The Highlands Ability Battery is a way to measure your aptitudes. If you’re wondering why it’s called an “ability” battery rather than an “aptitude” battery, it’s because an ability is a realized aptitude. In this sense, aptitudes can act as predictors of future abilities that develop out of that aptitude. As The Highlands Ability Battery overview states, “Knowing your abilities can help you steer toward tasks and roles that use your best talents, and steer away from tasks that would be naturally difficult for you to do.”
The The Highlands Ability Battery groups aptitudes into the following four categories. Each category contains several aptitudes in which you may test strongly, weakly, or moderately.
- Personal style: “This section shows your results in three scales which interpret the frame of reference from which you approach your work: the Generalist/Specialist scale, the Introvert/Extrovert scale, and Time Frame scale.” You might think of these in as similar to the Meyers-Briggs, in which your personality affects the way you structure problems, make decisions, and generate energy.
- Driving abilities: “The Driving Abilities are very powerful and influence almost every part of our work lives. This is true whatever an individual’s results. Each one of these abilities asserts itself in our lives. It is absolutely critical to take them into account when considering what role you should play at work.” The use of driving abilities is linked to career happiness.
- Specialized abilities: “The Specialized Abilities help or enhance our work and lives. While most of them do not assert themselves as strongly as the Driving Abilities, it is important to pay attention to the patterns which form when these abilities combine with one another as well as with the Driving Abilities.”
- Vocabulary: “Vocabulary is a personal tool developed by each individual over time, rather than a natural ability, but the range of your vocabulary will affect how effectively you can use some of your innate abilities.”
These four groupings are different than some other aptitude test publishers. There are pros and cons to different kinds of aptitude tests, but The Career Profiler most highly recommends The Highlands Ability Battery. Another important thing to keep in mind while choosing career tests is that no single test can tell you everything you need to know in order to choose the best job for you. As Johnson O’Connor, a major aptitude test publisher says, “Remember that any educational or career decision you make should take into account not only your abilities, but also other important life factors such as your interests, personality, goals, values, family of origin and experience, and your stage of career development. Abilities alone should not determine what career and life decisions you make. Abilities should be considered a basic and important piece of the whole picture.”
This has been a brief overview of the components of The Highlands Ability Battery. If you have more questions, check out more blogs about aptitudes and Aptitude Tests. If you are not convinced about the power of knowing your aptitudes, learn more about why aptitudes make you happy!