Recently in class we took a VALS survey that asked questions about our individual personalities, interests, and current financial situation. The results were calculated and instantaneously categorized each of us into categories based on the type of consumer we are. The results that I received based on my answers were Achiever and Innovator.
Achiever:
Motivated by the desire for achievement, Achievers have goal-oriented lifestyles and a deep commitment to career and family. Their social lives reflect this focus and are structured around family, their place of worship, and work. Achievers live conventional lives, are politically conservative, and respect authority and the status quo. They value consensus, predictability, and stability over risk, intimacy, and self-discovery.
With many wants and needs, Achievers are active in the consumer marketplace. Image is important to Achievers; they favor established, prestige products and services that demonstrate success to their peers. Because of their busy lives, they are often interested in a variety of time-saving devices.
I would have to agree being categorized as an achiever. My goals and what I strive for on a daily basis have changed within the last 5-6 years of my life. I have now centered my life around my career and rapidly excelling to become a noticed and valued employee within my company. Although, my current company may not be a company that I grow old with, I make it a point to put in 200% each and every day. I find myself going above and beyond in order to secure that next step in my career. I never want my name to be forgotten, therefore it is imperative that I constantly remain on top of and at the forefront of the decision makers within my company. Although, I am only 29 years old, I have managed to become a force to be reckoned with in an industry dominated by older, experienced, men.
I have also take the role of the achiever seriously in my academic life. In the later part of my twenties, I have realized the mistakes of years past, and would like to conquer my education and be on top in that aspect as well. Thus far I have met my goals, securing a 4.0 in my first semester back in academia after an 8 year absence. Because of all these exciting and important goals that I have set upon myself, I do lead a more conventional life than the average 29 year old. I live by a rigged schedule, rarely having time to spend out carelessly. Each and every move that I make is carefully managed and calculated, all in hopes of not ruining the overall goal.
In terms of being an achiever in the marketplace, I would agree that I am an active consumer that does tend to by based on the label. I would disagree that I purchase out of want - in order to show my peers. I would agree that I do it for quality purposes. I would agree that purchasing new things, is exciting and you want to show them off, and depending upon the item, it may or may seem to others that you are successful.
Innovator:
Innovators are successful, sophisticated, take-charge people with high self-esteem. Because they have such abundant resources, they exhibit all three primary motivations in varying degrees. They are change leaders and are the most receptive to new ideas and technologies. Innovators are very active consumers, and their purchases reflect cultivated tastes for upscale, niche products and services.
Image is important to Innovators, not as evidence of status or power but as an expression of their taste, independence, and personality. Innovators are among the established and emerging leaders in business and government, yet they continue to seek challenges. Their lives are characterized by variety. Their possessions and recreation reflect a cultivated taste for the finer things in life.
I would agree that I was an Innovator based on the last few sentences of the description. As I stated earlier, I am the minority in my current job field. I believe that I was hired as a form of new energy and ideas, in a field of ideas that have come and gone. Like the description states I do continue to seek new challenges. I have have made it a point to finish my double major within a 3 year time window. I have set the goal for myself at work - hoping to accomplish being promoted to a category-manager within my first 2 years of employment. For me there is no top of the mountain, no glass ceiling, I never want to stop succeeding! I also stated earlier in the achiever category that I do like the finer things in life, but that has to do more with qualitative purposes than quantitative purposes. I buy products because I have worked for the opportunity to purchase them. I do not believe in flaunting, and I still find it imperative to help those less fortunate than myself. I do not take anything for granted. I remember where I came from, and I will always remember those who helped me along the way.
