Author: Paul Freed

We are all unique and wired differently. It’s one of the frustrating, funny, fascinating parts of life. This design gives the world a wonderful balance and variety. Yet this diversity also leads to tension, conflict, and other challenges when it comes time to understand and communicate with people different than you..

A greater self-awareness helps at work, at home, and during job interviews. The DISC assessment is a fantastic way to gain this practical insight. 

While we can learn and adapt, a certain amount of our personality is hard-wired. Your unique personality functions like a lens in which we view people, stress and the world around us.  When you learn to perceive the way you naturally interpret your circumstances, it’s like getting a job search secret decoder ring. You’ll be able to make sense of past work relationship struggles and identify the ideal job fit. You will also gain an interpersonal advantage for interviews. Sound interesting?

That powerful decoder ring is called the DISC Behavioral Personality Profile.

What is the DISC?
Over 50 million people have taken the DISC since the definitive version was established in 1972. Dr. William Moulton Marston is known for creating lie detectors, Wonder Woman, and the DISC. Quite the legacy. This multi-talented psychologist built on the work of Carl Jung and Greek philosophy in his 1928 book, Emotions of Normal People, which describes the DISC personality framework.

In 1950, another psychologist created an assessment based on Dr. Marston’s theories. The definitive version of the test was established in 1972 by Dr. John Geier, and since then over 50 million people around the world have taken the DISC.

Basically, the DISC assessment includes a series of brief multiple-choice questions answered in quick succession. The results include a robust personality description, summarized by four different personality types that make up the DISC acronym:

• Dominance
• Influence
• Steadiness
• Compliance

The DISC is not the only credible personality assessment out there (Myers-Briggs and StrengthsFinder are also common), but it is the most widely used. The DISC provides quick, practical value for your job search.

Love at first DISC

When I first heard about the DISC assessment 15 years ago during a leadership training course. Honestly, I was very skeptical. How could a quick online personality test figure me out? Me….a unique snowflake? 

But when I received the 20+ pages of results, I couldn’t believe it. I had to laugh. The assessment described me better than my wife and mom would have.  For the first time, I learned why some relationships and situations in my life went well and others did not.

That first DISC was nothing short of life-changing. I felt empowered by new awareness about how I communicate, what drives me, why I get frustrated, and how I can communicate better with people different than me.

Since then I have retaken the test a dozen times, with similar results validating its consistency. I have also worked with hundreds of people taking the DISC in the context of business, volunteer work, and marriage mentoring, with positive feedback all around. I highly recommended it – especially when embarking on a job search.

Why the DISC matters for your job search

Before you figure out where you want to go next, it’s important to reflect on your past experiences and understand how you are uniquely wired.

The DISC will help you accomplish this along with a number of other practical benefits:

• Decipher past relational conflict by recognizing underlying blind spots you may not have noticed at the time.

• Recognize the lens through which you see the world, people, situations, and certain things you value that others may not.

• Learn about what sort of job will suit you and feel like a natural fit.

• Stand out from the pack, equipped with new self-awareness useful in interview and professional conversations. Companies look for high IQ, but also high EQ (“emotional quotient”). They want people who work well as a team.

• Gain a practical, quick reference to help you understand how to communicate effectively with different personalities.

• Improve communication with friends and family.

• Set yourself up for early success in a new job as you meet and interact with new teammates

Take the DISC test for FREE

Have I convinced you yet? If you needed any more incentive to take the DISC for yourself, here’s the best part. It’s FREE!

You can find a variety of DISC assessments online, ranging from “free” to $250. I always paid around $200 per test over the years, but in recent years I’ve been seeing some cheap ($30) versions that produce a limited insight, not the full 20-page report you really want. Other versions do not include the Values/Motivators test, which I recommend as an important complement.

You are welcome to search for the option that looks best, but I have spent many hours reviewing and taking numerous online versions of the DISC. The best option I’ve found yet recommend is on Tony Robbin’s website. He offers the full DISC profile report and Values/Motivators test for free—a $250 value!

That’s a $250 value, with an intuitive web design that makes it easy and quick to take.  Upon completion, you can download the PDF results right away. The catch is, you will be added to Tony’s email list. You can remove yourself of course, but I’m a fan of his work, and the encouraging perspective he provides is great to have during a job search.

10 quick tips to make the most of your DISC

1) Make time. The test takes 15-20 minutes of uninterrupted time. Once you start, you need to push through to completion. The assessment requires quick responses in succession, and you can’t save your spot. 

