About Aptitudes
Aptitudes are natural abilities
Aptitudes are natural talents or abilities, which predict the potential to do or learn to do certain kinds of tasks quickly and easily. They can also be thought of as inclinations or tendencies and are generally unaffected by knowledge, culture, education, or even interests. They have more to do with how you were born than what you might have been influenced by. Musical or athletic talents are good examples of aptitudes.
Most people recognize that some things are easy for them but other things feel harder. Some people are talented visual artists but have never been able to master an instrument. Others are good at talking to people but struggle with paperwork. Still others can easily repair a car, but find writing difficult. These basic differences among people are important factors in why one person might be satisfied as an accountant, another satisfied as an engineer, and still another satisfied working as an editor. Our aptitude testing will identify your natural abilities and the types of roles you would likely get the most satisfaction from.
Are you good at generating ideas, or analyzing numerical information? Can you think three-dimensionally or organize information quickly? Those are examples of aptitudes, and each occupation uses a different combination of these.
Career fields use particular patterns of aptitudes
Every occupation, whether it is engineering, medicine, law, or management, uses certain aptitudes. The work you are most likely to enjoy and be successful in is work that uses your aptitudes. For example, if you are an engineer but possess aptitudes that are never used in that field, your work might seem unrewarding. Likewise, if you lack engineering aptitudes, your work might be difficult or unpleasant.
What are your natural aptitudes?
Testing will help in choosing work that fits you
With extensive research over 100 years, the Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation has been able to isolate 21 different aptitudes, and the various tests that you take in our testing centers are for the most part measures of these aptitudes.
The primary purpose of taking aptitude tests is to find areas in which you have innate ability. It has been our experience that people tend to be more satisfied and successful in occupations that challenge their aptitudes and do not demand aptitudes that they lack.
Our aptitude testing program assists you in discovering the course of study and the type of work that will fit your aptitude pattern; it will help you to understand why certain educational paths and occupations are likely to be more satisfying or rewarding than others. As Johnson O’Connor put it many years ago:
The individual who knows his own aptitudes, and their relative strengths, chooses more intelligently among the world’s host of opportunities.
The validation that comes with understanding your natural strengths and weaknesses can be profound. We often hear from former clients who want to update us on how testing helped them find satisfying career directions. You can read about some of their experiences on our Client Experiences page.
Aptitude testing is a unique experience, and you might have questions about what you can expect from the service. You can read more about the testing experience here or in our brochure [pdf]. You can also visit our Events page to register for an upcoming informational webinar.