A few months ago I approached my manager about an Aptitude test called YouScience that I had been looking into between jobs. I asked if they would be interested in seeing the results if I took it. The response was emphatically "YES!".
As someone in tech for under 2 years, I've often wondered WHERE exactly my place is within the industry.
How I Got Here
A little background... I'm formally trained as an architect so the design nerd is strong with this one, but after years of that, I decided to mix it up a bit. I ended up in 2 years of volunteer work doing community economic development, then for the better part of a decade progressed through facilities and labor, fueling planes 1000's of miles from anywhere, carpentry and expedition outfitting, even learning an entire seasonal product life cycle and training a team on it. In between seasons, I explored my pilot's license, professional dancing, existing out of a #vanlife style pickup truck and the general work hard play hard lifestyle. I learned so many invaluable lessons about myself, others and working together during those years that no university could have ever taught me.
Once I decided to shift into tech after being back in Portland for a few years I thought there was only the developer route. This is partly a product of not having much exposure to the industry other than friends who were programmers and while in school that was the only track you would hear about. The only thing that has really given me this exposure is actually BEING in a tech company day in day out and realizing just how many jobs surround making software, not JUST those who write it.
I've always been a tech nerd of some sort but am not as tech-minded as a developer, rather I am driven by human connection. A solid base of code and programming was important to me as I like to understand how things work, this is partially why a job in support is a great fit for me. Combining that desire to "know all the things" but to also be alongside our customers in their own struggles. After having the amazing opportunity of exploring a few companies of very different sizes and backgrounds I've been able to see how my skill set can be a fit for many roles, from Manager to Experience and Supporting the Support roles.
My goal in taking professional aptitude or personality tests is to refine my understanding of my strengths and weaknesses and how best to apply those to my growth within a company.
Overall for me, this test confirmed some things, solidified others, added new information and dispelled some myths I may have held for myself.
The Testing Process
The test itself was a few hours overall. I took it as well as the extended challenges over the course of a few days at home. They were that good challenge, where you think at times in the process "I REALLY don't want to do this one" but you know that's exactly why you should do it. The opportunity to learn so much about yourself out of those challenges is such a rarely quick turn around on investment.
Notes From the Results
Turns out, I am a brainstormer, 3D visualizer and sequential thinker. None of which are a huge surprise, but what was surprising was that I contribute best to a team as a "Blended Energizer"
Blended Specialists enjoy sharing their expertise with an attentive audience. They often make excellent coaches, tour guides, and professors.
I am interested in realistic, conventional and artistic work.
Next, you download the document of detailed results (around 40 pages).
The first major topic in this document is your Personal Approach. These are your strengths as well as how they show up in your day to day work.
Your Personal Approach shows your Interpersonal Style is a mix of Extrovert and Introvert, so you thrive in group settings that still offer time alone to charge your inner battery. Your focus is the long-term future, and you aim for targets that reward your plan-ahead gift and your neversay-die persistence. You’re the rare Specialist, who’s naturally happiest working independently to build and offer deep expertise on a topic.
My traits include future focuser, specialist, list checker and investigator. All of which have two or so pages that go in-depth into each characteristic.
Then comes the Core Drivers, the things that really build that Personal Approach block by block.
Your Core Drivers show you typically avoid rash decisions, but you can still reach a conclusion even without knowing every possible fact. Logical organization comes easily to you, and you’re a gifted and efficient planner. You’re a natural working with concrete objects in physical space, and you MUST find ways to use this gift, even if only in a hobby. You generate ideas at a fast and furious pace, whatever the topic.
After your Core Drivers, the test goes into your Amplifiers, or things that support your skills but may not be your primary tools.
Bonus:
There's also a "Personal Language" section of the website that can help you with self-descriptor terms and statements to use on your resumé or for inner company professional growth. This section in particular lets you dismiss terms that you don't feel apply specifically to you and makes for an easy go-to resource of adjectives you can feel confident in using.
There are many different categories the test goes over and they use fun anecdotes to explain the different types of personalities and then go into depth where you fit. Alongside all of these are tips for success to best utilize the lesson you are learning as well as sections of things you are good at next to things that challenge you.
My manager responded to the results with nothing short of excitement:
We then had an entire meeting just on the results of this test. They read my ENTIRE results report and shared that they felt more understanding of my professional needs and direction as well as knew me better as an employee. It was an incredibly vulnerable thing to share with a manager but was greeted with such welcoming enthusiasm.
The results are very much geared towards much younger folks just starting out their careers or exiting university but relevant none-the-less to anyone interested. Also, it was funny to see it recommend a lot of jobs I've actually already done in my journey! The most valuable part to me, however, was the 2-page overview paired with the 40-page detailed results document and the conversations it led to.
I could see this being used as a team tool for managers to better understand how their teams all work together as well as individually. This also feels beneficial in supporting your employees in their long term goals and career mentorship.
The bigger point for me is the clear benefits to both me AND my manager to help direct my professional development at my company as well as understand more about my strengths and weaknesses. This facilitated an easy method of sharing professional vulnerability in the workplace without having to answer on the spot questions via a medium that focuses on the positive and potential in your skillset.
I appreciate working at a company that allows me to have these conversations as well as explore the results for the betterment of myself and the team.
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