Understanding oneself is crucial for personal and professional success. Personality assessments are valuable tools that provide insights into individual strengths, weaknesses, and preferences, guiding career decisions and personal development. Students, school districts, and teachers have many choices available for helping students learn about themselves. Some options provide minimal depth, and some go into much more detail. Some tools are platforms with many different bells and whistles; others are more focused on providing the student with concrete career direction. Among the available options, the Naviance Platform and the Birkman Method are popular. In this blog post, we’ll compare the pros and cons of each to help you understand the value of a platform vs. the value of an in-depth assessment.
Naviance: An Overview
Naviance is a college and career readiness platform offering assessments like the Career Interest Profiler embedded in Naviance based on Holland Code and StrengthsExplorer to help students identify their interests, strengths, and potential career paths. These tools guide students in aligning their academic plans with their post-graduation goals, providing insights into careers, required education, and potential salaries. The platform also helps students plan coursework, explore colleges, and track application progress. By combining self-discovery with academic and career planning, Naviance supports students, educators, and families in preparing for the future. Many school districts like Gwinnett County schools in my area adopt platforms like this to help guide students down a particular path, but are the assessments they offer rich enough to truly guide students to the best career choice for their personality?
Pros of the Naviance Platform:
- Designed for Education: Naviance is specifically designed for the education sector, making it highly relevant for students and educational institutions. It offers insights into students’ strengths, interests, and career aspirations, helping them make informed decisions about their academic and career paths.
- Integration with Educational Resources: Naviance integrates with various educational resources, including college and career planning tools, scholarship databases, and college application platforms. This seamless integration streamlines the college application process and provides students access to valuable resources to support their academic and career goals.
- Early Intervention and Support: Naviance facilitates early intervention and support for students by identifying their strengths and areas for improvement. Counselors and educators can use the insights provided by Naviance to tailor interventions and support services to meet student’s individual needs, fostering academic success and personal growth.
- Data-Driven Decision Making: Naviance offers robust data analytics capabilities, allowing educational institutions to track students’ progress, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions. This data-driven approach can enhance student outcomes and improve overall school performance.
Cons for the Naviance Platform:
- Limited Scope: While Naviance is highly effective for educational purposes, its focus on students’ academic and career aspirations may limit its applicability in other contexts. Individuals seeking a more comprehensive understanding of their personality beyond their educational goals may find Naviance lacking depth.
- Dependence on School Resources: Access to Naviance may be limited to students and educational institutions that have subscribed to the platform. Individuals outside the education sector may not have access to Naviance, restricting its availability to a broader audience.
- Privacy Concerns: As with any online platform, Naviance raises privacy concerns about collecting and using students’ personal data. Educational institutions must ensure compliance with relevant privacy regulations and implement appropriate safeguards to protect students’ privacy and data security.
- Middle Schools: Does it work for middle school students? I know that in Gwinnett County some teachers, principals and students question the validity of the tool for middle school students and it may be much better suited for high school students.
The Birkman Method: An Overview
The Birkman Method, originally developed by Roger Birkman in the 1950s, is a robust personality assessment that integrates behavioral and occupational insights. It provides detailed insights into an individual’s natural behaviors, underlying needs, reactions to stress, and career interests. Widely recognized for its applications in organizational development, team building, and leadership coaching, the method also offers significant benefits in career coaching. Its integration with O*NET and the comprehensive job titles report enables career professionals to align a person’s interests and personality scores with potential career paths.
Pros for The Birkman Method:
- Comprehensive Insights: The Birkman Method offers a thorough personality assessment, encompassing multiple dimensions such as behavior, motivations, and underlying needs. This holistic approach provides a nuanced understanding of individuals’ personalities and their impact on various aspects of their lives, including career choices, relationships, and personal development. No other assessment offers a more comprehensive look at an individual’s needs. If you don’t understand how you need to be treated by others or the environment you need to thrive, navigating life and dealing with stressors can be more challenging.
- Applicability Across Contexts: Unlike some assessments that relate to specific industries or sectors, the Birkman Method is applicable across a wide range of contexts, including corporate, nonprofit, and personal development settings. Individuals can use the insights gained from the Birkman Method to inform various aspects of their lives, from career planning to interpersonal relationships. I first took the assessment when I joined Cox Enterprises, which was enlightening. Working for a company willing to invest in employees to help them better understand themselves and the people around them daily was a pleasure.
- Scientific Foundation: The Birkman Method is grounded in psychometric principles and extensive research, enhancing its reliability and validity. Users can confidently trust the accuracy of their results, making it a trusted tool for personal and professional development. While I’m not a scientist, many different white papers are available on my resources page that you can read to learn the science.
- Customizable Reports: The Birkman Method generates highly customizable reports tailored to users’ needs. Whether for career guidance, leadership development, or team dynamics, individuals can access insights directly relevant to their goals and objectives.
Cons for the Birkman Method:
- Complexity and Training Requirement: Compared to other personality assessments, the Birkman Method can be more complex and require specialized training to administer and interpret effectively. This complexity may be daunting for individuals new to personality assessments or who lack access to qualified professionals for guidance. However, it will enlighten those who love the detail and are scientific.
- Cost: Obtaining a Birkman Method assessment involves a significant financial investment, particularly for organizations seeking to assess multiple individuals. This cost may be prohibitive for some individuals or small businesses with limited budgets. As of the writing of this blog, Birkman charges $175 per assessment. For some, this can be significant, but if you look at it as an investment in your future, you might see it differently.
- Dependence on Expert Interpretation: Interpreting Birkman Method results effectively requires a certain level of expertise and training. Individuals may struggle to extract meaningful insights from their assessment results without proper training or guidance from qualified professionals. As a Birkman Certified Professional, I believe that your experience with the tool will be much better if you will work with someone who can make the results relevant to your situation and tell your stories to help you learn while listening to your stories about what it means for you.
In conclusion, Naviance and the Birkman Method offer valuable insights into personality. Each has strengths and weaknesses. The choice between them ultimately depends on the specific needs and preferences of the individual or organization seeking assessment. In the case of Naviance, schools will largely evaluate the platform for needs broader than personality. However, parents should understand the depth of what they get from a career exploration perspective for their child.
Naviance may be the preferred option for students and educational institutions focused on academic and career planning. However, the Birkman Method offers greater depth and flexibility for those seeking a more comprehensive understanding of personality applicable across various contexts. Regardless of the choice, both assessments have the potential to empower individuals to make informed decisions about their futures and unlock their full potential. In another blog, I will examine the two assessments embedded within the Naviance Platform and compare them with the Birkman Method.
Empower your child to embark on a journey of self-discovery, confidence, and success, laying the groundwork for a fulfilling and purposeful career. Get in touch with Career Upside, your trusted career coach in Atlanta, GA, today to schedule your free consultation.
