MAPP Assessment
My day off yesterday spawned quite a bit of thinking in regard to what exactly I want to change about my career path and my life that that is bound up in this choice. It’s been years since I’ve completed any kind of aptitude or motivational test, and I thought I would try a free assessment or two. The results seem to be quite accurate thus far. The most striking thing about the assessments thus far is what a complete and total mismatch my current career is for my personality and preferences. It’s certainly not surprising, but seeing report after report mention nothing even remotely close to my current path is reiterating for me just how mismatched I am currently, and it makes my dissatisfaction seem almost inevitable.
Interest in work content:
S is conscious of existence, meaning, purpose, potential and destiny of humankind, people, and self. S is motivated by a self-felt, self-accepted calling to the cause of good, growth, and gain in the lives of others. Influential communication of ideas is a primary way of achieving those objectives. Perception and thinking tend to be holistic and conceptual; i.e., seeing the big picture. It is important to see which of the other traits are interactive with this trait because there can be many interesting combinations. This is a major trait in cultural, intellectual, academic, and creative activities. It includes ideas, concepts, theory, ethics, and values.
Work Temperament:
S is most likely benevolent, voluntarily giving of self to help others, especially regarding current pain, hurts, stress, needs, and problems. This means empathetic, sympathetic, intentional, personal involvement in the personal lives of others to give help, sacrificially if necessary, and to subjectively gain personal satisfaction from providing personal service. (NOTE: emphasis is on the word “personal.” This is a heart trait and is totally self-motivated and voluntary. It is one of the most strongly motivated traits in determining vocational dedication. The word “others” is important in the context of benevolence) S is probably more benevolent toward persons not intimately, formally, or organizationally related. (NOTE: Benevolence expects those in close relationships to join in the giving rather than being a priority recipient.) Nonetheless, S probably exhibits benevolence toward all persons. But benevolence does have priorities about eligibility of persons for help.
Career Aptitude:
S’s preferences and motivations are derived from understanding the deeper or ‘real’ meaning of ideas and words and uses them effectively in written or oral communication. Literary in this factor means intentional search for ideas expressed by the minds of others for one’s own use, assimilation, learning, etc. The source can be books, other publications, historical documents, research information, drama, movies, television, the “information highway” or internet, etc. Emphasis is on communication: picking up information from minds of others or communication aimed toward the minds of others. Journalism and writing are major activities. Literary activity is not exclusively intellectual, academic, or cultural. It may be an end in itself as in a bookworm for instance. And literary activity is not always accompanied by communicative activity, written or oral. On the other hand, communicative activity need not be literary in the classic sense. And one need not be persuasive to be communicative, but it helps. When the trait is highly motivated, as it is here, it suggests both literary and communicative abilities that are or could become a usable skill or a developed talent. By now you can see that only a review of all traits will clearly show the specific content of S’s literary and/or communicative preferences and motivations.
Relations to people:
S feels both privilege and responsibility to use communication (including persuasion) to voluntarily provide beneficial information to others. This includes strongly motivated benevolent and literary traits. Self-satisfaction comes almost exclusively from the subjective realization that the information, voluntarily given, has been helpful to other persons. S is further motivated to learn and understand the other person(s) needs wishes and listening preferences. Non-persuasive service communication can become persuasive and persistent when expressed in the interest of someone needing S to stand up for them.
Use of data:
“Synthesize: putting two or more things together to form a whole; the combination of separate elements of thought into a whole; the operation by which divided parts are united” (Webster). S is motivated by seeing the big picture so much so that (s)he, attempts to see all parts of the picture in that larger context, then sees all parts relative to each other, but still within that larger context. Perception and thinking are therefore holistic and conceptual. Philosophical and intuitive processes are involved. Scientific, managerial, and/or literary preferences may also be involved. Other mental factors in this section are subordinate, secondary, or complementary to this primary motivational attribute. This is an overview and scanning activity that includes ideas, concepts, theory, fiction, hypothesis and assessment. (Note that words in the last sentence are unrelated to logic that Webster defines as “the science of the operations of the understanding subservient to the estimation of evidence.”) For S, preferences for this sort of synthesis will allow it to get no further toward logic than estimating.
Reasoning:
S is strongly motivated to apply thinking to the big picture through holistic ideas, concepts, options, and strategies. This does not mean, suggest, or imply that thinking is kept only in a holistic context but it does mean that the first and constant priority or preference for consideration and focus are on the big picture. (Example: S more likely prefers to be an executive rather than a manager, and more inclined to be a manager rather than a supervisor.) Considering how pieces of the picture are brought in to the big picture stimulates motivation for the activity.
Mathematical Capacity:
S is motivated and probably equipped to work with, use, and apply math at management levels for tracking, analyzing, and proving business activities and performance. This is part of a management generalist preference.
Language Capacity:
S is highly motivated to consider creative writing and communicating at professional levels. Preferences are holistic, conceptual, imaginative, and creative. “Ideas trigger more ideas” can probably be said about S. High motivational levels for this worker trait indicate an interactive combination of literary and philosophical traits. As Dean W. R. Inge said, “Literature flourishes best when it is half a trade and half an art.” That probably makes a great deal of sense to S. Motivation at this level indicate preferences that probably include writing fiction, poetry, scripts for movies or television, advertising copy, marketing copy, teaching creative writing, etc.