2) Don’t overthink it. Go with the first answer that comes to mind. Don’t linger on questions, even though you’ll find some answers can go either way. Just keep moving.

3) Be honest with yourself. The DISC won’t help you much if you don’t answer according to what you actually feel and who you actually are. You are doing this for yourself, not someone else.

4) There is no “good” or “bad” score. For you competitive types who try to win at everything, this isn’t a contest. Each person is unique and complex, and the point of the test is to simply tell it like it is.

5) Respond as your “natural” self. Answer like you would on evenings and weekends, outside of work hours. Think about how you want to operate, not how you needed to operate under the constraints of your “adapted self” of a prior job.

6) Think in scales, not absolutes. When presented with some options, think about which answer you typically prefer or lean toward. Don’t get caught up thinking about what you always or never do. Instead, respond based on what you tend to do. You’re describing generalities, not writing a definitive explanation of all of your behavior all of the time.

7) Don’t fear the box. Your personality profile does not limit your career options. You have the freedom to choose any path, of course. The DISC just provides a helpful baseline insight about your inclinations and an awareness of areas to work on and watch out for. An introvert can be a successful salesperson, and an extrovert can make a great accountant, but stepping into a role that requires adaptation will take extra energy each day.

8) Exercise empathy, not arrogance. We tend to think everyone should be just like us. Increased self-awareness does not give us a license to say, “Well, that’s just who I am, and you need to deal with it.” Such a perspective reveals arrogance, persistent blind spots, and communication failure. New insight should lead to more humble communication and increased empathy as we understand that people are different, our way is not the only way.

9) Play to your strengths. The DISC reveals areas of strength and weakness. The takeaway is not, “Go fix your shortcomings.” If that is your goal, you will end up stuck in mediocrity. Instead, double down on your strengths to maximize your career potential. Use your awareness to manage your blind spots, but don’t fixate on them.

10) Put it into action. Knowledge without action is bound to be forgotten, probably in a matter of days. Put your new knowledge into practice by discussing and applying the insight with a couple of people this next week. See how it works. Share your personality profile with a few close friends for additional feedback and insight.

For more helpful job search tips: Ultimate Job Search Guide: Recruiter Insider Tips

No matter how you got there—resigned, downsized, laid off, fired—stepping out into the job market is an overwhelming experience. You want to get moving and see progress ASAP, but that first step can be the hardest.

Most likely, you’re carrying many emotions, memories, and ideas related to your past work, what you liked and didn’t like. The first and most impactful thing you can do right away is to reflect on these prior experiences and unpack your career.   

Start unpacking

For many of us, looking back at past jobs is a bittersweet exercise. Maybe you loved the industry but hated your boss. Perhaps the commute was a breeze but the projects were a boring slog. Maybe some days you came home excited to share about your day while other days drained the life out of you.

No matter where you’re at or where you’re going, your work history is a combination of good, bad, and ugly. Some aspects you want to continue, and other aspects you hope never to do again.

The entire range of your experience is packed up together. What you need to do is systematically revisit your past roles and identify the positive things you’d like to repeat and the negative things you’d like to avoid if possible in your next job.

7 practical steps to unpack your career

Here’s how to go about unpacking your career and get started on a successful job search:

1. Block out 30 minutes in a quiet area without distractions.
   
   
2. Get a sheet of blank paper and draw a line down the middle of the page from top to bottom. Write a plus (+) sign on one side and a minus (–) sign on the other. Download Unpack Your Career Worksheet (PDF).
   
   
3. Think about your last job and the various aspects of your role. Here are a few areas to consider:
   Company size and type: small/startup, midsize, large/corporate, non-profit
   Industry: manufacturing, technology, banking, retail, etc.
   Products/services you worked with
   Your functional role and responsibilities on the team
   Team leadership areas
   Key problems you solved
   Company culture: What was it like to work there
   Compensation/benefits
   Commute/travel requirements/work hours
   Type of clients you worked with
   Systems or technology used in the role
   What attracted you to join that company? Why did you leave?
   What topics or situations typically led to conflict?
   Any insights from personal assessments? (DISC/Strength Finder/Myers-Briggs)
   What areas did you receive complimentary feedback or recognition? What areas were more of a struggle, as noted in performance reviews or meetings?
   * What made a good day good? What made a bad day bad?
   * Related to the company, what would you complain about with your colleagues? What would you praise?
   * What gave you energy and inspiration? What sucked your energy and drained you?
   
