StrengthsFinder 2.0 Audio: Listen, Then Actually Take the Assessment

The audio edition is the spoken version of the 2007 Tom Rath book from Gallup Press. The book describes 34 talent themes, up from the 24 in earlier versions, according to Audible’s own summary of the title. Rath opens with a short case for building on what you already do well instead of patching weak spots. Then he hands most of the book to the themes. Each one gets a short sketch of what it looks like in a person, plus a list of ideas for using it.

That shape matters when you listen. The opening works well on a commute or a walk. The theme section is reference material, written to be looked up once you know your top five. Hearing all 34 read back to back is a bit like having a dictionary read to you. You will likely get more out of the audio if you take the assessment first and then skip straight to your own five themes.

What is the ISBN-13 of the StrengthsFinder 2.0 audiobook?

Goodreads lists the unabridged audio edition under ISBN 978-1-59562-015-6. That is the same number as the Gallup Press hardcover, 9781595620156. Plenty of audiobook listings borrow it because the text is the same. Some audio editions carry numbers of their own, and store pages don't always print them. If a class or an employer asks for the ISBN, give the hardcover number and say which format you have. Our guide to ISBN 9781595620156 covers the printed edition in detail.

StrengthsFinder 2.0 audiobook length and narrator

The unabridged edition runs 4 hours and 9 minutes. David de Vries reads it, and Brilliance Audio publishes it, per LearnOutLoud’s catalog entry. At one and a half times speed you are done in under three hours. Rath's argument comes first and moves quickly. The long middle is the themes, one after another, in alphabetical order, so plan to jump around rather than play it straight through. If you would rather read along, the print and e-book editions carry the same text.

Here is a listening plan that works for most people. Play the opening chapters first, since they explain what a talent theme is and why Gallup ranks them. Then pause the audio and do the assessment. After your top five come back, return to the audio for those five alone. Pause after each one and jot down where it shows up in your week. The ideas for action under each theme are easier to use on paper than by ear, so keep a note open while you listen.

It can, but only one edition is worth counting on: the official unabridged download, bought new, in your own name. Audible’s page on the book says the audiobook includes a PDF, and that the book includes a unique code for taking the assessment online. That code works for one person, one time. Once it has been entered into a Gallup account it is spent, and nothing about it carries over to the next listener.

If you bought the e-book or audiobook and never got a code, Gallup's support team is the place to ask. Everything outside the official download is riskier. A secondhand CD may have had its code used years ago. A library loan never has one, because the same copy goes to the next borrower. Summary audiobooks on Spotify, Chirp and similar apps come from other publishers and have no Gallup code at all.

Where do I find the access code in the StrengthsFinder 2.0 audiobook?

Check three places, in this order. First, the companion PDF. Open your Audible library on a computer and look for the PDF link on the book's row. The phone app does not always show it. Search the file for the words access code. Second, your email around the date you bought it, including the promotions and spam folders. Third, the order page at the store, which sometimes lists supporting materials on their own. Screenshot the code the moment you find it. It is easy to lose track of which file it was in.

How do I redeem my CliftonStrengths access code?

Three steps, and your results live in your Gallup account, not in the audiobook.

1. Find the code. Check the companion PDF, your purchase email and the store order page, as above.
2. Sign in and redeem it. Go to Gallup’s code redemption page. Sign in, or create an account with an email address you expect to keep for years. Type the code and confirm it.
3. Take the assessment. By Gallup's account it takes about 30 minutes: a run of paired statements. Take it in one quiet sitting and go with your first instinct.

When you finish, your top five themes appear in the account, and you can find them again later through the Gallup sign-in guide.

A missing code and a used code are two different problems, and they have two different fixes.

No code anywhere. Say you bought the official audiobook new and came up empty in the PDF, your email and the order page. Contact Gallup support through its website and attach your receipt. Proof of purchase is what gives them something to check. It is worth asking the store as well, since it can check whether the PDF is attached to your copy.

The code says it has already been used. This nearly always traces back to a copy that had an owner before you, a shared family account, or a coworker who got there first. A spent code cannot be used again, because it belongs to the first account that entered it. If that first account was yours, sign in and your results are waiting. If it was someone else's, the code is gone, and arguing with support will not bring it back.

You bought a CD or a summary. Check the case and any paper insert that came with the CD. If there's nothing there, treat it as a book without a key. A summary never had one to begin with.

You redeemed it, but the results are gone. The code did its job; the account is what went missing. Most often the code went into an account made with a different email, such as an old work address. Try each address you might have used on the Gallup sign-in page and reset the password where one is recognized. Your report is tied to that account, so finding the account finds the results.

