Strengths Quest

The week before Thanksgiving break, our FIG class was given the assignment to go take the Strengths Quest in the career center. This was a test that asked us over one hundred questions in which we had to choose between two descriptions. Sometimes there were opposites on either side such as, "I enjoy meeting new people" and "I get nervous when in situations where I have to meet new people". But other times the two options hardly seemed comparable. At the end, our answers were calculated and our top five strengths were given. To see an entire list of where you ranked on the thirty "strengths", you had to pay. My top five strengths were Woo, Connectedness, Includer, Positivity, and Adaptability. I thought that these strengths were pretty accurate for the most part.

The only one that I didn't really agree with wholeheartedly was the "Woo" one. "Woo" stands for "winning others over", and the guy that debriefed us compared that strength to one of a salesmen. I for one, HATE selling things. I'm not good at it, and it freaks me out. I enjoy meeting new people, but it still makes me nervous. And those with the Woo strength are not supposed to be apprehensive in meeting strangers for the first time at all.

What I liked about the Strengths Quest was that with every one of your top five strengths, it gave you "action items" that will help you do well with whatever it is you're trying to accomplish. This list was really helpful for tackling every day situations, or really specific "college related" things. The only thing about this test that I didn't really like was the feeling that I got after taking it that I could have gotten different results on a different day. What I mean by that is, I'm worried that some of the questions on the test were close in nature, and I remember it being hard for me to choose, and upon taking it again, I could have very well picked the other option, which in turn would produce different results.

Overall though, I do not believe that the Strengths Quest was a waste of time by any means. It's good to know what you're good at, so that you can build on those talents to help you be successful with whatever task you're trying to accomplish.