Module 4: Personality & Interests (Career Assessments) Counseling 12 Module 4: Personality & Interests (Career Assessments)

Agenda Overview of career assessments Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Strong Interest Inventory (SII) This week’s lecture and content will be the most intense up to this point in the class. I’m warning you now that this is a long lecture so you may want to take breaks in between the 2 assessments or when your eyes start feeling heavy … You took 2 career assessments last week and results have been emailed to you (or should be on their way). Please have them open and in front of you while you are reading this lecture. This is a tricky lecture to give because interpretation of the results are usually much better and easier done IN PERSON. But I will do my best and of course, you can schedule an in-person appointment with me to go in-depth and to discuss your questions and thoughts face-to-face. If you are interested in learning more about the assessment results but cannot come to see me in person, we can also schedule a phone appointment. I will do my best to accommodate your schedule.

Overview of career assessments Not a “magic bullet” or “crystal ball” Be critical of the results – does it really reflect who you are? Be open to the suggestions of potential careers and majors Use it beyond the class Before we start talking about the assessments you took and especially when you are reading your results, I want to emphasize a critical point: these are not TESTS – there are no right or wrong answers, better or worse results. They are used as another tool to help you learn more about yourself and the careers that might match you best. Most students do not walk away from taking these assessments and know exactly what they want to do. It is not some magical instrument that will know what you want to do with your life. Only you know this and this is just a popular method to help you identify aspects of yourself. And with any assessments, they are biased in their own ways. You will learn briefly about their background and how they developed. You must see for yourself if the results are a true reflection of who you are. If you were having a “bad” day – not taking the assessment seriously, didn’t understand all the questions, did not answer all the questions, etc then your results may not be as valid as we want them to be. Results may also slightly change with age and experience. Someone taking it at 18 years old may have a different perspective when they re-take the same assessments when they are 35 years old. Please be aware of these factors as you examine the results. I also encourage you to stay open-minded when you look at the potential matches between you and the careers/majors the assessments suggest. There may be careers listed that you have never heard of before or thought little about. Please put a star next to those and spend some time investigating what they may be about. You may be surprised to find a career that fits you well and something you never thought of before because you simply have not been exposed to the occupation or field. And just so you know, taking these assessments and the interpretation of them from a private counseling session may cost you hundreds of dollars. It may be helpful for you to keep the assessments for future use and I’ll be going over in detail what else they are used for besides as career exploration tools.

Brief background of MBTI Handwriting Preferences Personality assessment Developed by Isabel Myers and Katharine Briggs Based on Carl Jung’s theory of types OK, do a quick exercise to humor me please: Take out a piece of scratch paper and I’d like you to sign or write your name on it. Have you done this yet? OK, now switch to the other hand. Let’s have you sign or write your name using this opposite hand. How did it feel writing with your dominant hand? Some people will describe it as feeling “natural” “easy” “don’t have to think hard about it” etc. Now how did it feel writing with your other hand? Some people will describe it as feeling “awkward” “difficult” “strange”. You probably had to make extra effort to ensure that someone could actually read your name. You had to do it much slower and take more time to complete the task. (If you are ambidextrous, then perhaps the point of this exercise is moot for you but you get my basic gist ) The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment (MBTI, for short) is a PERSONALITY assessment developed by Isabel Myers and Katharine Briggs in the 1940’s. They based their instrument on the theory of psychological types by Carl Jung. According to MBTI, personality is defined by the degree of preferences in our daily behaviors. In the handwriting exercise I had you do, you had a natural preference for a particular hand. In daily life, differences in our behavior has to do with how we prefer to gather information and then how we decide or make decisions based on the information we gathered. Jung divided the ways we do this into different “types” of personalities.

What does MBTI measure? Natural tendencies How you handle and react to people and events So what does MBTI measure? It is supposed to reflect your natural tendencies and preferences. These “tendencies and preferences” especially how you handle and react to the people and events in your life are an integral part of your personality. When you read Chapter 4 of the textbook this week, you will go through an activity on pages 55-58 that breaks down the 4 different preferences that make up a personality according to the MBTI and Jungian theories. The next few slides is essentially the same exercise only much more “quick and dirty” to give you the essential ideas behind the MBTI. I trust you will read Chapter 4 carefully to get a full understanding of this particular assessment and the concepts behind it.

