Learning more about yourself can be tough. It's so easy to observe others to learn what makes them tick, what areas they really excel in, and the things they could be better at. Doing that to yourself, however, is a whole different story. That's exactly why it can sometimes be helpful to hear an outside perspective. When trying to determine your own strengths and weaknesses, you could, of course, ask friends and family what they think, but honestly? It's way more fun to take a personality quiz. Few things are more satisfying than answering a long series of questions that seem pointless, only to get a response that seems to describe you perfectly. Lucky for you, there are so many personality quizzes out there that can help you determine your strengths.
Personality quizzes can seem like silly online games, but the best ones can actually be pretty helpful. Sure, these don't see into your soul and I wouldn't recommend using them as the only basis for every huge decision in your life, but they can definitely open your eyes to certain traits you have that you don't really think about otherwise. In fact, many personality tests are actually used in the job hiring process to determine whether someone is a good fit for a certain position or not.
The key to really determining your strengths is to finding a good personality quiz that really gets you. You're not going to figure out what you're good at by taking a quiz in five minutes — you have a better chance of figuring that out with a longer test that might take some time, but will give seriously interesting results. Below are a few personality tests that will help you determine your strengths — as well as many other things.
1Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
When you think of personality tests, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is probably the first thing you think of. It's one of the more popular personality quizzes out there, and is often referenced, especially online. This test was created by Katherine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Myers, and is based on the ideas of psychoanalyst Carl Jung. The Jungian philosophy believes that people understand the world through sensation, intuition, feeling, and thinking, but that one of those is the most powerful for each person.
The MBTI determines your preferences, interests, values, needs, and motivation. It also gives you your strengths and weaknesses. The assessment is super popular and considered fairly reliable, and can be really interesting.
2Disc Assessment
The DISC assessment is based on the ideas of psychologists William Marston and Walter Clarke. It evaluates your behavior and focuses on the traits of dominance, inducement, submission, and compliance (hence, DISC). The DISC assessment is often used by companies in the hiring process to learn more about an applicant or to figure out if they are right for that job or not. This is because it's a pretty good way to judge someone's strengths and weaknesses. If you want to learn more about what you're good at, this is a good place to start.
3Sokanu Career Assessment
The Sokanu Career Assessment test is obviously more for job purposes than anything else. Still, it can teach you some interesting things about the way you work, so if you're looking for career-related strengths, this is a great one to take. It's very in-depth, and will actually take you about 30 minutes to complete. At the end, the assessment will give you options for your "best" career, which can definitely be things to consider.
4The MAPP Career Assessment Test
The MAPP (Motivational Appraisal Personal Potential) Career Assessment Test is, obviously, a career test. It takes about 20 minutes, asks a series of questions about your likes and dislikes, and then gives you an idea of the best job for you, as well as your skills, how you perform certain tasks, how you deal with people, and things you would enjoy.
5The Enneagram Type Indicator
You may have heard of the Enneagram Type Indicator lately, as it has been growing in popularity. The test gives you your basic personality type, and is based on the idea that everyone is born with one trait that dominates their personality, no matter what. That trait makes us who we are. The test acknowledges that you might see yourself in many different types, and you might have those traits — but in the end, that one basic type is the most important. It's an interesting assessment of who you are and what you're good at.
6Hexaco Personality Inventory
The Hexaco Personality Inventory tests six different characteristics: humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. It's definitely an interesting way to find out more about yourself.
7Innovation Quotient Edge (IQE)
What makes the Innovation Quotient Edge (IQE) different is that it's the only personality test that helps you discover your natural strengths, then gives you ideas on how to best perform them, as well as how to bring more innovative thinking into your life. The IQE is based on research that says that everyone is capable of being more innovative, it's just that how we go about that is different for each person. According to the test, there are nine triggers of innovation, and you have to find your top two power triggers to get to your Innovator Archetype. If you really want to find out more about your strengths, this is one of the best tests you can take.
8The Revised Neo Personality Inventory
The Revised Neo Personality Inventory, (Neo Pi-R) is a revised version of the Neo Personality Theory, developed by Paul Costa and Robert McCrae. It evaluates people based on a few different traits: extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. If it sounds similar to the Hexaco theory, it's because it kind of is — but it also assesses descriptive adjectives under categories. It's pretty comprehensive and delivers some interesting results.
9The Personality Assessment System
The Personality Assessment System (PAS) was developed by former CIA psychologist John W. Gittinger. It assesses personality profiles, and is a great test to take if you're looking for your skills and strengths. It uses the Wechsler Scales subtests to figure out your personality. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale gets character information, considering character formation and development, and gives psychological information.
10The “You Just Get Me” test
The "You Just Get Me" test was created by professional psychologists and has been recommended by the New York Times. After 40 fairly simply questions, it gives you a pretty thorough assessment of your personality traits, which is a great way to determine your strengths and weaknesses. It also gives a personality bubble chart that shows you which trait you possess the most and least strongly.
11Strengths Finders
If you're looking for your strengths, you can't do better than a test called Strength Finders. This one helps you discover your natural strengths, as well as the strategies that will help you use them to improve in life. It's based on the idea that we all have natural strengths, and when we know what they are, we can understand how to apply them to do our best in work and life in general. It's all about not focusing on your weaknesses.
