What Color Is Your Parachute 2018 by Richard N. Bolles copy

of any test are descriptors—not of you, but of your family—i.e., all
those who answered the test the same way you did. The SAI family.
Or the blue family. Or the INTJ family. Or whatever. The results are
an accurate description of that family of people, in general; but are
they descriptors also of you? Depends on whether or not you are a
maverick in that family, the same way I was in mine. These family
characteristics may or may not be true in every respect to you. You
may be exactly like that group, or you may be different in important
ways.
2. Don’t try to figure out ahead of time how you want the test to
come out. Stay loose and open to new ideas.
It’s easy to develop an emotional investment that the test should
come out a certain way. I remember a job-hunting workshop where I
asked everyone to list the factors they liked about any place where
they had ever lived, and then prioritize those factors, to get the name
of a new place to live. We had this immensely lovable woman from
Texas in the workshop, and when we all got back together after a
“break” I asked her how she was doing. With a glint in her eye she
said, “I’m prioritizing, and I’m gonna keep on prioritizin’, until it
comes out: Texas!” That was amusing, as she intended it to be; it’s
not so amusing when you try to make the test results come out a
certain way. If you’re gonna take tests, you need to be open to new
ideas. If you find yourself always trying to outguess the test, so it will
confirm you on a path you’ve already decided upon, then testing is
not for you.
3. In taking a test, you should just be looking for clues, hunches, or
suggestions, rather than for a definitive answer that says “this is
what you must choose to do with your life.”
And bear in mind that an online test isn’t likely to be as insightful
as one administered by an experienced psychologist or counselor,
who may see things that you can’t. But keep saying this mantra to
yourself, as you read or hear the test results: “Clues. Clues, I’m only
looking for clues.”
4. Take several tests and not just one. One can easily send you down
the wrong path.
People who do a masters or doctorate program in “Testing and
Measurement” know that tests are notoriously flawed, unscientific,