First Ministry Interview? Here's 3 or 4 Things to Do to Be Ready

Self-Awareness is key when taking your first step in ministry.  As you begin to interview for that first residency or full time, role, you'll find that church leaders speak in a variety of "self-awareness languages" - here are three or four.:

Take this opportunity to learn about you in the following ways:

STEP ONE:  Take the following 3 tests

// STRENGTH FINDERS 2.0

FIND IT:  On Amazon for less than $20.00 and a quick download you can identify your top strengths and what this means in terms of your relatability to others. Want to go deeper with Strength Finders email Stef Row here, she is a certified Strength Finders coach with a high get it factor of church leadership.

 Typically, those who understand their Strengths will talk in terms of their “top five.”

// DISC

FIND IT: Just google search “Free DISC Assessments” and you’ll have a variety. Learn your combination of Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Conscientiousness. Cost should be free on this one, unless you’d like to pay for a deeper assessment.  There are also coaches available for a deeper dive in DISC as well.

Typically, those who understand their DISC will speak in terms such as “I’m a high D” or “I’m a S with a little bit of C.”

// PERSONALITY

FIND IT: you can find a free personality test here.

Typically, those who understand their personality type will talk in letters “I’m an ISTJ.”’

 // OPTION: THINKING WAVELENGTHS

FIND IT: I can take you through this in under an hour. Or find someone who is a certified Strat Ops supervisor. Tom Paterson developed the Paterson process of Strat Ops planning.  A core function of this training is the mapping of teams.  This test centers on how you naturally are wired to solve problems. 

STEP TWO:  Focus the picture

These three tests should lead you to be able to understand your strengths and give you a framework to talk about yourself. Those who’ve gone through these tests, and are used to talking about it, may say something like “I’m an Activator, Maximizer, & Strategist (Strength Finder) who is a High D/I with little S/C (DISC) and I’m a 7/8 on the Wavelengths.”

You should expect to have to read over your results a few times to get clear and own it. What is surprising? What is affirming?

STEP THREE:  Get perspective

Once you have the picture in focus do some perspective work. How have you seen this play out in your life in good and bad ways? Get an older trusted friend/mentor who knows you well and ask them how they’ve seen this in your behaviors. Remind them to be brutally honest.

Knowing YOU is the strongest skill to take on your next step.