2-1.

Confused? Read on.

What is work style assessment?

There are a lot of different self-assessments you can take online to try and figure out your personality. The most common ones are the Myers-Briggs test and the DISC test. The work style assessment is based on these to indicate your working style on 18 traits across 5 categories.

Image credits: PAR Inc.

Very simply, this is how it works. You choose answers to a few questions designed to determine what your strongest trait is in each category. Then, these answers determine which type of personality you are out of the following. There are 4 basic types of work styles, as listed by this Fast Company article.

• Logical, analytical, linear, and data-oriented.
• Organized, sequential, planned, and detailed-oriented.
• Supportive, expressive, and emotionally oriented.
• Big-picture, integrative, and ideation-oriented.

Seen another way, these assessments help you (and your employer) figure out if you are a:

• Focuser (Self-Starter)
• Relater (Enthusiastic)
• Integrator (Finisher)
• or an Operator (Detailer)

Don't get worked up on the names. They are just indicators. It is not that one is better than the other; it is that some personalities are more suited towards some tasks. As an example, a relater might be good at roles that require a lot of person-to-person interaction, like sales, customer support, etc.

Who is it for? 

It is for anyone who is interested in learning more about themselves, to try and figure out what sorts of roles they would enjoy and find satisfaction in. It is also for smart employers, managers, leaders who are focused on understanding the reasons that bring out the best in their team. In short, it is for anyone and everyone.

Which is your type? 

Prepare to be surprised. These tests are almost always surprising, sometimes unpleasantly so. Here's the thing - the way we see ourselves, in general, is far different from how others see us. In fact, different people see you differently. How your parents "see" you may be different from how your siblings "see" you; how your friends see you may not be the same as how your colleagues see you.

Again, remember, there is no right or wrong, good or bad when it comes to personalities. You are you, that's all.

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Why is it important?

Have you ever heard anyone say that they feel hopeless at a particular job; that they feel they are not cut out for it? I'm sure you have - it is more common than you may think. However, have you heard someone feel really happy at their role and find great joy at what they do?

You might say they got lucky, but as the saying goes, you can design your own luck. These self-assessments are a part of this design. Imagine this - you know your personality in a way that most others do not, in a way that you can quantify, measure, and manage. Now imagine the strength it gives you. Armed with this info, you can fine-tune the type of job roles, teams, or companies that you would be very happy to work with.

In short, it can help you get AJYL - A Job You Love.

Where to get your work style assessed?

This is the most interesting part, and this is also the part where I circle back to the story from the beginning of this post. I found a website called Teal HQ which provides its own version of the personalities. These are tweaked to make the "18 traits across 5 categories" easy to understand.

Teal HQ makes it simple for you to understand how you are with starting and finishing tasks as well as your focus on people as well as results.

Here are my results.

Image credits: Teal HQ

If you are curious about your personality, go ahead and assess yourself here (referral link). Also, because you know me and may have worked with me, I have a small request.

I’m learning more about how others view the way I work and I’d appreciate your feedback. It’ll only take 3 minutes of your time and you can add your responses here.

When does it matter?

This is simple and straightforward. It matters when:

• you want to know more about yourself.
• you want to figure out what sort of roles you are going to be good at.
• you want to decide if a particular team's or company's culture is going to be a good fit.
• you want to list out smart questions to figure out the culture during a job interview.
• you don't want to take any job that comes your way, but get AJYL - A Job You Love.

In summary, it matters a lot and it matters almost all the time.

Go for it. Know your personality. It's free and it's helpful.

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That's it for today, see you next week with another useful thing.

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