   
4. On the plus (+) side of your paper, write down all of the positive things you enjoyed and would like to repeat. Write down everything that comes to your mind, from the high-level ideas and to the trivial details.
   
   
5. On the minus (-) side, write down all of the negative things you didn’t enjoy and would prefer not to repeat. Be honest with yourself as you think about areas that may have led to poor performance or personal frustration.
   
   
6. Repeat this process for each of your prior jobs, paid and volunteer. You should end up with a full list on both sides of the page. 
   
   
7. Review your list and circle your Top 5 on each side. Some ideas can be combined, if that helps narrow the list. 
   
   

What do you do with your unpacking list?

After you’ve taken a full inventory of your work experience, it’s time to apply this information to your present job search.

Say it out loud. In my own life, I have found there is real power in saying something out loud. Let’s do this with what you just learned. Read through your list out loud, and start each column by saying:

• “In reflecting on my past roles, the top five things that I really enjoyed and gave me energy are…”

• “In reflecting on my past roles, the top give things that I did NOT enjoy and sucked my energy are…”

Listen to yourself read your list out loud. Did it inspire and empower you? Did it cause you to rethink anything in your Top 5? Did you forget anything?

Saying your list out loud should either reinforce or challenge the ideas you silently wrote on the page. What sounded like a good idea in your head may not sound so good when you say it out loud.

Be realistic. We can’t always get the “perfect” next job. But your list is a helpful set of guiding principles and a source of inspiration to point your aim in the right direction. All roles and companies will fall short and disappoint us in some ways because the perfect company with the perfect people doesn’t exist. The goal of the list is not perfection. It’s about moving in the right direction with intentionality and purpose.

Share it. Tell someone who knows you well what you just learned. Talk through your list with your spouse, a close friend, or a past co-worker. Ask for their feedback and take it to heart. Trust your instincts, but recognize that other people can serve as a mirror to reflect the truth in our lives. Be open to additional ideas and questions as you refine your initial list. Sharing your list is also a practical way to invite others to help you with your job search. If people know what you’re looking for, they can be your advocates in the marketplace.

Congratulations! Reflecting on your past jobs to develop a game plan for moving forward is time well spent.

For more helpful job search tips: Ultimate Job Search Guide: Recruiter Insider Tips

It’s a big world. Your ideal job may be at a company you’ve never even heard of. Learn how to do your research to discover and build a list of prospects.

Looking for a job is much easier if you know where you might want to work.

Most people have heard about a handful of companies in their city, but these big household names aren’t always the best fit. Take some time to learn what else is out there. Study the landscape and assess all of your options. In fact, give yourself two full days to complete this process. Finding a job is a full-time job, right?

It’s possible to do this research over weeks or a month, but if you can make it through the process in two days, you’ll get a quick win and build some strong momentum.

DAY ONE: Expand Your Perspective

The first day’s goal is to build your “Big List”, prospective companies where you’d like to work. Don’t worry about ranking anything at this stage. Just capture anything of potential interest—anywhere that would be a “yes” or “maybe”—and keep moving.

Build a spreadsheet

Before you dig in, start a spreadsheet to help you create order in the chaos.

Create a spreadsheet including at least these key columns—and more, if you’d like:

• Company name
• Address
• Website
• Next step
• Notes

Duplicate this format on three separate tabs: The Dozen List, The Big List, and The Backburner. This will help you keep all of your info in one place, and you can easily promote or downgrade a company from tab to tab, based on what you learn and experience along the way. Download Target Company Tracker spreadsheet (Excel).

Any company that catches your interest starts on the Big List. If you really like them, move them to the Dozen List. If you change your mind about a company, or if it turns out to be a poor fit, move it to the Backburner as a record of past research.

Now you’re ready to collect information.

Scour the Book of Lists

Check out your local Business Journal. They publish an annual Book of Lists, which will cost you about $60 to order, or you can check it out for free at the local library.

In the Book of Lists, you’ll find the areas top public companies, top private companies, fastest-growing companies, and the top companies in each industry. Look up each company’s website and see if any catch your attention.

Follow the money

Companies that receive funding are in high-growth stage and hiring, though they may be relatively unknown by the general public and undiscovered by the average job seeker.

If you are interested in startup companies, look up local venture capital firms and check out their portfolios. Also, Crunchbase.com is a free website that allows you to search and sort companies funded in your area.

Many midsize companies receive private equity for growth. Google “private equity firm” and your city or region name to see what comes up, either for firms or for portfolio investments in your area (many invest from out of town).

