Discover What You do Best!

Beth is a junior in high school who performed well but just couldn’t figure out what to do about college. She is the youngest of 4 siblings all of whom knew what direction they were going in upon graduation. Beth was skeptical and wasn’t sure what she wanted to do or even how to begin thinking about it. All she knew was that she had to get some sort of college degree to please her parents.

Primary Problem

Many students find it very difficult to envision their future- to know where they are going. They don’t have enough experience about their options or they have preconceived opinions about the ’only’ career they think they want. Often this is based on what a parent or friend is doing. In reality, each student should make decisions based on one very real issue, who am I?

You are a unique individual, hardwired in ways that make you distinct. You may have some of the strengths and talents and maybe even some of the interests of your parents, but you also have some that are unique to you. So how do you decide what path to take for school? Learn what your natural strengths are. What you are good at. What comes to easily to you and what you find more difficult. How you solve problems most effectively. Will you learn best in a large or small school environment? More important than test scores are who you are, what you do well, and what you enjoy doing.

Going To College? Start With Yourself!

By taking the Highlands Ability Battery and Whole Person Method, Beth discovered that she was a specialist/introvert scoring high in areas of creativity. She realized things during her consultation with her consultant that she knew to be true but was never able to put into words. As a perfectionist who liked working from a specialized perspective, she learned that a small school would be a better fit. Beth took an art class in her senior year and enjoyed working on the school yearbook. With her new found passion for art, Beth is now attending Savannah College of Art and Design, majoring in graphic design, and loving it. She hopes to go into some form of advertising. Her dream job would be to find a field that will allow her to combine her passion for art and her lifelong interest in horses. Perhaps advertising in the equestrian world.

Key message

Seek out practical as well as educational learning experiences that focus on your choices. College is a time of learning and experiencing. Make a connection between your school work and future work activities. Once you have discovered your natural abilities give yourself the chance to experience life in areas that combine your abilities and your interests. Consider several options and concentrate on courses, summer jobs and internships that draw upon these abilities and interests.

Knowing your strengths will put you on higher ground in your life and career

Work to your advantage and know your strengths. Different from skills that can be acquired, your natural talents are at your core. They are what powers us. For some, talents are specialized, like a gift for music or design, for others, talents are more generalized, like a gift for leading teams or teaching. But do you really know what you are good at? Step one in the Whole Person Method is to complete an objective assessment of your abilities. Not a reflection of what you think you are good at or what others say you do best, but a reliable measurement of your aptitudes, based on performance, will give you the strong foundation needed for making decisions throughout your lifetime.

Most programs designed to help people find their best careers look at people in too limited a perspective. The Whole Person Method treats people and their careers holistically and honors their complexity. We don’t settle for a simple picture of who you are, you are not just your abilities, just your personality, or just your interests, the Method incorporates these and other life factors during your one on one consultation with a certified Highlands Consultant, step two of the Method.