Preference 1: Flow of Energy Direction of Energy Extraversion (E) Focus on the people and things in outer world Introversion (I) Focus on the thoughts, feelings and impressions of the inner world The first preference has to do with how you gather energy in your daily life. If you lean more towards Extraversion (E), then you tend to be naturally outgoing and social whereas the flip side of this is being more reserved and being more “inside your head” – which is labeled as Introversion (I). I like asking people this simple question: After a long day at school or work, do you go home and try calling family/friends to catch up and meet some people to hang out and relax? This is a sign of an extrovert. You regain your energy and your life is fed by the presence of the outside world and people. Or, do you want to go home and just shut that door to your bedroom in order to relax, alone, perhaps with some music on, as you enjoy a peaceful evening? Then you are more introverted. Going out and socializing would only make you more exhausted because this type of stuff will zap further energy from you. You regain your strength from time spent alone to reflect. Here’s another example and this has to do with careers. If you are a natural extrovert, you would probably be bored out of your mind if you had a job where you needed to sit in a cubicle all day and not talk to anyone – just work alone. For an introvert, this is a dream come true because they can be alone with their thoughts and ideas. While you were taking the test, you may have felt at times that you were forced to choose between 2 answers and that both answers could apply to you DEPENDING ON THE SITUATION. This is normal to feel this way. But the test is forcing you to choose how you usually would react without thinking too hard. Please remember that the world does not exist in black and white. We all lie on a continuum so there are people who are extremely extroverted and will be clearly on that end of the spectrum and others are deeply introverted on the other side. Many of us fall somewhere in between. As you mature, you will find that you are more capable of shifting from one type of function (being social when you need to be) to the other (being quiet and contemplative when you need to be). But remember our handwriting exercise? You may practice and become really good at writing with both your hands but there will probably be a hand you naturally prefer more than the other. If your results show that you’re smack in the middle, it may be trickier to define your type but you can always read the descriptions for the MBTI types you are unsure about to see which one describes you best. Please touch base with me to discuss this further if you feel confused about which preference is more closely linked to you.

Preference 2: Intake of Information Gathering Information Sensing (S) Focus on facts and details that can be confirmed by experience Intuition (N) Focus on possibilities and relationships among ideas This second preference describes how you gather and take in information. Someone who has more of the Sensing (S) function will trust their 5 senses – what they can hear, smell, see, taste, touch. More or less a “see it to believe it” type of person. They trust their experience. Someone with more of the Intuitive (N) function tend to be more imaginative and tries looking beyond what exists before them. You may be interested in knowing that a large majority of the American population are “S” – which means a lot of students will be “S” but there’s a high number of TEACHERS who are “N” – does this help you understand sometimes why there may be conflict or a gap between what teachers want to accomplish in the class and what students may expect? Some of you may be questioning the value of learning poetry, reading literature or even why you need to know how to divide fractions … “how does this knowledge help me in everyday life?” Your teacher is hoping you can make connections beyond the classroom and apply the critical thinking you used to understand a poem or divide fractions to tasks you will do at work. It is not the fact of knowing about fractions that is important – it is the PROCESS of you learning how to figure out and solve problems. You struggle, you learn, you will then hopefully use that same level of discipline and problem-solving in your future careers and jobs and your life in general. I am guessing that education, especially a college education, is striving to make people move towards the middle of this continuum – thinking both concretely and also in the abstract. Is this example too convoluted? I’m going to use another example from one of my handouts for this module. It’s the “MBTI Scenario Differences” handout. In this scenario, you are asked to fire people in your company. Those of you who rely more on the Sensing function will look practically at the numbers, how the job cuts will impact the company at the moment. You may look at past data and make decisions based on what you have experienced. Those who are more intuitive will try and go beyond just what you need to do – which is to fire a number of people – but to look at the big, overall picture of the company, and what direction it is moving towards. What will the job cuts do in the long run to this company? You may also try to find ways to save the jobs. Intuitives tend to “think outside the box” more often. Let me know if you still have questions!

Preference 3: Making of Decisions Making Decisions Thinking (T) Use impersonal, objective, logical analysis to reach conclusions Feeling (F) Use person-oriented, subjective analysis to reach conclusions (“gut instinct”) This third preference is about how you make decisions. This is probably easier to grasp than the Sensing versus Intuitive preferences we just discussed. Basically, do you use your head more or your heart more when making decisions? Those who are more “feeling” will also naturally take into account the impact of decisions on people. I had a student tell me he always considered himself an objective person. He constantly made lists of pro’s and con’s when he had to make a decision about what product to purchase, what job to take, etc. But what he discovered overtime was, even though sometimes the list was clearly in favor of plan A, after all that work of listing everything down, he would just go with his gut and select plan B. But making the lists just makes him feel better like he’s in control. So is he a thinker or a feeler? Remember we all possess these functions – just varying degrees of them. This student is ultimately using his “feeling” function because his final decisions tend to be from a gut instinct. But we know gut instincts alone are sometimes not enough to convince us (or others) that the decision is the best one. Whether you are a “T” or an “F” – with time and experience, hopefully you will honor and appreciate both modes of operating.

