Kathy and Career Services - Figuring Out the Future: Part III

One of the most interesting parts of the MBTI assessment details what careers would be best for me to pursue. For instance, ESFJ personality types find jobs in health care support, personal care and services, and office and administrative support highly attractive. Jobs that may not match as well with the ESFJ type are those in the fields of protective services, computers and mathematics (so it was obviously good to switch out of engineering), and construction.

Obviously, not every single job the assessment suggested was feasible for me. ‘Surgeon’ came highly recommended, but I nearly faint at the sight of blood. ‘Fitness Trainer’ was also high on the list, but no one is going to find me running a marathon anytime soon. It is important to avoid interpreting the results too literally. The MBTI is not meant to provide someone with a concrete answer for what his or her future should be. It will not tell someone in what job he or she will be happiest. Instead, it is a fun and creative way to shed light on facets of personality that many may not have contemplated before. For instance, I had never pondered the fact that I thrive with face-to-face contact and will probably need it in a future career in order to be happy. The MBTI helped me to realize that and also provided me with a list of careers that are characterized by such personal interaction.

I ultimately ended up declaring a major in Psychology and a minor in Communications and Media Studies. I am fascinated by the ‘why’ and ‘how’ behind thoughts and behaviors. I hope to apply my knowledge to a career in an area of communications one day. Taking the MBTI assessment in Career Services was not the sole reason behind my choosing this particular track, but it was certainly a prominent reason that led me to do so.

Want to learn more about the MBTI? Call Career Services at 617.627.2430, tell them you’re interested in self-assessment and make a ½ hour appointment.

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Kathy and Career Services - Figuring Out the Future: Part II

I met with Donna, one of the advisors in Career Services. She asked me a series of questions about how I perceive my surroundings and how I choose to deal with different goings-on in my life. In this visit, she presented me with the results of my Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which revealed that I am an ESFJ personality type. After discussing what that means, I felt that the results were incredibly accurate.

Here are some of the things I learned:

• I prefer work tasks that involve interacting closely with customers and clients, building consensus on teams and communicating the value of a project


• I enjoy working in an environment that offers a family-like atmosphere, fosters a sense of belonging, and emphasizes teamwork


• I am prone to spending too much time in unproductive networking, may have trouble adjusting plans to respond to unexpected opportunities, and may be overly influenced in my decision-making by what I think others want


• I am able to work closely with others to accomplish specific goals, I have a good sense of what customers or co-workers need or want, and I am good at expressing appreciation for others and recognizing their contributions

The results detail ways that I can further build upon my strengths and also how I can work on overcoming my weaknesses.

Next up, how my MBTI personality type may relate to careers that could be good for me…

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Kathy and Career Services - Figuring Out the Future: Part I

In the fall of my sophomore year, I was beginning to feel quite overwhelmed about choosing a major. Although the deadline was not until the spring, there was still a lot of pressure to decide.

I had never been certain about my plan of study. Ever since high school, I had been confused about what course of action to take. I had been consistently strong in math and science, so I officially entered into Tufts as an engineer. Within the span of a few weeks, however, I realized that it just was not suited for me, so I quickly switched into liberal arts and declared myself ‘undecided’.

Freshman year was very enjoyable after I made the change to the School of Arts and Sciences. I dabbled in a slew of different areas of study, from sociology to history to psychology. I found an interest in nearly everything I took…which became the problem. By the end of my freshman year, I could not narrow anything down into a conceivable major.

Thus, I turned to Career Services. I vented my frustration to one of my friends in the Jackson Jills about my uncertainty about majors, and she raved about the office. Specifically, she suggested that I call and make an appointment to take an MBTI assessment. With no other ideas to turn to, I did just that.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is basically a questionnaire designed to assess how one views the world and, consequently, how one makes decisions. The assessment investigates four different components of one’s personality: where attention is focused (extraversion or introversion); the way information is taken in (sensing or intuition); the way decisions are made (thinking or feeling); and the way one deals with the outer world (judging or perceiving). With all possible combinations considered, there are 16 different personality types that one could be. The discovery of one’s personality type is supposed to aid in revealing what sorts of careers that individual would best be suited for.

Stay tuned for my personalized MBTI interpretation with a career advisor…

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