The DiSC Assessment & the Job Seeker

 You may be familiar with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, but other such tests exist to assess personality type and personal preferences that may indicate deeper traits. As we discussed in a previous post, your Meyers-Briggs type can help you determine how you’ll function in the work environment, potentially helping steer you to the best career or company for you, and the same holds true for the DiSC Assessment. And what’s more than your own preference in work environments is an employer’s assessment of your personality or cultural fit in his/her organization, which has been identified as a deciding factor during the hiring process.

Making use of work developed in 1928, the DiSC Assessment is a collection of psychological inventories used to examine an individual’s behavior and indicate traits. Four aspects of behavior, Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance, are measured by the assessment using word associations. The four dimensions fit into a 2×2 grid, with “D” and “I” in the top two squares, and “S” and “C” in the bottom two. The top row represents extroverted traits, while the bottom row represents introverted traits; the left side column represents task-focused aspects, and the right side column represents social aspects. The chart below illustrates the rows and columns.

As you can see in the chart, higher or lower scores in each of the four dimensions indicates personality traits or behaviors.

• “D” Score = High “D” scores indicate active involvement in problem solving, whereas low “D” scores indicate a desire to carefully research and prepare before committing to an action.
• “I” Score = People with high “I” scores are able influence others through talking, activity and emotional appeals, and people with low “I” scores tend to influence others using data and facts to back up claims.
• “S” Score = High “S” scores indicate a need for security, consistency and routine, while low “S” scores indicate a need for variety and excitement.
• “C” Score = People with high “C” scores tend to comply with established rules and norms, where people with low “C” scores seek independence.

You can see from these brief descriptions of the qualities identified by the DiSC Assessment that scores on each aspect can really indicate distinct qualities and tendencies that can affect the way that you solve problems, complete tasks, follow policies and work with others, all of which are important to you and to your employer.

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Careerminds provides scalable, strategic solutions to organizations seeking affordable, web-based outplacement services. Using a Web 2.0 e-learning platform that delivers affordable, online career transition services, Careerminds provides a high-tech and high-touch blend of on-demand career transition education supported by senior-level career consultants to help displaced workers reenter the workforce quickly.

Raymond Lee

Raymond Lee is the President of Careerminds, a global outplacement company based in Wilmington, Delaware. He has over 20 years of human resource, outplacement, and career consulting experience. He has his bachelor’s in psychology and holds a Master’s Degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Louisiana Tech University. He is active in SHRM and ATD. Raymond’s been featured on SiriusXM Business Radio, CareerTalk, and the Wall Street Journal and he’s published a book titled, Clocking Out: A Stress-Free Guide to Career Transitions.