Preference 4: Daily Lifestyle Dealing with Outer World Judging (J) Plans and organize; make decisions and come to closure Perceiving (P) Be spontaneous and adaptable; collect info and stay open to new options This 4th and last preference is how you go about your day. When you have a birthday party coming up, do you plan every detail down to how many napkins you will need and there’s a set deadline for everything? Or do you casually plan out approximate numbers but wait to see if there are changes to your plans up to the day of the party? And you do this without stressing out? It can be frustrating for “J” and “P” people who work together – this can be on a project for a class or a team project at work. Imagine working with a “J” if you are a strong “P.” You might find the “J” person to be “anal, strict, on a “tight leash” and you may feel like they are breathing down your neck in terms of reminding you of deadlines and checking in constantly to see your progress. On the flip side, the “J” person looks at a “P” person and may roll their eyes at how “easy-going, carefree” this person seems to be. These are extreme cases. There is such value in both these functions (just like the other opposite functions we already talked about). Sometimes it’s too early to come to a decision and a “J” person who is too quick to make a decision may lose out on new information and opportunities that can make a project or idea even better. A “P” person who is too spontaneous can end up being extra stressed at the end when the real world does have deadlines and they spent too much time thinking of numerous possibilities. Those who are Perceiving can help a Judging person learn to be more flexible and adaptable. The Judging type can help the Perceiving person stay on task and not veer too much off course. By the way, the word “judging” can sound negative and suggesting that the people of this type are “judgmental” but this is definitely NOT the case. I don’t particularly like this descriptor but it is what it is. I just want to point this out since a concern was raised by a student in the past.

Combine Preferences 1-4 to get a Type – Guess your Type Direction of Energy Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I) Gathering Info Sensing (S) or Intuition (N) Making Decisions Thinking (T) or Feeling (F) Dealing with Outer World Judging (J) or Perceiving (P) So, given what we just went over in terms of each preference, can you guess your type (if you haven’t already looked at your MBTI results)?

Based on the MBTI model, there are 16 Personality types that are possible. This chart was taken from the Blue Star Partners Management Consulting blog website: http://www.bluestarpartners.com/blog It provides a nice summary of the 16 types as well as letting you see the connection between the 2nd and 3rd letters in your type. If you have “NF” in your type, you are in the green quadrant and those with “NF” tend to be idealistic and value people. “NT” in your type indicate those with great vision and big systems thinkers. The “SF” folks want to relate to others in practical, sensory ways. And the “ST” are those who are grounded in reality and like to take concrete action.

Decision-Making Style EJ Types (ESTJ, ESFJ, ENFJ, ENTJ) “I want to decide and then get on with it” EP Types (ESTP, ESFP, ENFP, ENTP) “I want to experience it all” IJ Types (ISTJ, ISFJ, INFJ, INTJ) “I want to be sure” IP Types (ISTP, ISFP, INFP, INTP) “I wonder what I’ll want to be when I grow up” Notice that, based on your MBTI type, your decision-making style may fall into 4 categories. Those who have EJ in their type like making a decision and be done with the process. IJ also want to make a decision but they will probably spend a much longer time investigating and thinking it through than the EJ. As for the EP and IP, due to the “P” in their type, they may find it very challenging to decide on a career and major because the world is so exciting and so full of choices that how can anyone make a concrete decision and stick to it?? You can return to this slide after you look through your MBTI results and verify your type. I would be curious to know how many people in this class are EJ/IJ versus EP/IP!

Understanding your MBTI results Take out your MBTI results. Let’s go through it one page at a time … OK, with this (hopefully) clearer understanding of the MBTI and the preferences, let’s get to the details of YOUR OWN MBTI assessment results. You should have received a PDF report of your results. You can either print it out (it’s 10 pages) or have it open on your computer and you can switch back and forth from looking at the results and reading my lecture to better understand the results. On the following pages, you will see a visual snapshot of the MBTI report, page by page. This will help guide you through your own report.

The cover page is self explanatory The cover page is self explanatory. We are using a fake student and sample report to help guide you through your own assessment results. Please follow along. I will be moving in chronological order. Please jot down any questions that may come up during this time especially after you have read the lecture concerning a particular section of the assessment but may still be confused or have follow up ideas and questions. By the way, please keep good care of the assessment. You can save it on your computer. You will use the assessment results again for your final project in this class and your Career Research Paper assignment is coming up. This report will be useful and necessary in various ways. If you do lose the report, I can email you another copy. Let me know.

Page 2 gives you an overview of what you will find on the report Page 2 gives you an overview of what you will find on the report. The top section lists various uses with the results. I'd like for you to check or mark a few of the areas you would want more help in developing. Please read this section thoroughly. The O*Net website they mention is a valuable resource for you to look up career information. Highlight or circle the website for future reference (you will find it helpful when you write your Career Research Paper).  The last section on this page lets you see how the report is organized. Let's move now to the next page.

