From Insights to Action: Build on the Momentum of Your HAB Debrief!
This blog post is the second in a three-part series exploring how the Highlands Ability Battery (HAB) can help you successfully navigate early career transitions and turning points. Missed the first post? Catch up here: Launch—or Refine—Your Early Career with the Highlands Ability Battery.
Whether you’ve recently graduated, are exploring an early career or job change, or are trying to find your professional footing, taking the Highlands Ability Battery is a profound investment in yourself.
So, you’ve completed the HAB, gone through the debrief session, and read your reports. You’ve gained invaluable insights about yourself—what drives and energizes you, how you learn, work, problem-solve, and communicate effectively. But you’re not done yet! Your journey has only just begun.
Now it’s time to put your HAB insights into action! These strategies and tips can help you keep the momentum going … and set the stage for a successful, satisfying and fulfilling career.
1. Let Yourself Feel the Feels
The HAB experience is personal. It sheds light on how your brain works in ways that can evoke strong emotional responses. Maybe your results validated what you’ve always suspected, or perhaps they surprised you.
Take time to reflect. Why are certain feelings arising? Approach them with curiosity, not judgment. Processing your emotions helps clear the path for strategic next steps.
Tip: Focus on developing a healthy mindset. Clearing any “mental clutter” will help you maximize the HAB experience as you navigate your early career.
2. Get Up Close and Personal with Your Results
Feeling overwhelmed by all the terms and data? That’s normal. Developing a clear understanding of the 19 abilities measured by the HAB is key to applying them in your life and career.
Observe Patterns: Notice how your natural abilities and personal style preferences show up in work, school, hobbies, and social interactions.
Reflect on Satisfaction: How have your abilities and style preferences influenced your satisfaction (or lack of) in past roles or activities? Where have they energized—or drained—you?
Maximize Strengths: If you’re in the high range for any of the Driving or Specialized Abilities, find ways to express them in your personal and/or professional life. They’re a source of energy and fulfillment for you. Get creative! Since you might not be able to use some of these abilities at work, look for opportunities to express them elsewhere—e.g., in a hobby, extracurricular activity or volunteer setting.
Bridge the Gaps: Identify areas where you're less naturally inclined and strengthen them with effective tools and strategies. Develop compensatory skills or leverage resources like calendars, project management apps, and auditory aids to support your success.
Tip: Integrate your results into your daily life! The more aware you are of how your natural abilities show up, the more meaningful your results will become.
3. Spring into Your Career Exploration
The HAB isn’t a prescription for a specific job; it’s a roadmap highlighting roles that align with your natural abilities and style preferences. Use your Career Exploration report as a springboard to investigate intriguing professions.
Spot Trends: Do certain industries or roles appear repeatedly in your results? Consider these as potential areas of interest.
Learn More: Select 3-5 occupations you think you might want to explore on a deeper level. Learn as much as you can about these jobs by clicking through to their descriptions and detailed information on My Next Move, an interactive tool maintained by O*Net, the U.S. government’s database of jobs.
Talk to Professionals: Take it a step further and talk to people who work (or have worked) in those roles. Learn about their experiences, challenges, and career paths. Ask about their training, what a typical day at work is like, what they enjoy most or find challenging about their work. Try to find a few people to interview so you get a balanced mix of firsthand stories!
Tip: Focus on alignment! By exploring careers of possible interest, you’ll gain clarity about the roles and environments that suit you best.
4. Create Your Career Compass: The Power of a Career Journal
As you uncover more about yourself, you’ll also explore industries, careers, roles, and companies that could be potential fits for your future. And remember, this is just the beginning. A career journal is a powerful tool to help you capture and build upon this valuable information.
Your journal is uniquely yours—make it work for you!
Not into traditional journaling? Call it a career tracker, career database, or anything that resonates with you!
Prefer handwritten notes? Choose a notebook that suits your style. A simple spiral notebook works, or you can splurge on a special journal that inspires you to keep it updated regularly.
Love digital tools? Use what fits your workflow best. Whether it’s a project management app, a spreadsheet, or a document, pick the format that aligns with how your brain works (now that you understand your natural abilities!).
Consider dividing your journal into these sections:
All About Me – Capture your natural abilities, skills, interests, values, goals, and priorities.
Career Research – Organize information about industries, careers, and job roles.
Job-Search Activities – Track your progress with to-do lists, submitted applications, interview notes, and follow-up tasks like thank-you notes.
Networking – Keep a list of connections, including key details to help you stay memorable and build relationships.
Professional Development – Log webinars, certifications, books, podcasts, workshops, and reviews that enhance your growth.
Tip: Don’t let your journal gather dust once you land your first job! Make it a habit to revisit and update it regularly, adding new experiences, reflections, goals, and dreams.
Think of your journal as a dynamic roadmap, guiding you through your career now and helping you navigate transitions and turning points in the future.
Remember, the Highlands Ability Battery is more than an assessment; it’s a powerful tool to help you harmonize your strengths and thrive in your early career and beyond. By thoughtfully applying its insights, you’ll be prepared to navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and confidently create a rhythm of success!
Stay tuned for the final installment in this series: “Use Your Natural Abilities to Fuel Your Job Search”, where I’ll explore how you can maximize your natural talents to comfortably and efficiently pursue your best-fit career, job and workplace environment.
Take charge of your career!
Understanding your natural abilities will help you make thoughtful, intentional decisions as you launch or refine your early career—and throughout the transitions and turning points in your future.