Personal Development Tests

Here is a guide with links to twelve well-respected, accessible and useful personal development tests.

You will find many kinds of personal development tests on the internet that allow you to assess yourself from the privacy of your own desk. Many of these tests are government sponsored, and other tests are written by agencies that work hand-in-glove with government agencies or educational institutions.

It's well worth your while to take a look at some of these tests, including those that focus on very specific areas. Often, they are of very high quality, written by organizations that have been around for decades and which have a solid reputation for analytical testing processes.

Many tests will evaluate broad-based qualities that are desirable in just about any field or which have many applications. Take, for example, an assessment of your leadership qualities. No matter what line of work you are in or your current level of education, leadership abilities have a lot to say about how we as individuals direct our own lives.

Effective leaders are prized in the workplace. One of the tests below (inspired leadership) was devised to help the under-fire managers of UK local government to test their leadership skills.

You can use these personal development tests as a kind of sounding board – a way to provide you with ideas and insights that would not occur to you otherwise. They offer an effective way of testing that can help you prepare for appraisals or other workplace monitoring of your performance.

If you find useful personal development tests on the internet, you could ratchet-up their usefulness by debriefing with a coach or colleague after you have digested the results. This will usually sharpen the learning that you draw from the experience of the personal development test.

This kind of coaching will help you understand how the sometimes-bland generalizations contained in these tests can fit into your life and your own goals.

We want this to be a forum for reporting your comments on tests you've taken, both your favorites and those that were bad experiences. We would love to hear how the results matched with your self concepts, or how they helped you find or focus on the best goals for you.

There are a wide variety of tests and assessment tools available on the internet; some of them are better than others. And many of them can be taken free of charge. Even proprietary companies that write tests administered by the government or other institutions offer a variety of free tests, and taking them on your own can help put you on the right path to enhanced self discovery.

Here we can touch on just a few of the many personal development tests available:

• Are you interested in an IQ test? Mensa is the premiere organization established for the exchange of intellectual information. Its main requirement for membership is an IQ at or above the 98th percentile of intelligence, and its sole purpose is social discourse. Visit http://www.mensa.org/workout2.php for a sample IQ test.



• Some personal development tests are generated by personal development coaches at the completion of a coaching. They are intended to help the individual identify goals and needs, and their basic focus is how to improve your future. Visit http://www.personal-development.com/websites.htm for some great information.



• Many scientists recognize that there are various aspects to Emotional Intelligence, and they are measuring the subject's ability to identify emotions, the ability to utilize emotions in idea facilitation, the comprehension of emotions, and skill at managing emotions. Queendom.com offers scientifically validated tests, including one for emotional intelligence at http://www.queendom.com/tests/access_page/index.htm?idRegTest=1121.



• Enneagrams identify which of nine personality types fits the test taker. Are you the Reformer, the Helper, the Achiever, the Individualist, the Investigator, the Loyalist, the Enthusiast, the Challenger, or the Peacemaker? Take a free Enneagram at http://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/test.php.



• How assertive are you? Some people hesitate to share their opinions because they are afraid of being put down, and they just don't think their input is valuable. If you feel like a doormat, take this test to see if you need to buck up a bit. Try a free version at http://www.queendom.com/tests/access_page/index.htm?idRegTest=675.



• There are a variety of career satisfaction assessments. Maybe you lack 100% satisfaction with your job, but perhaps the aspects that give you enjoyment far outrank the ones that cause you distress. Or vice versa! You can look at whether it's time for a career change at http://www.testcafe.com/car/, or just take a quick assessment at http://www.humanlinks.com/orgsn/job_satisfaction.htm.



• A 360 feedback assessment culls input from the people who surround you in your work-your supervisor, your peers, your subordinates, your customers-so you really cannot take this test alone on the internet. But there are companies like Appraisal 360, at http://www.appraisal360.co.uk/Free-test-drive-163, that will help you set up a free sample test. You just need to provide the email addresses of those who will provide feedback on you.



• The Myers-Briggs test breaks down your personality according to its strengths and weaknesses. You can take a free version at http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp.



• If you're curious about your leadership potential, you can take a test offered by Queendom.com, the same people who brought you the emotional intelligence and assertiveness tests mentioned above. Visit http://www.queendom.com/tests/access_page/index.htm?idRegTest=702; they have other tests available as well.



• You can also visit Inspired Leadership, at http://www.inspiredleadership.org.uk/ to discover if you have what it takes to be a leader. The test at this website forces you to choose between options so that you know whether you are ready to take the reins at a company.



• Another great source for personal development tests is Business Link, at http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=1075215800, to find out if you're ready to start up. You can see the kind of feedback this test provides by looking at this sample feedback file