Page 3 Is a summary of your type based on the answers you provided Page 3 Is a summary of your type based on the answers you provided. Does the result match your own guess that you made a few slides back? Recall what I said about all of us existing on a continuum for each preference. Most of us are not 100% extroverted or introverted. Take a look at the bar graph at the bottom of page 3. It's called a preference clarity index and the longer the bar, the stronger your particular preference is. Notice this person has a very short bar in terms of her Thinking versus Feeling function. This most likely means she can activate both preferences fairly evenly and will try using both these functions when making decisions. She leans slightly toward Feeling so her type ended up as an ENFP but if you are pretty close like her between the preferences, you can let me know and I'll have you read about both types in detail to see what is a better match for you. In this case, I would have this person read up on ENTP to see if the personality type described more accurately reflects her. There are 16 possible MBTI types. You can go back to slide 11 of the lecture to look closer at the table that briefly summarizes each type.

Page 4 presents what type of work tasks and what kind of work environment would be compatible with your type. Take a moment to read this information. Highlight or check off descriptions that sound like you. Notice the Action Steps in the last section of this page. Your discussion posting this week requires that you do what is suggested in one of these "Action Steps".

Page 5 is an interesting and helpful section about how your personality type affects the way you will explore careers. Recall slide 12 about how different types will make decisions differently. This student is an EP. Do you remember what this means? The hardest type to settle on a career because everything sounds exciting! What I like about this section is it first highlights the STRENGTHS of your type. It's easy to focus on what you lack but it's always important to recognize what you may be naturally good at or enjoy. The second part is helpful in pointing out potential challenges you may face based on your type. But it doesn't do just that; in the 2nd column, the report gives you concrete advice on how to overcome potential hurdles. Again, note the Action Steps area at the bottom. You may choose to take these steps and report your findings in the discussion posting this week.

Page 6 allows you to better understand how your type impacts your CAREER DEVELOPMENT. How will you behave as a worker? How will you act around people you work with? Similar to page 5, it lists your strengths and then goes over both challenges and suggestions to improve. Please take time to read through this. Take a break when you need to! I know this is a lot of materials! We can spend a whole semester dissecting the results but we have a week - although you can feel free to discuss your assessment with me throughout the semester even if we have moved to a different topic.

Page 7 is a lot of reading but it is an important introduction to understanding how your type was matched with different job families. What are job families? Think of it simply as jobs that share common characteristics. For example, “health care support” involve assisting health professionals deliver services to patients so occupations like a pharmacy technician, a nursing aide, a veterinarian assistant would be included. The MBTI folks used a large sample of workers who are actually HAPPY with their careers (not the ones who hate it and want to leave) and so for this student who is an ENFP, they gave 8,305 people who have this personality type and found out which job families are most attractive to them. They assume that because she is also an ENFP, the student will probably find satisfaction in the same careers. Let's go to the most interesting part of this assessment for you: the job families and careers that are your best matches based on your personality type. Next page (next slide) please!

Page 8 shows you 3 charts with the MOST attractive job families listed first at the top.  Look closely at them and pay particular attention to the longest bars. They indicate what is most popular among your type. Why list the least popular job families? Just to show you that these jobs seem less compatible with you based on personality. But let's say you are still very attracted to something on it due to interests or values or other factors. This just means that your personality might clash a bit with others working in that field. You may need to be flexible and it could take a longer time to adapt. But it doesn't mean you should eliminate it or that you will be unhappy doing it.

Page 9 breaks it down further into specific career titles that your type is frequently found doing. This is a useful list that can help you begin to pick out potential careers to investigate. I suggest checking off at least 2-3 that sound interesting to you. Consider the careers as potential topics for your Career Research Paper.

Ok we finally reached the end of the assessment. At least for the MBTI Ok we finally reached the end of the assessment! At least for the MBTI. PHEW! Page 10 lets you see the list of the least attractive careers - ones that your type is more rarely found doing. Again, it doesn't mean you can't do it but it may present more challenges because of your natural preferences! So there you have it ... The MBTI What do you think? Are you impressed with the results? Unsure about it? Are there careers listed that you are already considering? Did nothing show up that matched with what you had in mind? Share your thoughts on your blog or discussion posting for this week. I hope you will feel comfortable contacting me if you need additional help understanding the results from this assessment. My virtual and actual office door is open to you.

Other uses for MBTI Working with others (Teamwork) Relationships with family and friends (used in marriage counseling) The MBTI instrument has been used beyond career exploration to also help companies build a bond between their employees. People tend to work better together if they understand what the other person is thinking and why they think the way they do. It has also been used to help improve people’s relationships with one another. This can be between a couple, a parent-child, etc. Again, if you are a “Judging” parent but your child is more of a “Perceiving” type, this may explain how you drive each other crazy. But it also explains how to appreciate each other’s strong points and how to live together in harmony.

Additional Resources Look at “Handouts” folder for additional materials you can use to better understand your MBTI type. MBTI Comparison Chart Scenario of MBTI Type at Work “Do What You Are” by Paul Tieger Remember to check out the “Handouts” folder this week. I have placed into it a great deal of information to help you understand the MBTI and SII. Don’t worry, you will not be tested on the materials from the handouts (will I regret saying this because this means no one will take a look??) but they are extremely helpful in clarifying further your understanding of these assessments. We don’t have time to cover and go deeper into the MBTI but if it has intrigued you, I encourage you to dig deeper and share with me any further insights you may discover. The book suggested here is on the list of book reviews you may complete for extra credit this semester.

