Since we spend the majority of our waking hours at work, career satisfaction is key to our overall happiness. Yet, until we are mid-career, many of us do not pause to consider our level of personal satisfaction. We push forward to earn the accolades, annual raises and the next promotion. Day after day; year after year. Then one day, we wake up and realize we really do not enjoy our jobs. You know you deserve to be happy and feel the urge for a more rewarding career. But where do you start? The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® personality inventory is a very useful tool to help you identify your ideal role – one that aligns with your strengths and how you operate best.
Who Should Take the MBTI®
As a Certified Career Transition Coach and MBTI® practitioner, I work with many mid- to late career professionals looking for more career satisfaction. The good news about us baby boomers working longer is that there is time to build a successful second act career. In fact, I reinvented myself at age 48 and have never been happier. I want everyone to have the same career satisfaction and work tirelessly to help my clients achieve it!
The MBTI® offers:
- Increased self-awareness
- More job satisfaction
- Healthier interpersonal relationships
Each of us has natural preferences regarding how we best learn, solve problems and get our energy. Often we have to flex and adapt to different ways of doing things at work and/or in our personal relationships, but we each have preferred styles of interaction. The most widely used personality assessment in the world, the MBTI®, can help us to better understand ourselves, our natural strengths and potential areas for growth. It helps my clients articulate who they are and explains why they have conflicts with certain types of individuals, feel stress in certain situations, and can do some things with ease. It also helps them to appreciate the differences between personality types, which can be the source of conflict and miscommunication.
Personality Type and Career Compatibility
We can also use the Myers Briggs® theory to identify the type of work that best suits your style, including how you manage our time, solve problems, make decisions and deal with stress. All of which helps guide career selection. Learnings that come out of the MBTI® assessment can help leaders manage their teams through change and increase collaboration across groups. The MBTI® teaches us that there is no one “perfect” type; no one type is better than another. A successful team needs to have a balance between big picture thinkers and people who see all the little details, as well as people who are more methodical and those who “go with the flow”.
We are very complex beings and while no one assessment can accurately describe us in our entirety, the MBTI® is a very helpful tool to clarify career goals and the work culture in which you thrive. The assessment is quick and easy to take, with the real value found in the interpretation of your results by a certified MBTI® practitioner. In our debrief session, we explore the subtle nuances of the 4 dichotomies and discuss how to use your results to better understand yourself and others. My clients find it to be quite eye opening and quickly see the value in identifying their natural preferences. As I help them interpret their MBTI® results, this exercise increases their self-awareness and helps them lead more fulfilling lives. Does your career align with your natural preferences?
My Type
By the way, I am an INTJ, which is known for being a perfectionist who prefers to do things their own way, tends to make decisions using logical analysis and has trouble being spontaneous. Those who know me say that is spot on!
The Founder of EDGE Career Solutions, Trish McGrath has been helping people develop the tools, strategies and confidence to build satisfying careers since 2009. A Career Coach, Resume Expert and Certified MBTI Practitioner, Trish helps clients across the US gain the competitive edge and guides them through the job search process to make it less overwhelming and more successful. Contact her today to see how she can help you achieve your career goals. Discover your EDGE. (860) 658-6480 or trish.mcgrath@edgecareersolutions.com