HIGH5 Career Test Review: My Honest Experience as a Career Changer

A few months ago, I found myself at a crossroads in my career. I’d spent years in a role that no longer felt energizing, and the idea of making a change was both exciting and terrifying. Like many professionals in transition, I started looking for tools that could give me clarity and confidence about my next steps. That’s when I stumbled upon the HIGH5 Career Test. What started as a quick online quiz turned into a surprisingly insightful experience that helped me reframe how I see my strengths and career possibilities.

What is HIGH5?

HIGH5 is an online strengths and career assessment designed to help people uncover their top five natural talents. Unlike personality tests that often box you into rigid categories, HIGH5 highlights what energizes you, what you naturally excel at, and what gives your work meaning. More than four million people have already taken the test, which gave me confidence that it wasn’t just another random internet quiz. It’s grounded in positive psychology, which means it focuses on amplifying your talents rather than diagnosing weaknesses.

What Makes HIGH5 Unique

What immediately stood out to me about HIGH5 was its accessibility. The fact that you can take the test and receive your top strengths for free makes it far more approachable than many alternatives. Beyond that, the emphasis on strengths felt refreshing. Instead of telling me what I lacked, it gave me language to describe what I already bring to the table. The report also connects strengths directly to career applications, which I found especially useful as someone thinking seriously about a career change. The overall tone was encouraging, almost like a supportive coach, which made the process feel motivating rather than intimidating.

How the HIGH5 Test Works

Taking the test itself was straightforward. I set aside about 20 minutes, grabbed a coffee, and worked through a series of statements where I had to rate how strongly I identified with them. Unlike tests that force you into yes/no answers, HIGH5 uses slider-style questions that capture more nuance. The prompts asked about things like which tasks excite me, how I approach challenges, and what values matter most in my work. By the time I finished, I realized I had also done a little self-reflection along the way, which in itself was valuable.

Categories and Strengths List

The results are organized around twenty possible strengths. These include categories such as Catalyst, Coach, Problem Solver, Optimist, and Strategist. Everyone ends up with their own unique combination, but the free test shows you only your top five. In my case, the top strengths immediately resonated with my past experiences. Some felt like old friends, like traits I knew but had never articulated so clearly, while others surprised me and gave me a new perspective. Seeing them laid out helped me better understand why I had thrived in certain roles and felt drained in others.

Free Results

With no cost at all, I instantly received a simple yet meaningful report of my top five strengths. Each one came with a short explanation of what it means and how it shows up at work. What I appreciated was the way it phrased these insights in terms of what gives me energy and meaning, not just what I’m “good” at. Even this free snapshot gave me enough language to rethink my resume and start updating my LinkedIn profile. For a free tool, that’s impressive.

The Full Report (Paid Upgrade)

Because I wanted more concrete direction, I decided to purchase the Career Strengths Report. This felt like the next natural step, especially as I was preparing for a possible job transition. The full report went far beyond the free version. It didn’t just tell me my strengths—it showed me how to apply them in the real world of work.

What’s Included in the Full Report

The upgraded report provided several layers of guidance. It suggested career paths and industries that align with my profile, offered interview and resume tips tailored to my strengths, and even broke down the types of team cultures and management styles where I would thrive. One of the most valuable parts was the roadmap for initiating a career change. It gave me actionable steps rather than vague encouragement, which made the idea of pivoting careers feel a lot less daunting.

Comparison to CliftonStrengths

I’ve also tried CliftonStrengths (formerly StrengthsFinder) in the past, so I naturally compared the two. CliftonStrengths is well-established and widely used in professional development, but it requires payment from the start. HIGH5, on the other hand, lets you discover your top five strengths for free, which makes it much easier to try without hesitation. I also found that HIGH5 spoke more directly to career change, whereas CliftonStrengths felt broader and more oriented toward leadership and personal growth. For someone like me who wanted clear guidance for next steps in my career, HIGH5 felt more practical.

What I Liked

Looking back, there were several things I genuinely appreciated about HIGH5. The test was quick and easy to take, yet surprisingly accurate. The positive framing of strengths gave me a confidence boost at a time when I really needed it. I also loved how the report connected my natural talents to specific career advice, and I walked away with insights I could immediately put into action. Most importantly, the process made me feel more energized about my future instead of overwhelmed by uncertainty.

What Features I Suggested

If I could suggest improvements, I’d love to see HIGH5 expand into even more career-oriented tools. Imagine if there were a built-in job board or matching system that connected your strengths directly to open positions. It would also be interesting to see more real-world case studies of professionals who used their strengths to pivot successfully. And for those of us changing industries, deeper transition strategies, like how to frame transferable skills, would make the report even more powerful.

Final Thoughts

Overall, my experience with the HIGH5 Career Test was both eye-opening and encouraging. It gave me clarity about what I bring to the table and concrete ideas for how to move forward. The free results alone are worth trying, but if you’re serious about making a career change, the full Career Strengths Report provides a personalized roadmap that can save you hours of second-guessing. For me, it turned the daunting idea of change into an exciting opportunity. If you’re at a crossroads in your own career, I’d recommend starting with the HIGH5 Career Test, as it might just give you the clarity you’re looking for.