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Discover What You're Best At

Discover What You're Best At

List Price: $14.00
Your Price: $10.50
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: I Feel Better...But Why am I Still Lost?
Review: Being a very analytical person (and not a grammatical elitist), I was immediately drawn to "Discover What You're Best At" due to its series of tests that purport to help open the door to your inner calling. Maybe because of the "take a pill and feel better" society we live in, I mistakenly thought that a few well meaning tests would quickly and painlessly help uncover the real me.

I was wrong. After spending 4+ hours on the exams, I am no better focused on what careers would be best for me. Several of the tests were similar to SAT/GRE/GMAT formats focusing on math, vocabulary, critical reasoning, etc. But the business and leadership(?) test, the first and last test respectively, were very subjective and questionable in terms of the scenarios presented and the answers desired. I would guess many test takers debate the expected answer versus the answer that their own experiences, education, or preferences would otherwise dictate. The fatal flaw of this book is its misguided attempt to condense the results of these tests into a simple grid whose pattern when analyzed will lead the reader down the best career path for their skills.

This is one of those books that I wish I had checked out the ending before diving into the storyline. In that way I would have saved my self the time of condensing my abilities into a mystic bag, spilling them onto a table, and asking the career soothsayer to point me in the right direction.

The good part of the book is that it can provide an ego boost to those who like tests and tend to score well. For those, your bones will allow the career psychic to say..."you can do anything you want." Thanks...now what?

