Every person has the ability to do great things, but learning how to make the most of that ability isn’t always easy. Fortunately, there’s a resource to help people unlock their talents.
StrengthsQuest, created by The Gallup Organization, is an online assessment program designed to help people understand their talents and continually build them into strengths.
“StrengthsQuest shows how people understand their individual talents to benefit companies and communities,” says Brandi Mair, Student Life and Leadership coordinator and StrengthsQuest team member at Salt Lake Community College.
SLCC makes this program available to all students, faculty and staff.
StrengthsQuest in other schools
Across the state of Utah, many colleges and universities require students to take an assessment before they enroll in classes. Schools have seen success with how students and faculty develop their skills by taking the StrengthsQuest assessment.
After taking the assessment, the results highlight the individual’s top five talents from of a list of 34 talent themes. Each theme has a unique name such as Achiever, Learner, Developer, and Maximizer. The more dominant theme a person inherits, the greater their themes or talents will improve their behavior and performance.
“When I transferred to LDS Business College, we had to take this same assessment for our talents,” says LDSBC student Chelsea Reisdorfer-Salazar. “I didn’t think it was a big deal to know what my talents were but after the assessment, it showed me talents I never thought I had.”
“Simply knowing my talents motivates me to actively find ways it can relate to my career choice and help find a job when I leave school.”
StrengthsQuest develops more than talents
Learning the basics on how to find talents is merely the beginning to impacting a person’s performance.
“StrengthsQuest have been placed in higher education settings for students to know their talents and apply them to which job field they choose to pursue,” Mair says.
SLCC students who take the StrengthsQuest assessment will better understand their abilities and how to apply them in academic, personal and professional settings.
“Results help us see the major improvement for [a] person’s productivity in all aspects [of] life,” Mair adds.
After participating in a presentation by one of the coordinators from the Student Life and Leadership staff, each student receives an access code to complete the assessment to find their talents and also receive a StrengthsQuest book. Students who are currently enrolled are provided an access code free of charge.
Students, faculty and staff members interested in taking the StrengthsQuest assessment can contact Mair at Brandi.Mair@slcc.edu.