The “Party” Imagine going to a party … different rooms, different people Let’s move on to the next assessment which is the Strong Interest Inventory (SII, for short). To get you thinking about what this assessment is about, let’s have you imagine that you are at a party and there are 6 different rooms you can hang out in. Each room has a type of person in it and I want you to see which rooms you feel most comfortable talking and interacting in.

Room 1: In the backyard, playing catch or an outdoor game People are physically active, tinkering with machines, building things, curious about the physical world The first room is actually in the backyard of the house. It is outdoors and people here are physically active and engaged in a hands-on game. You may also find these people in a garage tinkering with machines but at this party, they are in the back. They tend to be described as: practical athletic straightforward/frank mechanically inclined a nature lover thrifty curious about the physical world stable concrete reserved self-controlled independent ambitious systematic persistent

Room 2: In Study Room, more quiet Intellectual conversation about science Discussions Reading journals, books This second room is more quiet with people reading a book or journal, having discussions about science, research. If they are playing games, the games tend to be chess, crossword puzzles, and board games that challenge the mind. The people here tend to be described as: inquisitive analytical scientific observant precise scholarly cautious intellectually self-confident introspective reserved broad-minded independent logical Complex curious

Room 3: In the kitchen Arts, crafts Acting out a play We move to the 3rd room and it happens to be in the kitchen! A lot of creative people in this room. They are doing arts and crafts, scrap booking and many are excited about the latest concerts and plays. These people tend to be described as: creative intuitive imaginative innovative unconventional emotional independent expressive original introspective impulsive sensitive courageous open complicated idealistic nonconforming

Room 4: In the dining room Sharing food, stories, playing games, encouraging each other, praising, supporting Moving on, you head to the 4th room which happens to be the dining room. In this room, people are sharing food and trading stories with a lot of praise and support for one another. A rather talkative bunch and all smiles for you when you come in. These folks tend to be described as:  friendly helpful idealistic insightful outgoing understanding cooperative generous responsible forgiving patient empathic kind persuasive

Room 5: In the living room Playing competitive games, watching the business channel As you move away from the friendliness of the dining room, you hear a lot of boisterous laughter and smack talking in room 5, the living room. In this room, people are having fun upstaging each other and playing competitive games (like Wii sports). Some are checking the stock prices on their iPhone and keeping an eye on the business channel for the latest news on the market. Others are sharing and selling their business ideas to people around them. These people tend to be: self-confident assertive sociable persuasive enthusiastic energetic adventurous popular impulsive ambitious inquisitive agreeable talkative extroverted spontaneous optimistic

Room 6: In the basement Organizing, arranging The last room, room 6, happens to be in the basement, the den of the house. You notice how orderly and neat this area is with books and items arranged nicely throughout. The people here are playing card games and some are discussing their hobbies which include collecting memorabilia and keeping and organizing family records and history. These people tend to be: well-organized accurate numerically inclined methodical conscientious efficient conforming orderly practical thrifty systematic structured polite ambitious obedient persistent

Which rooms (people) did you prefer? Which room or rooms made you feel most comfortable hanging out in? Go ahead and jot down the Room #’s you found most comfortable to be in.

Brief background on SII Developed at Stanford University in 1920’s by Professor Edward Strong Based on John Holland theory of personality interest and career choice Not an aptitude test – does not measure ability The second assessment you took is called the Strong Interest Inventory (SII for short), the college edition. Again, it is not a test and it does NOT measure aptitude – which means it doesn’t tell you how good you will be at any particular career. What it does focus on is capturing your INTERESTS. How does this help with career exploration? Very briefly, this instrument was developed by a Professor from Stanford University in the 1920s (so it’s been around for quite a while) and it was based on the man often seen as the “father of career counseling theory” – John Holland. John Holland’s premise is pretty straightforward: People with similar interests are often attracted to the same kind of work so you will more likely be successful in work environments that reflect your interests.

6 General Occupational Themes Room #1: Realistic – “the doers” Room #2: Investigative – “the thinkers” Room #3: Artistic – “the creators” Room #4: Social – “the helpers” Room #5: Enterprising – “the persuaders” Room #6: Conventional – “the organizers” People typically have a combo of 2-3 themes The 6 party rooms that you imagined going into reflect 6 major interest areas that people may be attracted to. The SII call these areas “General Occupational Themes” and they are listed on the slide. Most folks will typically have a combo of 2-3 themes that show up on the results. We will go over each of these themes in detail in the upcoming slides.

