Graphology is the study of handwriting and how it relates to personality. Graphology classes are only available online in America and there are several different programs from which to choose. Graphology is not to be confused with forensic handwriting or documentation examination.
To become a graphologist takes personality. This is not for someone who likes to shy away from people. If a career in graphology sounds intriguing, you have to take special courses to become a handwriting expert and may even want to go so far as to earn a psychology degree. You can now earn these degrees online, so it’ll be relatively convenient! Use these tips to learn about handwriting analysis and become a graphologist.
- Learn what this job is all about. A graphologist reconciles handwriting patterns and personalities to arrive at a profile of the person in question. There is some thought that the way a person writes can give a clue to what the personality is like. Three different approaches are generally taught to discover the personality by graphology: symbolic analysis (which incorporates components of the next two approaches), integrative graphology and holistic graphology. Each approach is a different way to look at the handwriting sample and arrive at conclusions about the mental, and in some cases, the physical health of the writer. The better you get at the analysis of handwriting, the more educated your guess will be as to what type of person wrote the words you’re studying.
- Figure out if you are cut out for this job. As mentioned earlier, getting into this line of work takes personality. You must be a people-oriented person, analytical, intelligent, observant, inquisitive and hungry to learn.
- Get the education that you need. There are short courses offered online, including those in bullet points below from the International School of Handwriting Analysis (ISHA) and Handwriting.Org, which upon completion will grant a certificate for you. These are:
- Handwriting Analysis for Beginners
- Evaluated Traits Handwriting Analysis Course
- Preparing Graphology Studies and Reports
- Software required for Graphology
- Advanced Handwriting Analysis
There are more courses in graphology that will enable you to package and market these skills for use in your own graphology business. By the way, you don’t need to get certified to work as a graphologist. As long as you know you have learned more than enough to serve others through this career, you can embark on this as soon as you take the courses specified here.
- Find your niche. There aren’t that many graphologists working today, possibly because it is not a career that the general population even knows about. This is actually a good thing because you have more job opportunities at places that have not been saturated with graphologists: places like law enforcement agencies, courts of law, psychiatric and psychology clinics, corporate and industrial organizations, and in education as an instructor. You can even start your own private practice or profession if you want to.
- Expect to like your job. There is much to learn and teach people about analyzing handwriting. In fact, the more you know about people through their handwriting, the more you want to help them become better people by suggesting ways to work on their weaknesses or challenges.
- Learn your salary expectations and job prospects. Since graphologists are typically self-employed, salary is purely dependent on how you run your business. Finding work will take the majority of your time until you start to build a base of customers. Customer service will be instrumental in keeping customers and building up a repeat business. This is not a job that is well recognized in the United States today. It was in vogue at the turn of the century and still used until just a few years ago. There are still classes taught in universities in other countries in graphology. Jobs may be difficult to find unless you are an entrepreneur and you start your own business. Having said that, the field is wide open, so if this is where your interests lay, you should be able to do well.
Now you know how to become a handwriting expert. Take the classes you need online, read everything you can get your hands on and become an expert in the field. Handwritten notes are becoming a lost art in the age of computers and electronic messaging. Now may be the time to start your career in graphology while there are still non-electronic signatures around.