Tests for success

Citation

(2000), "Tests for success", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 24 No. 9. https://doi.org/10.1108/jeit.2000.00324iab.007

Tests for success

Tests for success

Keywords: Skills, Abilities

Each individual brings a range of special skills and qualities to the workplace unique to them. Personality, aptitudes, expertise, knowledge and style of working combine to help you succeed in your chosen career. But how can you assess where your real strengths and abilities lie?

A new series of books, launched by the Institute of Management (IM) and publishers Hodder & Stoughton Educational, could provide the answer. Each book covers an innate or acquired management skill, providing tests and guidelines for readers to gauge how they measure up in key areas. The first five books of the new "Test your …" series include Test Your Personality, Test Your Leadership Skills, Test Your Management Skills, Test Your Management Style and Test Your Aptitude and Ability.

Test Your Personality and Test Your Aptitude and Ability can be used to help reduce the fear psychometric testing may cause a job applicant, by giving an overview of different tests and offering trials for readers to discover what a test may reveal about them. An estimated £100,000 is spent on recruiting and training an executive or graduate and many companies now rely on these tests to help match the right personality and abilities with the job.

At executive level, leadership and management style are also key. As a leader, are you considered to be a guide, hero, friend, driver or expert? Test Your Leadership Skills aims to help you analyse your style of leadership to see how well it matches the needs of your team or organisation. Test Your Management Style provides the opportunity for managers to review different management styles and develop an understanding of how they are best used in various situations.

While people skills are seen as increasingly important, updating practical and theoretical knowledge is still vital. Over 70 per cent of managers today feel responsible for their own career development and they are often overwhelmed with the staggering range of courses available. One of the best starting points for executives is to measure their existing skills against their work objectives. Test your Management Skills gives managers advice on benchmarking their progress towards their career goals.

The books are available from bookshops or can be ordered from Lavis Marketing, Tel. +44 (0)845 7023736; E-mail lavismarkt@aol.com