Think by industry

Each industry typically publishes awards and a list of notable performers, another great place for ideas. Also, check out various industry associations. Review the membership directory of any associations you may belong to, and then look these folks up on LinkedIn or Facebook to find out where they work.

Leverage social media

Review your contacts on LinkedIn and Facebook for inspiration and ideas of companies in your area. The Internet will also come in handy when the time comes to find contacts inside your target companies.

Hit the job boards (but don’t apply yet)

During the research stage of the job search journey, focus on identifying target companies. Until you know what you want to do and where you want to do it, applying for random jobs with random companies is just a waste of time. That said, sites like Indeed.com and LinkedIn Jobs are helpful information sources.

Even though you’re not ready to apply, do pay attention to any job descriptions that stand out. Copy and paste notable sections into your notes for particular companies.

Ask a librarian

I know this sounds old school, but your tax dollars pay for well-educated public librarians who really know how to find information. Plus, they have resources beyond what you can access online. Make a copy of industry directories or key information they find, and then research more at home.

By the end of the day, you might have 50, 100, or even 200 potential companies. It’s OK to make a big list. Don’t worry whether or not a company has any relevant job postings on their website. Not all jobs are listed, and you never know what could be coming up in next few months.

Take time to study the job landscape and assess all of your options before applying.

In my follow-up article, I’ll walk you through Day Two and how to narrow your options to a shortlist of a dozen solid prospects.

For more helpful job search tips: Ultimate Job Search Guide: Recruiter Insider Tips

The Dozen List is a key part of your job search. After you expand your perspective to identify as many prospects as possible, now its time to narrow your focus.

So, “Where do you want to work?”

That’s the second-most important question on a job search—right behind, “What do you want to do?” It’s important to decide where you want to work.

It takes two full days to research and identify a handful of places where you’d consider spending the majority of your waking hours. Day one is to expand your perspective. Day two is to narrow your focus.

DAY TWO: Narrow your focus

Yesterday, you identified a Big List of maybe 50–100 prospective companies. Now it’s time to whittle those options down to the Dozen List. Like a game of corporate Survivor where you’re choosing the contestants, here’s how to pair down the competition and find your winners:

1. Build your criteria

Create a list of required and preferred attributes you’re looking for in a company. Your unpacking list will be a helpful source of ideas. If you’re honest, your list of preferences should be longer than your list of requirements—three key areas at most.

2. Screen for requirements

Scan through your big list and look for any companies that obviously don’t meet your three requirements. Move them down a tier. Hopefully, this will take care of about half your list, leaving more time for evaluating the higher potential targets.

3. Screen for preferences

Of the remaining companies, which ones match with the most items on your list of preferred criteria? Move these companies up a tier for further evaluation.

4. Read up online

Visit each company’s website. Review their products and services. How do they make money? What is their competitive advantage? Look for core values, a careers page, and any other culture indicators. Read any leadership bios, press releases, and other documentation.

Look up each company on Glassdoor.com. Glassdoor provides honest and authentic feedback about companies, written by current and past employees, like TripAdvisor for travel or Yelp for restaurants. This site is controversial because of the potential for negative bias. Happy employees may not take the time to post on Glassdoor, whereas people who were fired or didn’t fit the culture may have an ax to grind.

Search each company on Google. What do the first few pages of articles talk about? Hoovers.com is another good source of information on larger companies.

The second-most important question of any job search: Where do you want to work?

A few common mistakes

You might find that brainstorming and creating a large list was easier than narrowing it down to twelve. Beware of these common mistakes that could derail your effort.

1. Don’t rush to judgment

If you’re a quick decision-maker, emotions about each company might come quickly. Trust your gut instincts, as they are typically right, but take a little extra time to verify with some facts.

Your initial excitement about a company might change after due diligence reveals information that causes you to pause. On the other hand, you might feel a neutral or negative first impression, based on a company’s reputation or a product or service, but some quick research could reveal more to the story and suggest that the company is worth consideration after all. Keep an open mind.

2. Don’t overthink it.

If you’re a slow, methodical decision maker, you might overthink the list-making process. Deep analysis is good and better than less, but don’t overcomplicate your research by adding ten criteria and a complicated ranking system. If you arrive at the end of day two without any clear winners, go back and adjust the numbers to get the results you want. Funny how that works, huh?

