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Do you feel you need a fresh perspective on your professional temperament before you make your next career move? Or maybe you're confused about how to link your recent college experience with the dynamics and demands of the 21st-century workplace.
Monster's JASPER (Job Assets & Strengths Profiler) self-assessment tool might be able to help. JASPER asks you an extensive series of questions about yourself, your work style and preferred work environment using a variety of multimedia formats. Then you're presented with a multidimensional assessment of your career strengths and preferences.
"The questions asked for my opinion of myself, so the result is really a self-assessment," says Leslie Hafter, director of outsourced recruiting at TWC Group in Audubon, Pennsylvania.
JASPER is unique in its presentation and might be one of the most pleasurable activities of your job search. "The assessment was creative in the response format," says Brian Stern, president of Beachwood, Ohio-based Shaker Consulting Group, which also offers career assessment tools.
But JASPER doesn't sacrifice scientific accuracy in the name of fun. "The validity is just as good as for regular questions," says Jennifer Bruning Brown, head research psychologist at Tickle and project lead for JASPER.
JASPER for Entry-Level Job Seekers
High school and college students and recent grads are one group of job seekers most likely to benefit from a JASPER assessment.
"People just out of college are probably just learning their strengths for the first time," says Brown. "JASPER gives you a good way to discuss your strengths and sell yourself." A student assessed by JASPER as a Visionary, for instance, might consider a career as an architect or entrepreneur; a new grad JASPER portrays as an Advocate could go for a career in nonprofit leadership or the law.
If you're a student who has never worked in the real world, a JASPER assessment can also get you thinking about workplace factors that could figure prominently in your career happiness -- or lack thereof.
"It's not about, ‘Do I want to be a plumber or an artist?'" says Stern. "It's about, ‘What type of environment do I want to work in?'" For example, JASPER assesses whether you're inclined to produce your best work alone or when working closely with others.
JASPER can also help you when interviewing by showing you where you already shine and where you may need to push yourself to come off well. A candidate assessed as a Thinker, for example, would be wise to demonstrate his superior planning skills while showing he can express himself forcefully when the need arises.
JASPER for Career Changers
But JASPER isn't only for the youngest members of the workforce who are still in search of themselves. It's also for mid-career professionals who want to reevaluate their current careers' suitability -- or are ready to strike out in a new direction.
"I could see this as a useful tool for self-exploration for career changers," says Stern. A senior salesman who discovers an inclination to help junior people along through JASPER might consider taking on a mentoring role.
"People already in the workforce might identify strengths they didn't know they had," says Brown. By putting a finer point on leadership style, for example, the JASPER assessment could give a professional a better idea of which type of management opportunity might be the best fit. And in interviews, knowing your JASPER type could help you demonstrate your leadership style directly, in an interpersonal format.
JASPER can also be valuable in helping you think about the work environment, not just the daily tasks that define the job. "The real value is forcing you to consider the vast array of contexts in which you could work," says Stern.
As instructive as it may be, JASPER should be just one of many inputs into a well-rounded job search. "I would caution people against using any assessment as the be-all and end-all," says Brown.