Profile of typical worker in SII 21 years old Average age: 35 Satisfied in their work 3 years in occupation Typical work tasks The SII was developed by surveying thousands of American workers and their careers/occupations. People used as a basis for this assessment are at least 21 years old (with the average age of the workers at 35). They must be satisfied with their work (just like the MBTI uses people who enjoy their current career), be in the occupation for at least 3 years and they are doing work tasks very typical for that career. How does this help you? Remember the premise of the SII – they assume that if you share the same interests as someone else then both of you will probably enjoy working in the same type of work environment. For example, if the majority of Firefighters who took the SII scored high in the occupational theme of “Realistic” – which means they have great interest in pursuing activities that are considered realistic, and you also score quite high in this same area, then the career of “firefighter” will show up on your results as a potential career. You would have a lot in common with firefighters if you were in the same room and hanging out. This is a critical concept to understand that is the basis for this assessment so re-read if you have to and ask me questions if you need clarification. Let’s go over some details of each occupational theme before we jump into the details of your SII assessment results.

Your Strong Code 2-3 letter combo Starting at age 25, letters become consistent although they may shift in order depending on life stage Example: SEA Career Counselor: SEA Career Director: EAS If this is your second or third time taking the SII, you may notice shifts in your letters but the letters will remain in your interest code. This begins to happen at the age of 25 when most people’s interests have grown more concrete. Overtime, you may change your letters around and it reflects a change in your priority and what you may care about. In this example, this person had S = Social as their dominant interest code so they pursued a Career Counselor position and was very satisfied. Overtime, their interests shifted so the “S” took a backseat to the “E” – the Enterprising interest. In this case, they continued with the career counseling field but instead of a counselor, they took on a more leadership, dynamic role as a Career Director. If you are 18 and younger, I highly recommend taking the SII again when you reach 25. You may notice significant changes in the code.

Realistic: the Doers Likes to work with their hands, tools, machinery, computer networks Rugged, practical, physically strong Enjoy fixing, building, repairing, working outdoors Described as practical, persistent, adventurous, self-reliant Buys boats, campers, hiking/sporting equipment, power tools, GPS The first interest theme is called “realistic.” Read through the description on the slide. Does it sound like you?

Investigative: the Thinkers Likes to gather information, uncover new facts/theories, and interpret data Have a strong scientific, inquiring orientation Potentially competent in science, math analysis, writing and problem-solving Described as curious, independent, reserved, rational, non- conforming Buys telescopes, computers, electronic equipment, books, puzzles How about this second theme, “investigative?”

Artistic: the Creators Enjoys art, music, drama, anything cultural Creativity expressed in many forms Ideas, writing, appreciating and/or creating art, counseling, developing programs, etc Described as impulsive, non-conforming, independent Buys art objects, art supplies, theater tickets, music CD’s, musical instruments, colorful things Then we have the “artistic” theme. Again, read through the description and see if there’s a match with your own interests.

Social: the Helpers Likes to work with people, often in groups Enjoys helping, nurturing, and teaching, especially young people Solve problems through discussions of feelings and interaction with others May enjoy working with people through leading, directing, persuading Described as humanistic, idealistic, cooperative Spends money on social events and charity Can you take a wild guess what your teacher’s interest theme is? Here’s the social theme!

Enterprising: the Persuaders Enjoy working with other people and leading them towards organizational goals and/or economic success Likes to lead groups, give speeches, manage people and projects, persuade Seeks positions of leadership, power, status Described as persuasive, adventuresome, competitive, energetic, sociable, optimistic Anyone feeling like the “Enterprising” type?

Conventional: the Organizers Likes activities requiring attention to detail, organization, accuracy and data systems Enjoys mathematics and data management activities Described as practical, organized, systematic, accurate, conscientious Spend their money on bonds, CDs, PDAs, home organizational tools, hobby collections (love office supplies)! Last but not least, we have our “conventional” theme. These folks keep order in the world for us!

Warning: It’s LONG! May feel overwhelming to look at … Let’s take it one page at a time … take breaks if you need to! Use page 9 of this report – Summary of results to help you stay focused if you grow weary from all the minute details OK, let’s not wait any longer to begin examining our SII results. I’m letting you know now, it’s 14 pages long. If you have a short attention span, I hope you will be wise and good to yourself by breaking this lecture into manageable chunks. Try to really understand each page and spend as much time as you need jotting down your own notes and questions. When you are ready to move on, do so. This is the beauty of an online class compared to an in-class lecture where sometimes you’re not ready but the class has carried on to the next topic. I will sound like a broken record but don’t hesitate to contact me for individual consultation of your results. If you do feel overwhelmed by the information, a great section of this SII assessment report is on PAGE 9. It summarizes everything we will be discussing in 1 page. This will help you later when you need to analyze and use the SII again for your Career Research Paper and Final Project. OK, deep breath now … let’s begin!

This cover page is the easiest to understand This cover page is the easiest to understand. Make sure it has your name on it. We are using a sample report from a fake student just like we did for the MBTI report.