3. Don’t forget the B-list

Once you’ve established the Dozen List, don’t toss your Big List. Companies will move up and down your list, and in and out of your top twelve, as you apply for jobs, interview, meet people and learn what’s out there. That’s why it’s important to keep all of your company research and notes in a single place in your Target Company Tracker (PDF / Excel / Google Sheet).

Your Dozen List is not written in stone, but it will help you focus your job search and achieve faster results.

For more helpful job search tips: Ultimate Job Search Guide: Recruiter Insider Tips

Most people drift through their job search, looking for an employer to give them a vision for their career. If you know where you are and where you want to go, this will separate you from the pack.

Identifying your career goals is very helpful and focusing, but a checklist of ideal job criteria alone will not engage your emotions or inspire you. Visualize your next job to stir your mind and heart at a deeper level, and mentally prepare yourself to work at your ideal job.

What is visualization?

I have seen the concept of “visualization” used in both healthy and unhealthy ways. 

Visualization IS NOT “believe it and achieve it” or “name it and claim it.” These philosophies tell you that you can do anything by just setting your mind to it. Sounds exciting, but accomplishment also requires hard work and doing your part.

Visualization IS a mental rehearsal to help you focus on the specific goal you have in mind. Visualization makes it more real, tangible, and something you can see yourself doing successfully.

The key to success?

Elite athletes visualize. Seasoned competitors use vivid, highly detailed mental images and run-throughs of their performance. This means engaging all the senses in your mind. Soviet Olympians popularized the practice in the 1970s. Tiger Woods has used visualization since early in his career. World champion golfer, Jack Nicklaus has said, “I never hit a shot, not even in practice, without having a very sharp, in-focus picture of it in my head”.

Famous actors visualize. Before anybody knew about him, actor Jim Carrey would sit each night in his car off Muholland Drive and visualize becoming a Hollywood star. He even wrote himself a $10 million check for a movie deal, and post-dated it five years in the future. Guess what happened? Not long before that date came along, he landed $10 million to star in Dumb and Dumber.

Effective businesspeople visualize. Many business leaders will visualize a vivid future for their company, including key moments that will drive and inspire them towards that goal. Visualizing a successful client meeting or delivering a successful speech has a way of helping you live in that future state which you expect. Entrepreneur Tim Ferris takes the process a step further. “I constantly visualize,” he says. “I will review video of top performers . . . right before going to bed, and then I will end up visualizing, or dreaming oftentimes, about those skills. That’s a very consistent practice of mine.”

Successful job seekers visualize. Creating a vivid and realistic image of that next job activates our subconscious. In a sense, we begin to believe it has already happened. When we feel at peace in this future reality, our brain begins to believe that we will be successful. This motivates us to turn our vision into reality. This belief that we’re already there (while just in our mind) is projected to others, which can come across as healthy confidence and being fit for the job.

5 quick tips for successful visualization

1. Create a detailed mental experience

First thing in the morning (or late at night), sit up straight and close your eyes. Imagine you are already working in your next ideal job. Mentally rehearse that moment as if it were happening right now. Engage with all of your senses. Where are you sitting? Who are you talking with? What issue are you discussing? What are you wearing? What does the office look like? Do you smell anything? What do you hear? What are you feeling?

The power in visualization is believing you already have the thing you want. It’s more than simply hoping to achieve it someday. You live and experience the moment as if it were real right now.

While you know this is a mental trick, your subconscious mind, which doesn’t recognize the difference so easily, has a way of focusing thoughts and beliefs in this future state. This method helps change your beliefs, assumptions, and opinions.

2. Practice the Day One mindset

Visualization is also a powerful tool when it comes to interviews. You can interview like you are showing up for the first day of work (“Day One”) at the company. This attitude comes across positively during the interview because it creates a sense within the interviewer that the candidate already fits the company and belongs on the team.

3. Eliminate negative doubts

Your mind might battle your future vision, injecting doubts, fears, or unbelief. Push back and get rid of the negative self-talk. This may seem odd at first, and your mind can drift, but visualization will feel more normal with practice.

4. Repeat positive affirmations

Tell yourself what you want to believe. For example,  “I am loved and my family regardless of my work.” Or, “I am strong and courageous.” Or, “I am successful.” Or, “I am a great product manager who delivers great work that delights the customer.”

5. Post a picture

Remind yourself of your visualized future with an image, picture, or collage somewhere in your home where you’ll see it each day. Images have a way of moving us more than words.

For more helpful job search tips: Ultimate Job Search Guide: Recruiter Insider Tips