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| "Know Thyself" Source |
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
As mentioned in my previous post, this assessment can help identify job families and occupations that are match with your reported MBTI type. The assessment was created by mother and daughter duo
Isabel Briggs Myers and Katherine Briggs who based it on Carl Jung’s theory of
psychological types. The results can help you brainstorm about careers , jobs,
college majors and personality strengths. Your personality type is a four letter code, derived from 4 pairs
of opposing psychological types: Extroversion/Introversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling and Judging/Perceiving. This can be
seen in the chart below. Furthermore, you have a "clarity" for each of your four letters, which describes how clearly (slight, moderate, clear, very clear) you prefer to use that letter.
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| Source |
Myers-Briggs Results
Before I went over my MBTI report with Nicole, she asked me to guess my type - this is called the self-verification process, in which she introduces and defines the four dichotomies, and I come up with a four letter type. She revealed my type from the report and we compared the findings. I
predicted that my type would be an ENFP (extrovert, intuitive, feeler, perceiver), however when presented with the
definition, I adjusted it to an ESFP. Turns out that’s what my assessment reported!! In fact, I have a "slight" preference (my clarity) for Sensing, which means while I am a Sensor, I use my Intuition a lot of the time, too. So, we decided that I should look at career options for both of the types, ENFP and ESFP. (I know these letters can be confusing!) With my
results I was given my preferred working environment, tasks, strengths and
areas for development. I immediately thought of my post covering the importance of knowing
your weaknesses in interviews.
Popular Occupations for ENFP/ESFP
- Public Relations Specialist
- Teacher
- Human Resources Manager
- Emergency Room Nurse
- Special Events Coordinator
- Real Estate/Retail Coordinator
Strong Interest Inventory Profile
Another assessment I took was the Strong Interest Inventory, a tool that can help identify
career focus by assessing your interests, matching you with people with similar interests, and looking at where those people work. I always hear the phrase “do what you love.”
This tool seems to offer clues as to how to do just that. The inventory assesses a person across six General Occupational themes that can be used to describe one's work personality. The six themes, or Holland Codes, are Artistic, Social, Realistic, Enterprising,
Investigative, and Conventional. After taking the tool, it indicates which types
are strongest within your interest responses and reveals the your top three themes and your top five basic interest scales. It even shows which areas you are NOT interested in. My
results pretty much solidified how much I dislike math. It told me that some of my occupations of least similar interest are mathematician, math teacher, and actuary (In other words, I don't share many interests with people who are in these fields). Don’t worry, I never thought any of one of those jobs was
in my future. But it was great to tell my parents that it's not about not being good at math, it is just that I don't like it! (This assessment doesn't assess skills, so keep that in mind!)
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| "Thanks Strong Inventory Profile!, I'll never do calculus again!" Source |
Strong Interest Inventory Results
Again, before reading my results, Nicole let me predict my 3 letter code. I predicted ASR (Artistic,
Social, and Realistic). I was correct! We also looked over the results to find
that I also tested moderately high in the Enterprising category, which
was based much in my interests in marketing and sales. My top five basic interest scales (sort of like sub-categories of the 6 occupational themes) are listed below:
- Healthcare Services (Social)
- Athletics (Realistic)
- Law (Enterprising)
- Performing Arts (Artistic)
- Writing and Mass Communications (Artistic)
Myers Briggs vs. Strong Interest Inventory
After taking both assessments I learned a lot about myself, and I was very satisfied that my skill set and interests both correlated with career fields that I was interested in. It reinforced my strengths in leadership and the willing capacity to work with a team. As mentioned in a packet with examples of the Myers Briggs types of ENFP and ESFP, it mentioned that these types will achieve success by prioritizing, focusing, and following through. I was very taken aback by the results that matched with Healthcare services, but then I realized this was probably due, in part, to my abilities and interests in working with people. Comparing both assessments helped me better understand my personal brand, and provided me with vast information that will help me better market myself to potential employers as well as in networking conversations.
If you need some insight into what type of major or career field is a good match for your interests and personality type, schedule an appointment at the Career Center.
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| "Show off your skills!" Source |
Taking both these assessments helped to reiterate the importance of knowing about yourself before presenting yourself to employers. These assessments are super easy to do and aren't time consuming, so reach out to the Career Center. Good luck on finals y'all, time to showcase your newly discovered skills!
Carpe Diem,
Nicole Brooks
Class of 2016