This next page spells out in detail how the SII can help you (the box on the left hand side). There are different types of SII assessments and I have chosen to have you take the College Profile version because it not only gives you occupational information but also helps you determine academic MAJORS that would match well with your interests and potential careers. The box on the right hand side gives you a preview of what’s to come. This may seem obvious but remember to have your own SII assessment results in front of you as you are reading through this lecture. These are just snapshots of the report for easy reference but you should be looking at your own results and using these lecture notes to help clarify and highlight critical areas on the report.

Page 2 has 2 sections that I divided into 2 slides Page 2 has 2 sections that I divided into 2 slides. The first of the 2 sections is on this slide. It summarizes and describes the general occupational themes. You should have these 6 themes memorized by now, right? They are the 6 rooms you “went in” for the party. They were already described to you in previous slides. On this page, it may be helpful to note the 2nd paragraph at the top. Your responses on the assessment are compared against those from the same gender instead of comparing you to both sexes. The reason for this is that they have noticed men and women responding differently to the questions.

This is the second section on Page 2 that will be most interesting for you. This lets you see which themes out of the 6 had the highest scores. Notice this student scored highest in Artistic, then Investigative and then Social. Her theme code is then “AIS” (the top right corner of the chart). Based on this result, look at the descriptions again of the 6 themes to see if you agree with the results.

Page 3 presents to you “Basic Interest Scales Page 3 presents to you “Basic Interest Scales.” This scale breaks down into further detail the type of activities that fall under a theme. So for the “Artistic” theme, this student scored very high in the areas of “Writing & Mass Communications”, “Performing Arts”. This lets her know as an “artistic” interest, she may lean towards doing writing, communications and performing arts. Remember that sometimes you cannot turn an interest into an actual career for various reasons but to stay content with life, you may want to find clever ways to incorporate such interests into leisure activities and hobbies you do outside of work. For example, this student may score high in performing arts but has taken drama classes and is really too shy to act in front of people. Or she does want to act but has not had luck or opportunity. She may have to turn this interest into volunteering and auditioning for local plays. Her ultimate career/job may be working as a journalist and she will do reporting on cultural and performing events in her community as a way to honor her interest in this area. Notice that the SII report gives you your top 5 interest areas. It also gives you a list of areas of least interest for you. Go ahead and take your time looking through this page. Put a checkmark next to any interesting findings to review further.

OK, page 4 has its dangers. Your eyes may immediately zoom in to the “top ten strong occupations” and you think, “that’s it. These are the careers that I should look into since I scored highest in them.” Please be careful now. Recall what I had stated as a premise for the SII a few slides back. This student’s theme code is what? AIS. So when she took the assessment, she got AIS. What does it mean that the occupation of “Librarian” showed up as #1 on her list? Does that mean she has the skills and values necessary to be an excellent librarian? Maybe. But this is not what it is measuring. What this means is that the majority of librarians who took the SII assessment scored high in the “artistic theme” – giving them an “A” as the theme code. Because this student in our example has a strong “A” – it means that if she were to hang out with librarians, they would share a lot in common and she will most likely enjoy their company. Which means we can take a guess and believe that she would probably enjoy working as a librarian herself! Does this make sense? Pay attention to the first paragraph on this page. Especially the 4th sentence that tells you to “keep in mind that the occupations listed in your Profile results are just SOME of the many occupations linked to your interests that you might want to consider. They do not indicate those you should pursue. It is helpful to think of each occupation as a single example of a much larger group of occupational titles to consider.” So back to this student as an example. “Librarian” was first on the list as an occupation to consider. But a librarian can also be someone working as a historian in an archive section of a museum. The report is encouraging you to keep options open and to expand on what the results give you here. OK, on the following 3 pages, you will get to see your scores for 122 occupations. The longer your bar, the more similar your interests are with people working in that particular occupation. As suggested on this page, look for occupations in which you scored “Similar” and put a checkmark next to ones you may want to explore further. Again, they refer you to use the O*Net website for further information. I will be giving you a list of career websites you can use for your upcoming career research paper. You can take a look now if you’re eager and curious!

So again, this page and the following 2 pages lets you see how you scored compared to others working in the occupations listed. Pay attention to the high scores (long bars) and check out the occupation listed. Do any jump out as potential careers?

Similar to Page 5 so take your time and read through this page.

Similar to pages 5 and 6, these scales allow you to look at more specific occupations and areas of greatest and least interest. If you happen to desire pursuing an occupation that have a rather SHORT bar, meaning you will share little interest with the majority of the people working in that occupation, do not despair. This just means that you won’t have a lot in common with them but your difference may be an asset for the company/group because you will probably bring in a different perspective and outlook.

ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz…. Are you STILL WITH ME? Are you asleep?? Take a 15 minute break to refresh your eyes!

