What is The Birkman Method® About USM?
They are comprehensive systems for assessing
and enhancing individual, team, and organizational effectiveness.
Individuals, hundreds of thousands of individuals, have used The
Birkman Method® to identify their strengths, choose a suitable
career, manage the stress of the work environment, and understand
what will keep their personal work motivation at a high level. Over
5,000 companies have utilized The Birkman Method® to build cohesive
teams, improve communication and productivity, increase sales, reduce
turnover, and enhance management effectiveness. The Birkman Method®
draws from an extensive, non-clinical database of over 1.5 million
working professionals, making it one of the most valid and reliable
tools devised for assessing interests, motivations, and stress behaviors
off individuals.
How similar are The Birkman Method® and About USM?
The Birkman Method® powers ABOUT USM.
They provide the same validity, accuracy, and insight, but are presented
with different verbiage. About USM is hip, radical, cool, or awesome
depending on your generation..
How does The Birkman Method® work?
The Birkman Method® creates an objective,
non-judgmental profile of your behavior. This profile provides a
graphical four-dimensional portrait of you: your interests and goals,
usual style, underlying needs, and behavior under stress-all factors
that govern your personal success. A simple, easy-to-understand
questionnaire asks you about your perceptions and responses to everyday,
normal events. Over 35 different reports can be generated from your
responses. Occupational formats compare your answers to those of
successful people in over 900 job categories. Other formats focus
on your personal style and motivational needs. Birkman formats used
in the business environment address everything from management and
supervision to interviewing and selection.
Why use The Birkman Method® for Career
Planning?
As we selected tools for use in The Princeton
Review's Career Development Seminar, we found the Birkman Method
to be far superior to the other instruments purportedly used for
similar purposes. Of the many reasons, it is worth noting two here:
The Birkman Method is the only instrument available that does not
assume that the way you act is also the way you want to be treated--in
other words, that behavior does not necessarily equate with motivational
needs. To put it simply, but accurately: Individuals and organizations
that have used the Birkman Method have found it astonishingly precise.
Our students agree!
How can The Birkman Method® help me with Career Planning?
Self-awareness is certainly a major part of the foundation
of success and happiness. Your ability to secure a job-and ultimately
a career-in which you will thrive, depends on how well you can match
yourself with the opportunities available. There are four behavioral
dimensions presented in the Birkman Method -- Interests, Style, Needs,
and Stress Behaviors. These can provide a strong basis for you to
understand better: yourself. The four dimensions will also give you
a framework within which you can examine potential work environments
to see if they are right for you.
"Interests" describe the types of activities to which
you are drawn; these will need to be present in a job or career
that you are considering if you are to stay motivated. It is important
to note that interest in an activity does not necessarily indicate
skill.
Usual "Style" describes the strengths that you could
bring to a work environment when you are at your best. This is
the way you like to get results. A work environment in which your
strengths are appreciated is a big part of career satisfaction.
"Needs" describe what you require to be at your best.
This is the kind of support you need in a job to bring out your
strengths. Your needs might be very different from your style.
"Stress Behaviors" describe your behavior when your
needs are not being met. When you can recognize your stress behavior,
you will have an improved ability to adjust to uncomfortable situations.
The Birkman Method's objective, non-judgmental, founded on your
own perceptions, approach can help you examine the career planning
or job-search process with a depth of understanding that is unparalleled.
Contrasting The Birkman Method® with Imitation Instruments?
The Birkman...
- A motivational assessment system-not psychological.
- Does not assume consistency between usual behavior
and unrecognized motivational needs.
- Generates relational and occupational information.
- Non-invasive, no judgements and no labels.
- Non-invasive, no judgements and no labels.
- Four-dimensional: Interests, Usual Behavior, Stress
Behavior, and Motivational Needs.
- Perception based non-judgmental.
- Comprehensive reliability and validity data; integrated
"living" database.
- Fair: Meets and/or exceeds standards set by EEOC.
The Birkman Method® cannot be compared
with any single personality measure, with any single interest survey,
with any single needs assessment instrument, with any social perception
measure -- The Birkman Method® embraces all of these simultaneously.
FAQ: The Peter Weil Group
