In working life, there are moments when we need to pause and face something new. A previous role may come to an end, a job search may lie ahead, or we may begin to ask ourselves what kind of next career step would truly be right for us.

These transition points are often valuable opportunities to clarify our direction: Who am I? What motivates me? And in what kind of work can I use my strengths in the best possible way?

Leadership coach Maria Purokoski-Vainio has used the WorkPlace Big Five Profile® personality profile as a tool in career coaching. According to her, the profile can offer clarity especially when a coachee needs help putting their competence, motivation and future options into words.

Read below to discover what kinds of insights the profile can bring to job searching, articulating strengths and clarifying one’s own direction.

When your direction needs clarification

Maria Purokoski-Vainio shares an example of a career coaching client with whom she had completed the WorkPlace Big Five Profile® personality profile. The client was at a point where they were considering their next step in working life. A previous role was behind them, and a new potential opportunity lay ahead — this time in a role with a stronger sales element and closer to the customer interface.

At first, the client was not sure whether the role was right for them. They wondered whether the position interested them enough and whether they had the right strengths for it.

In the coaching conversation based on the profile, they began to explore what kinds of things energised the client at work, what their natural strengths were, and what kinds of situations gave them energy. Through the conversation, the client also began to understand more clearly why their previous work had felt burdensome.

At the same time, a new insight emerged: perhaps working close to customers could be a direction where they would be able to make better use of their strengths and do work that felt meaningful to them.

Turning strengths into concrete support for the job search

At the end of the coaching conversation, Purokoski-Vainio and the client also sparred for an upcoming job interview. The WorkPlace Big Five Profile® helped the client articulate their strengths, motivation and way of working in a concrete way.

This is one of the important benefits of using a personality profile in career coaching. The profile does not only increase self-awareness — it can also help turn insights into practical action: How do I talk about myself in a job interview? How do I describe my strengths? And how do I recognize roles where I am likely to thrive and succeed?

A few weeks later, Purokoski-Vainio received a message from the client: they had got the position they had applied for and were about to start in their new job the following week.

According to Purokoski-Vainio, the story illustrates well how the WorkPlace Big Five Profile® can increase awareness of who we are, what we want and what motivates us at work. At the same time, the profile can provide very concrete tools for job searching and career decision-making.

A personality profile puts into words what many people recognize inthemselves

Purokoski-Vainio says that people are often surprised by how accurately a personality profile seems to describe them. Many recognize themselves in the results and say that it feels right — even though they would not have been able to put it into words as clearly themselves.

This power of articulation is exactly what makes the WorkPlace Big Five Profile® useful in career coaching, leadership development and team development. When people understand their own ways of working, sources of motivation and strengths better, it becomes easier to make conscious choices and build a working life that fits them.

Interested in the WorkPlace Big Five Profile®?

The WorkPlace Big Five Profile® can offer career coaching, leadership development and working life transitions a clear language for understanding and articulating strengths, motivation and ways of working.

Purokoski-Vainio’s example shows how a conversation based on the profile can help make visible what truly matters to a person at work.

Read more about the WorkPlace Big Five Profile® and get it for your own use.

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Maria Purokoski-Vainio is a leadership coach, developer of teams and work communities, and founder of Puro Coaching. In her work, she uses WorkPlace Big Five Profile® profiles to support the development of individuals, leaders and teams.