How to get Strengths assessment codes

The simplest route is to buy one from Gallup. Its store sells Top 5 for $24.99, or the full ranking of 34 themes for $59.99, and both include the assessment itself. New printed copies of the book carry a sealed code too, and our rundown of the legitimate sources of a code walks through the rest. For a team or a class, buying codes straight from Gallup avoids the mess of mixed-up books with mystery codes. And if you have taken it before and want a fresh result, read the rules on retaking StrengthsFinder before you buy.

Where you get the audiobook decides whether a code comes with it. So pick the route by what you are after: the book, the test, or both.

StrengthsFinder 2.0 audio editions compared

Edition

Price

Length

Code included?

Best for

Official unabridged download (Audible and other stores)

Store price, or one trial credit

4 hr 9 min

Yes, via the companion PDF, if bought new in your name

The book and your own result

Audio CD (Brilliance Audio)

$29.99 at Barnes & Noble

4 hr 9 min

Not confirmed; ask the seller

Listening in the car

Workplace libraries such as Skillsoft

Paid by your employer

Full book

No

Staff who only want the ideas

Public library app

Free to borrow

Full book

No, the copy goes to the next borrower

Trying the book at no cost

Summary audiobooks (Spotify, Chirp, Bookey)

Free to a few dollars

Minutes, not hours

No, other publishers

A quick preview

Gallup direct, no audio

$24.99 Top 5, $59.99 all 34

About 30-minute assessment

Yes, the assessment itself

People who only want the result

A quick way to choose: if you mostly want Rath's ideas for the commute, borrow it from the library. If you want the book and your own result, buy the official download. If you only want the result, skip the audio and buy the code from Gallup. If you are organizing a team, buy codes in bulk and treat the audio as optional reading.

A summary cuts the 34 themes you will want later

No. A summary is another writer's much shorter retelling. It covers Rath's main argument and usually squeezes the 34 themes into a few lines each. Those themes are exactly the part you'll want once you have results. A summary is a fair preview if you're deciding whether strengths work interests you. It is a poor stand-in if your own five are why you came.

How to access the StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment for free

For most people there is no free route, only routes where someone else pays. Employers, universities and coaches often buy codes in bulk, so ask HR, your campus career center or your manager before you spend anything. Some companies and schools run strengths workshops with the code included. Codes posted online for free are almost always used or fake. If nobody will cover it, the cheapest legitimate way in is buying Top 5 straight from Gallup, at $24.99. Our breakdown of what Gallup StrengthsFinder costs compares every paid option.

Can you get the StrengthsFinder 2.0 audiobook free download legally?

Yes, two ways. An Audible free trial often includes a credit you can spend on the official edition. A credit purchase is still a purchase in your name, so the companion PDF comes with it. A loan through your library's audiobook app is free and legal too, though it gives you the book only. What you will not find is a legal copy of the full recording on a file-sharing or archive site. A StrengthsFinder 2.0 audiobook free download from one of those never carries a working code. The same goes for the free PDF copies of the book passed around online.

The value math on the audiobook

Start with Gallup’s own price list. The code that comes with the book opens Top 5, the same result Gallup sells by itself for $24.99. Moving from Top 5 to all 34 themes costs $49.99. So the audiobook plus the upgrade costs whatever you paid for the audio plus $49.99, while buying CliftonStrengths 34 directly costs $59.99. If your audiobook cost more than about $10, going straight to Gallup is the cheaper way to the full ranking.

If Top 5 is all you want, the math flips. Any audiobook priced under $24.99, or bought with a trial credit, gets you the book and the same Top 5 result for less than buying Top 5 from Gallup on its own.

That points to a simple split. Listen if you want the book and your top five, and you'd enjoy hearing the ideas behind them. Skip the audio and buy CliftonStrengths 34 if you already know you want every theme ranked. And if you are after a decision about your work, start with a test built for that question. Then come back to the book once you have that answer, to see how your themes fit it. Our guide on using StrengthsFinder to find a job shows how people bring their themes into a search.

Can two people share one StrengthsFinder 2.0 audiobook code?

No. One code opens one account, once. Partners or coworkers on one Audible account can share the listening without any trouble. Each person still needs a code of their own for the assessment.

One more case worth checking. If an employer or a workshop leader asked you to bring your results, ask first whether they have codes to hand out. Many do, and then the audiobook becomes optional reading rather than your ticket in.

After the Audiobook, Find the Careers That Fit You

Your top five say what comes naturally. Our career test goes further, into how you decide, pace your week and handle people, then lists jobs that ask for that kind of work, in a 36-page report. $79.99.

See which careers fit your strengths