Recognition, power, tradition, security, fun, pleasing surroundings, money--these are the values that often make the difference between a job that someone can do and a job they really, really want to do. In the human resources assessment world, we often look at interest inventories and personality tests. But I feel there's a source of information that is mostly overlooked in placement settings--values. This is especially important in more experienced adults, such as the ones so many of our clients and consultants are encountering in a "career transition" setting during these turbulent days.
Values Assessment vs. Interest Inventories vs. Personality Tests
Measures of motives, values, and interests are somewhat different from personality measures.
Values and motives inventories tell us what a person wants to do, shining a light on their inner conversation about their wishes. To quote the technical manual for the Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory, published by Hogan Assessments, “Personality measures ask about a person’s typical response in various situations, but interest measures ask about a person’s preferred activities, roles, and associates." Values measures allow people to describe themselves as they would like to be.
Personality tests tell us what a person may do in certain situations and how their behavior is likely to appear to others. Personality reports describe such characteristics as sociability, inquisitiveness, confidence, ambition, interpersonal sensitivity, cautiousness, and curiosity.
Motives and values are more fundamental than interests. Your interests are likely to move over time, but they are always an expression of what you value. For example, you might have once enjoyed an extreme sport such as mountain biking (an interest). Over time you may have become bored with this activity, and turned your attention to rock climbing (another interest). The core values that tie both of these interests together, and which have not shifted, are love of physical activity, the freedom of the outdoors, and more than a hint of physical risk. Your interests have shifted; your motives and values have not.
This is why we're now emphasizing the Career Compass report from Hogan Assessments. It helps shine a light on the elusive and hard-to-articulate nature of work motivations. It is a comprehensive survey of the 10 key values found in every culture throughout history. The only commercially available measure of values that has been developed, validated, and normed for business contexts.
We now offer Career Compass along with an exclusive 20-page interpretive guide that helps you and your client take action on the report. Career Compass OnLine is only $49. It is based on the Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI), a scientifically validated values inventory, developed and published by Hogan Assessments. MVPI is validated for individuals over 21.
