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I had to write this post in response to an article in The Independent titled “Teachers should face tough new tests to weed out incompetents”

It appears that none of the groups mentioned in the article understand the basics of psychometric profiling. Perhaps this is a symptom of the growing obsession of testing within the school system, for the first thing that should be pointed out is that you cannot be “tested” for personality. It is not a test. Teachers may want tests, the government may want tests, the think tank (The Institute for Public Policy Research) may want tests but unfortunately they have all misunderstood the principle of psychometrics and how it can help.

Christine Blower’s, comment that “The idea of psychometric tests is a dead end which in many other walks of life has been highly dubious and very unreliable.” is seriously misinformed with psychometrics being almost as commonly used as CVs in the recruitment process. People fear what they don’t understand and it is apparent that Christine doesn’t understand psychometrics.

Personality profiling would not tell you if someone is going to be a good teacher or a bad teacher, however it would tell you what kind of teacher they would be. As I attended five schools and several tertiary educational establishments, I am probably as qualified a customer of the educational system as anyone. In my experience teachers come in all shapes and sizes (in terms of personality that is). School as a work environment probably isn’t compatible with everyone though the ones that suffered most under the school system probably were my favourite and best teachers. School would be a poorer place if these maverick teachers were no longer part of the school fabric. A personality report will tell you what kind of teacher someone is likely to be and if they are allowed to be that type of teacher then the teaching staff and pupils will be all the richer for it.

It will also tell their manager (the head) how to manage them better. The days when the manager could get by on their “one style fits all” approach are long dead. Today managers have to adapt their style for each person they manage in order to get the most from them. Personality reports will tell managers how to manage their staff better and get the best results possible. it should make for happier managers and happier staff.

Every organisation needs a range of personalities, without this they become stagnant and lopsided. The last thing our school system needs is more drones. Great teams are made up of diverse personalities and school is a team effort. If personality profiling is to be used in schools it should be used to enable a better understanding of the individuals and how best to accommodate them and get the best from them. It won’t tell you a good teacher from a bad teacher, you need to ask the kids how to do that.

Here’s the original article.

Are you tired of drudging along in a boring office or labor-intensive job? Believe it or not, there are people out there who love their job and don’t merely tolerate it. Imagine waking up on Monday morning without a heavy sigh. This isn’t an unattainable goal. In fact, you can join the ranks of the happy working elite by following the five tips below.

1. Assess Your Strengths – There are more than one dream jobs out there, but you must first assess your strengths and determine which career is right for you. While you may have always fantasized about being an opera singer, that clearly won’t be attainable if you are tone deaf. Start your research by completing a PeopleMaps personality test, then you can decide which career path is right for you.

2. Make Contacts in the Field – Sometimes, it really is who you know that lands you a dream job. Luckily, networking has become a lot easier since the advent of Web 2.0. Starting a professional profile on Facebook and LinkedIn will help you get a foot in the door with certain contacts.

3. Know Where to Find Jobs – Certainly you aren’t still circling want ads in the Sunday paper? You need to step into the 21st century and put the Internet to good use. Meta job search engines like Jobster, Indeed and SimplyHired will do much of the legwork for you. You should also consider the possibility of relocation for your dream job, in which case you need to find out where the best jobs are to be found. Indeed some will actually provide an interactive map that shows where the highest concentration of your dream position is.

4. Develop the Perfect Resume – Your resume should be crisp and free of errors. If you have any doubts about your resume, then it would be very beneficial to hire a professional writer to polish it up. Affordable resume writers can be found through sites like Get a Freelancer, Guru and Elance.

5. Train Yourself for Interviews – Once you land a desirable interview with a company you really want to work for, you must conduct some research. Find out more about the company and, if possible, the person who will be interviewing you. Come prepared with your own questions, make eye contact, be professional and (perhaps most importantly) be relaxed. Tell yourself that you don’t need this job, as the desperation will put you at an immediate disadvantage.

The PeopleMaps “How to Series” Podcast is here!

The podcast consists of a series of interviews with Anne Ellis, Director of Psychology at PeopleMaps - and we’ve created it to help you transform your business through psychological profiling.

Anne knows more about profiling than any of us, so we were really keen to get her to reveal her secrets in person. As you know, we’re passionate about profiling, and its ability to affect change in an organisation. This How to Series will help you understand how to use profiling for more than just executive recruitment.

We’ve uploaded the first episode “How to Build Effective teams”. It lasts about 20 minutes, and my favourite part is where Anne reveals that successful teams don’t even need a “leader”!

Anne also looks at;

• Issues that arise when building teams
• Why these issues occur
• Where should we start when creating a team for a project
• What information is available to allow us to build a team
• How to build a team so effective it doesn’t need a leader

You can can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, and/or download each episode directly from Jellycast: PeopleMaps Psychological Profiling Secrets

(tip: subscribing to the series will automatically update you when each new episode is uploaded. I’ve got my subscription in beside The Archers and the wonderfully acerbic Stephen Fry!)

March Resources & Aviation

“I am looking for simple, straightforward, easy-to-understand psychometric testing without all the unnecessary complexity which some providers seem to insist upon. PeopleMaps appears to meet my needs well and cost-effectively.” Russell Higham

HRM Coaching Ltd

“We are a career coaching company looking for tools that will help us to provide a better service to our clients. Many people approach us around 10 years into working life when they are either looking at promotion or changing direction. These reports should help us when coaching them on a one-to-one basis.” Hannah McNamara

Malvern Instruments Inc

“We are a technology-focused company that has been growing, and we have a number of relatively new managers who hire people, but they don’t have any formal experience in interview techniques or hiring practices. We don’t need training to understand the reports”. Randy Byrne

The International Hotel School

“I have a very diverse team of employees and want to use the profiles to identify training and development opportunities for them.” Sanette Angloher

PULSE

“I want an online solution - I’m looking for the right psychometric system to assist my members to find careers after they have retired from their chosen professional sport.” Nigel Smith

400

“We are a small team of graphic designers and we’re currently recruiting at a senior level. We’re looking to develop our current staff using the profiles, but also make sure the new candidates will work well with the existing team. We were looking for quick and useful reports, and have found that in PeopleMaps.” Alicia O’Dell