Anyone clued-up on the subject of psychometric profiling will probably have heard of the Myers-Briggs type indicator. While I was browsing Jobsite's interview advice section, one of the questions asked, 'what is your Myers-Briggs profile?' and as I didn't have the slightest idea what it was all about, a quick Google session later and I'm up-to-date on the subject.
After completing the seventy-two questions, I was amazed and intrigued at the same time. The accuracy of my profile stunned me. It was as if someone had looked into a crystal ball and found out everything about me. There are more modern and advanced tests, or supposedly so, but I personally like the original Myers-Briggs type indicator for its simplicity and hard-to-beat correctness.
This test is fun from a personal perspective, but also useful to study and highlight areas of your character that can be improved upon. For instance, I have an inventor-rational profile ENTP and can come up with lots of ideas, but can be distracted by smaller details instead of looking at the bigger picture.
Also, one can use the test as a personal barometer. Since I've worked as a supervisor my profile has changed to ENTJ, which I can only put down to not looking at things from a personal perspective and thinking like a leader.
Go ahead and try the test for yourself.
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp
The Jobsite test I tried was quite interesting, though the full report is too detailed to include here. You get a summary, however, that looks like this:
Jobsite Personal Profile
David, your profile type is:
Contender
As a Contender, you're likely to believe at times it is necessary for work to come before the family, with the knowledge that the family will benefit in the long run from your success.
Thursday, 28 January 2010
Monday, 11 January 2010
Recession Victim
So if I'm that much of a whizz kid , what am I doing out of work and looking for a job? I'm a firm believer in making your own luck, in the sense of being persistent and not giving in. If you keep on trying you will always have a chance of succeeding at the very least, even if it's a small one. However, It's just my luck that when I get my foot in the door - along comes the recession and slams it shut in my face. Whilst making good progress at work and a good impression with the boss, it was decided that myself and another supervisor, two contracts managers and the director were going to form the backbone of the company. Even training was organised for me to upgrade my CSCS card to Supervisor and enroll on a NVQ3 in Site Supervision. Fast forward three months and everyone had been finished except the director and one guy in the office. This was due to all current contracts expiring and no new work coming in to keep the company going.
At any other period in time, my career would have been progressing smoothly, but construction is always hit hard in a recession. The only positive thing is that this is through no fault of my own and when things pick up I can have my job back - unless someone reads this and gives me a fresh start!
I guess one has to remain positive in these situations and accept that there are many others far worse off. Once 2010 gets underway and confidence builds there must surely be better prospects of finding work. Can't wait to get back on site to finish my NVQ; a first aid certificate will come in handy too. A five-day SMSTS is getting to be a standard requirement in job posts nowadays and this is high on my to-do list even if I have to fund the course myself.
At any other period in time, my career would have been progressing smoothly, but construction is always hit hard in a recession. The only positive thing is that this is through no fault of my own and when things pick up I can have my job back - unless someone reads this and gives me a fresh start!
I guess one has to remain positive in these situations and accept that there are many others far worse off. Once 2010 gets underway and confidence builds there must surely be better prospects of finding work. Can't wait to get back on site to finish my NVQ; a first aid certificate will come in handy too. A five-day SMSTS is getting to be a standard requirement in job posts nowadays and this is high on my to-do list even if I have to fund the course myself.
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Why Employ Me?
Construction is in my blood, it's what I do best and a building site is where I feel most at home in the workplace. Today it dawned on me that since I've taken the step up into management and left the tools behind, there hasn't been one single day that I didn't want to go to work. I've enjoyed every moment. In contrast, when I was a joiner I hated not so much going to work, but just knowing that I was capable of much more.
It's easy with hindsight, but looking back now I wish I'd made the leap much sooner. This I put down to a lack of confidence and belief in my ability. Now when I look around at work and see how many senior figures there are just coasting through their careers, not even trying, or so it seems, I feel much better about myself.
So why employ me then? Well, you can always ask one of my referees for an unbiased opinion, but it would surprise me if they weren't positive about me. In fact, it would be a real shock as I always try and be a good employee. There are a few reasons for this although to be succinct, I'm basically a nice person with good old-fashioned values like manners, honesty and pride in my work. However, from a personal point of view, doing everything to the best of my ability is very important. Being a perfectionist isn't easy, though. In fact, it's a losing battle because nothing is without fault and this is something I've learned to live with rather than drive myself mad over half a millimetre.
It's easy with hindsight, but looking back now I wish I'd made the leap much sooner. This I put down to a lack of confidence and belief in my ability. Now when I look around at work and see how many senior figures there are just coasting through their careers, not even trying, or so it seems, I feel much better about myself.
So why employ me then? Well, you can always ask one of my referees for an unbiased opinion, but it would surprise me if they weren't positive about me. In fact, it would be a real shock as I always try and be a good employee. There are a few reasons for this although to be succinct, I'm basically a nice person with good old-fashioned values like manners, honesty and pride in my work. However, from a personal point of view, doing everything to the best of my ability is very important. Being a perfectionist isn't easy, though. In fact, it's a losing battle because nothing is without fault and this is something I've learned to live with rather than drive myself mad over half a millimetre.
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