Page 8 veers a little from the 6 occupational themes we have been talking about but it’s still a useful snapshot of your personal style. The 5 personal style scales are: work style, learning environment, leadership style, risk taking and team orientation. Just like the MBTI, people exist on a continuum with the very clear preferences appearing on the far right or far left of the scale. If you are in the middle somewhere, it means you have a pretty balanced preference and can go either way, making you flexible and this may mean, more open to additional occupations compared to others. For work style, it’s similar to the MBTI’s Introvert versus Extrovert measurement. Do you like working alone or with other people? Useful to remember so when you are researching careers and work environments, you will pick ones that honor your preferences. Learning environment has to do with the best type of learning for you. Do you need to be in a classroom where you are actually DOING something and know how it will be useful for the future? Long lectures would probably bore you to tears. You prefer activities to help you understand the class materials. Then the other side of this are folks who enjoy the academic setting and have no problems sitting for a few hours listening and writing down lecture notes. You are a sponge that just wants to take in knowledge for its own sake. Note where you are on this scale. This can help you select classes and teachers that provide an environment to your liking. Sometimes you don’t have a choice but when you do, you will be more successful if the teaching style and learning environment matches your own style. The 3rd personal style scale is the “leadership style” and it’s basically whether you enjoy being a team player and doing your part but you would rather not take charge. Not everyone is comfortable delegating work tasks to others. And some folks just love to be in a position of leadership because they enjoy directing and motivating others. If you are thinking of going into business management, let’s hope your score leans more towards the right hand side. Risk taking is an interesting personal style scale to examine. This allows you to see if you like to “play it safe” or you enjoy taking chances. How does this help with career selection? Some occupations require someone willing to take risks e.g. fast-paced jobs in the entertainment business or in the stock market field. Others are predictable and safer such as a librarian or pharmacy technician. Finally, the team orientation. It seems quite similar to the work style scale. I don’t see a huge difference. It would be curious if you scored as very high in terms of preference for working on teams and also very high in terms of preference for working alone. Let me know if any of you have such a score and I will investigate further with you.

The bottom of page 9 is the “response summary” and it is important to mention that if you left many questions unanswered or you show very little interest in everything, your results may not be as valid nor useful. I will take a look at each of your results to see if this is the case. I’ll contact you individually to discuss this.

Page 9 is the page I was talking about that you can refer to in the future when you take this 14-page assessment out again and you are overwhelmed by the information presented. This page gives you a really nice summary of everything we just went over but on one page. I suggest using this section as a good jumpstart in researching careers of interest for you.

The last part of the SII assessment walks you through ways to use your Theme code in the academic college environment. This page is neat because it lists common MAJORS that students will pick based on the theme. In this example, the student’s top themes were artistic, investigative and social. That is why you see them listed here and you see the majors that typically are chosen. Is the major you are considering on this page?

The basic interest scales. Do you remember them from many slides ago The basic interest scales. Do you remember them from many slides ago? Read the top to review. They took your top 5 interest scales and under each, listed college activities, internships and courses that would be a great fit. This gives you a chance to think over how you would like to spend your time in college and classes to try out.

The occupational scales in which you shared the most similar interests with the people working in them are listed again but this time, you get some additional information like how to prepare for the career, what type of college classes you usually would take and other careers to consider in the last column “Related careers”. One of the special projects for this class is to work with a counselor and develop an Education Plan. This will involve selecting an appropriate major. I hope you are stimulated into thinking further after reading and analyzing this section.

Oh. My. Gosh. Yes, you are done. Did the time fly by or … not? Regardless, congratulations on reaching the end of the SII assessment! This last but not least page gives you suggestions on how to take full advantage of your personal styles. Again, similar to what I stated for the MBTI, please keep your SII handy and available for other uses during this semester. You will find it helpful beyond the class if you choose to use it. Our last slide for this lecture is one example of what you can do with these 2 assessments.

“Tell me about yourself…” Classic Interview question Common College Essay question Classic First Date question Now you have ideas and words to describe dimensions of YOU If someone were to sit down with you right now and say “Tell me about yourself…” how would you do it? What would you say? Many people actually have a really hard time with this question. Where should they start? How should they start? This question is very common and asked during job interviews in some form or another. It also happens to be a critical question when you are applying to transfer to a university or applying for a scholarship. And if you’re still in the dating scene, your date will likely ask you to describe yourself. I hope you have found greater clarity in your personality (through the MBTI assessment) and interests (through the SII assessment) to help you answer this important question. Just like your values that were covered in Module 3, you will post your findings and thoughts on your blog. My hope is that a theme will emerge for you as you put together “pieces” of the puzzle that make up who you are in the coming weeks. These discoveries will hopefully lead to potentially great matches in terms of a career field! We are getting near to this point, actually! You should be thinking of potential careers to conduct some research on. Next week we will cover skills and allow you to determine specific skills you enjoy using. After this, we would be finished with one-third of this class – remember what the first student learning outcome is for this class (hint: it’s in the syllabus)? We will move on to discuss and analyze together what the “world of work” is currently like and help you think about what part you would like to play in this global economy. You’ll be doing a lot of research at various websites and hopefully career and major ideas are beginning to swirl in your head. Let me know where you are at this point in the class and if there’s anything I can do to support you.