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: It's interesting.....
Review: Feeling a sense of dissatisfaction with my job, I began to question if I was in the right field (I'm in HR). I had read the other reviews on this book and decided it would be interesting to find out in which areas were my natural skills. The 6 tests relate to general business skills, not creativity, etc. I actually had fun with the tests! It was eyeopening to realize that I wasn't as good at math as I was in many other areas. The career clusters listed many jobs that I might want to explore--and that is what this book is meant to do. It's meant to get you to think about your natural abilities, which doesn't mean the recommended careers will be appealing to you. It just provides information on areas that come naturally to you--you decide what to do with that information. Unfortunately (or fortunately), it told me that I was in the right industry already. It also recommended some other jobs which were of no interest to me (Cafeteria Manager, for one--not sure how that relates to a Human Resources position?!). I guess I was hoping the book would reveal some hidden talent. I am now back to deciding if I should stay in this field or set out in a new direction. But at least I know my natural strengths.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This stuff works...
Review: Great book! I've owned a copy of this book since the '80s. I took the tests when I first got it as a gift, and then promptly forgot about it. My career progressed, and I found myself in a position that was perfect for my skills. Around this time, I found the book and discovered that, according to my test scores of 10 years before, I was indeed on the right career path. I would recommend this book to anyone not sure about what direction their career should take them. The tests are a bit tedious, but well worth the effort. And don't worry that it will qualify you for only one or two positions. I'm qualified for, among other things: a forest ecologist, a meteorologist, a librarian, a microbiologist and a detective!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A book that actually measures your skills!
Review: Linda Gale has devised tests that do indeed measure what your skills are. Some aptitude tests are not real true measures of your skills, but it measures how confident you feel about your skills. One does not need to know how confident one feels about their skills, but you need to know if you are good or bad at making business decisions,doing clerical tasks, thinking through things logically, doing mechanical things, handling numbers and doing what is best in dealing with people. When I tested myself I did well on and scored the highest in 4 areas clerical,logical, numerical and social. I looked up my 3 top letter cluster codes representing my highest skills and found a interesting "CLS" job that of a career-information specialist. I have a bachelors degree in psychology. and I am looking for a good attractive job without having to go back to college and get a graduate degree. I don't want to be a guidance counselor now, but I have touched upon a good job lead possibility and one that is at my level of education. Linda provided the answer and even other possible answers on what I could do well. A good counselor can let you see your possibilities, and that is all you can really hope to get from career counseling. A career counselor can show you, but you have to be responsible for making your own vocational decisions.So Linda did an excellent job writing this book, and now it is my duty to search for those job possibilities.Linda didn't measure how I confidently felt about my skills, she actually zeroed in on my skills and how strong my skills are. One other thing, even if you don't take the tests, the list of jobs and how they are categorized or clustered allows you to do some serious thinking about what you want to do with your life. Do you want to sit at a desk and be a number cruncher or one who fixes that broken down automobile stuck in your yard? Do you want to work with data only, people only or things only or a combination of these things. Good Job . You measured my skills not my feelings. An A+++++++++++++++++ Linda!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This Book Made An Impact On My Life!
Review: Once in awhile a book comes along that impacts one's thinking and decisions long-term. Finishing my second year at a liberals arts university I was desperate for focus. I took a series of tests and read other books designed to help me gain clarity into the career I should choose. Of all the tests I completed this was the least time consuming and I believe most accurate. Some of the other evaluations concentrated on interests (I knew them already) others on aptitude, this book blended both remarkably. The career this book pointed me toward was so unique I had to research it. After eleven years of excelling in my field and enjoying my job everyday I'm often grateful to Linda Gale. I can highly recommend this book to individuals looking to identify and use their talents more efficiently. I give this book to potential employees before hiring and I bought copies for my entire church youth group.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: No technical information (eg. reliability and validity).
Review: The book was a requirement for a college class. I loved and still love the book, but I find it difficult to recommend it. I'm extremely disappointed that I could not find any information of any kind of experiment or research done that supports the author's claims that the test used is valid and reliable. The information provided is extremely vague. I would like that information if any is available.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Ignore the naysayers
Review: This book is an excellent way to do two things: 1) confirm that what you are doing now is (or is not) something you are naturally inclined to do; and 2) give you ideas of alternate careers that you may be well suited for. After getting a B.S., I was struggling to find a suitable career that would be different from what I was already doing but still be within the zones of my natural talents. Not only did the book confirm that what I had been doing up to that point was natural for me, but gave me an idea for a professional career that propelled me well into the six figure bracket and sent my satisfaction level soaring. My advice is to ignore the naysayers. Nothing is easy, and this book, while it may reveal your aptitude in many areas, still reveals at least one or two predominant strength areas which you can use to "discover" career paths you may not have considered (yes, even paths such as "Fish Hatchery Manager"). Then, its up to you to figure out how to get there. To me, this is a wonderful thing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent resource for career direction
Review: This book is excellent not only for those who are changing careers but also for those beginning college and unsure of what area to study. For example, I took these tests as a senior in high school. The results reaffirmed my choice of major and provided a wide range of choices for career paths that I would be good at. My lowest score occurred in an area I did not like and did not feel I was good at. At the back of the book an excellent career directory provides detailed descriptions of all the career choices. The directory is very comprehensive and informative. This book is an excellent resource for guidance and career counselors. The only areas it cannot test are special skill areas such as music and art, but for everything else it is great. An emphasis on skills, and not changing interests, provides the books main strength.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Waste of Time and Money
Review: This book is great for those people who are seeking a management position or science/technology position. There are few arts-related careers and no military careers are mentioned.

I would also not recommend this book, which consists of six 30-minute or so tests, for people who are highly intelligent. I found myself scoring highest on all but one test, meaning I could do anything. Well, I knew that! Now help me narrow it down!

I did like taking the tests and the career profiles helped me at least broaden my scope and apply some job titles to what I'm actually good at.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: This has potential.
Review: Well, I'm in the midst of a career search, fresh out of college...so I decided to check out this book and what it could tell me.
I took all of the six tests (about 30 minutes each) which score your business, clerical, logic, mechanical, numbers, and social aptitude. You are required to stay within the time limit (if you want an accurate result). You are supposed to keep in mind your highest 2 or 3 scores and then look at the categories that they correspond with.

For example, I scored very superior in three areas: Clerical, Logic, and Numbers. I then looked at the CLN category to see what jobs I have the aptitude for. I was happy to see that some of the jobs they listed were ones that I was at least marginally interested in. I then looked at similar categories, like LN, CL, and CN...and some of those careers also looked appealing. My lowest score was also the category that was less appealing to me (although it was a category I'd have considered as a younger person.)

While this book does not profess to give definitive answers on what you should do, it would be a nice guide for someone who has NO idea what they'd be good at (note: this does not measure interest, just aptitude) or for someone like myself who'd like affirmation or redirection.


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