Find a career that exercises your innate abilities

The Hidden Reason Employees Quit

Today’s average employee stays at the job a mere 1.5 years, according to recent Department of Labor statistic. Are managers doing that bad a job of engaging and retaining their people? Is this rate of turnover simply the new norm? Is it due to an increase in carer dissatisfaction?

Job satisfaction is also related to ability-based career profile matching

Job dissatisfaction causes workers to quit job

There are hundreds of books about the causes of career dissatisfaction, yet a whopping 89% of managers still think low pay is the reason most employees quit. The facts are hidden from the people who need them most. In reality, 88% of voluntary employee turnovers are the result of something other than money, according to data from the Saratoga Institute.

There are plenty of suggestions as to why employees feel discontent and then quit. It’s a lack of coaching and feedback. The workplace and job weren’t what the employee expected. There aren’t enough advancement opportunities. Workers don’t feel valued. There’s too much stress. These can all be a part of dissatisfaction, but they do not help us find the solution to the problem.

The Solution

Managers and employees aren’t trained to recognize the real causes of career dissatisfaction or satisfaction. It can be hard to see the simple fact that the reason for turnover is that the wrong people are being hired in the first place. Managers look for people with the skills that make them right for the job, when what is actually most important is finding workers with the innate abilities that make them suitable for the job.

In other words, if the job requires climbing trees, you need to hire a monkey, not a goose. You can train the goose all you want, but the monkey is going to do a better and faster job every time. Not only that, but the monkey will love the job and therefore stay. The goose will definitely have some career dissatisfaction. But how do you find who’s a monkey and who’s a goose? It all comes down to ability-based career profiling.

Everyone has abilities that they were born with. The secret of ability-based career profiling is matching those abilities with the job that makes the most out of them. An abilities test takes the innate abilities of a person and creates a list of most suitable jobs. Oftentimes, these tests find subtle differences that turn into major outcomes.

For example, two people may have the innate ability to be good engineers, but only one of them is a generalist and extrovert. If you promote the wrong one, you may be removing your best engineer from the job and putting them in a position where they feel uncomfortable and incompetent. Choosing the right candidate, however, can take a merely competent engineer into a career where they really excel. This doesn’t mean one is objectively better than the other; they simply have a different array of natural talents that make them more fit for certain jobs. If a manager (and the employee) understand this, great work will be done efficiently, effectively, and produce career happiness!

Abilities Tests

Ability-based career profiling goes way beyond asking employees what they like to do. That’s simply a survey on which a person could lie or give an inaccurate answer. The great thing about ability-based career profiles is that they don’t lie. Through these tests, an employee’s true talents come out.

Don’t ignore the single most important factor in employee job satisfaction. Good employers want to build a great talent pool, and they know it all begins with selecting the right person in the first place. You can try to train the goose to climb, or you can let ability testing find the monkey.

Are you feeling the affects of career dissatisfaction? If you want to find out which career will allow you to excel and be happy, then check out our ability-based career tests. Finally, for questions or comments, feel free to get in touch with The Career Profiler!

 

 

Career Personality and Career Personality Tests: part 4

Part 4: Other Career Theories (not Career Personality theories)

Some of the career trait theory tests do not measure personality characteristics but instead measure abilities, aptitudes and values. While these do not fall into career personality theories, tests of this nature should be considered as part of your career decision process.

Career ability tests are almost the same as career aptitude tests with an expanded and more detailed explanations for career applications such as the Highlands Ability Battery. They identify where a person’s ability to perform in a certain career role and could be viewed therefore as providing some insight to career success.  Career values tests, of which there are few useful ones on the market with the exception of Career Anchors, assess ones current priorities critical for making a final career decision.

In addition to career type and trait theories, there are factor and life span theories.  Holland’s typology could be categorized as factor theory in that it classifies occupations by certain task factors.  The Strong Interest Inventory is the best career test example of this career theory.  Others include Self-Directed Search and Campbell Interest Inventory.

Life span career theory is the final other type of career theory.  Donald Super constructed the life span and life space theory identifying the critical influences on a person in different roles and life stages. Few tests are available for life span theories.  Assessment of life span typically relies on paper pencil exercises or career interviews with a career counselor or career coach.

Career personality testing is usually one of the first steps a career coach or career counselor should take you through once they have assessed a person’s career needs.  A Life Span assessment should be included in the assessment or career profiling phase and ideally should follow the career personality testing phase.

Career Life Span Assessments identify key career and work values and the current priority of these values which a person uses to ultimately decide upon one of the possible suitable career paths.  It also identifies current lifestyle needs and influences of others on the decision.  If ever a person struggles with choosing between career options, it is wise to engage in a  type of life span assessment.  The Career Profiler identifies the life span assessment phase as the nurture part of the profiling step.  See Career Steps Model.

Balance your work and personal time

Success Story: Work-Life Balance

Career Success Story #5

Work-life balance! It seems to be one of the most popular questions in the career world. How do those with families, hobbies, outside interests, other jobs, and numerous responsibilities succeed in their careers? The Career Profiler can help you answer these questions and get the work-life balance you deserve. Happiness AND success are possible!
“I wanted to maximize my career potential by obtaining successive career advancements. But I have a daughter! Could I achieve a work-life balance? I knew it would be extremely difficult within the present corporate culture, and my personal economic situation. Yet I knew I wanted career advancement with work life balance. That is how I defined career success for myself.

I worked in a department that was being phased out, though I personally expected to be spared the cuts. This proved to be the perfect incentive to begin my career advancement quest. I started working with The Career Profiler immediately. Through a process of discovery and exploration using some of the best career tests, I gained a solid understanding of my gifts, talents, and strengths.

When an ideal executive job opened up, I again called The Career Profiler in hopes of gaining this career advancement. I received the executive job, even after initially being told the company was looking for someone with different qualities. I believe I earned the job because I held firm to and effectively communicated my career life balance boundaries.

Thank you, Career Profiler, for giving key insights and strategies enabling me to secure an executive position and still maintain the integrity of my personal life.  You taught me this career secret: Leaders know their strengths and boundaries, and communicate them effectively.” –Janelle W.

Career mentor leads to success

Success Story: Career mentors

Career Success Story #4

This story highlights the importance of finding a career mentor. A relationship like this falls under the category of a strategic alliance. It can also boost your understanding of yourself and your goals while helping you achieve them. The Career Profiler can help you identify people who can become a career mentor for you.

“I worked with The Career Profiler for several years to position myself for the executive track. When we first met, I had few qualities or qualifications for moving up the career ladder. I held a production-like computer job and didn’t have a college degree. Moreover, I didn’t have any critical connections or mentoring relationships. With career coaching from The Career Profiler, I progressed rapidly in my career. I advanced three times, established a couple mentoring relationship, and neared completion of my bachelor’s degree all within only two years.

The Career Profiler stressed the importance of finding and developing relationships with key mentors.  These mentors not only advanced my managerial skill sets, they became “corporate angels,” providing many more opportunities for advancement than I could have obtained on my own. In all honesty, I am now sought after by several departments within my Fortune 500 company.

I call The Career Profiler my “lifeline to success.” She taught me how to mine the secrets that make leaders succeed. The career secret I learned? Leaders are connected to key, influential leaders.” Lisa S.