Empowering career search and enrichment

Written by Catherine Rains

As I mentioned last week, we are all picking up Sensing information first (facts, reality, specifics), but we all don’t do the same thing with this information. With people who prefer Intuition, they momentarily look at the data, and then with lightning speed jump to what those facts mean to them. They are looking for the implications, interpretations, and possibilities behind the data. In fact, they often care more about what the facts mean, rather than about the facts themselves, which means they could lose the original intent of the facts in the process of interpreting them!

So how can you guess whether someone prefers Intuition? They ….

• Usually love to brainstorm about the possibilities of a subject
• Could ask long term kind of questions like what is the future of a certain career field
• Are more likely to ask questions that start with “what if”, “suppose” and “why”
• Often jump around in the conversation, following whatever tangent is most interesting in the moment
• Might enjoy telling stories with metaphors
• Sometimes are attracted to careers that involve creativity and little routine
• Could prefer fiction type novels
• Occasionally dress more artistically or expressively, with perhaps a few tattoos or body piercings thrown in if they are younger
• Often love to take MBTI® and/or the Strong assessment to generate new career possibilities

How many more behavioral cues can you come up with for Intuition?

Written by Catherine Rains

Guessing someone’s preference for Sensing or Intuition is a bit tricky because all of us are picking up Sensing type information (facts, reality, specifics), but we all don’t do the same thing with this information. With people who prefer Sensing, they usually stick with the facts, without interpreting them. Here are some ways that I have observed this behaviorally. They:

• Sometimes have a very specific speech pattern , using concrete descriptive words and examples
• Might ask data collection questions that begin with words such as “how” and “what”
• Could be cautious to go beyond what is actual, or what is the reality of the moment
• Occasionally express a career interest in managing “what is”, serving people in practical ways, handling data (i.e. customer service, nursing, K-12 education, accounting)
• Might also be attracted to jobs that require routine and structure, and are usually not put off by repetition
• Sometimes remember the past accurately
• Might want to take a the MBTI® and/or Strong assessments to validate what they’ve already been considering, rather than for generating new options
• Could take notes when you are talking to remember all the details of what was discussed
• Might prefer non-fiction writing
• And my personal favorite – Often describe things in a linear way with lots of details (ask them for directions to someplace complicated for a good example!)

So what other behavioral cues do you use to pick up a preference for Sensing?

Written by Patrick L. Kerwin
MBTI® Master Practitioner

A friend of mine was getting ready to interview for a job recently, and was talking to me about a piece of advice she was getting from people that she wasn’t finding helpful. You know the one: “Just be yourself.” Rather than heeding that advice, she had been busy trying to turn herself into a pretzel, preparing to twist and turn herself into whatever the interviewers might want her to be. And this wasn’t working very well.

Being prepared for a variety of interviewing questions and situations is a good strategy – but you need to start from a position of strength. Your best position of strength is being yourself – and one way to do that is by remembering your MBTI type preferences.

In her case, we discussed her preferences for ENFJ, and what strengths her type might bring to the corporate trainer position she was applying for. She talked about being a natural facilitator, being comfortable teaching a variety of subjects, and being at ease with new groups of people. With that as a starting point and a place of strength, she didn’t have to be a pretzel – she just needed to help the interviewer see how her strengths could be an asset in a variety of situations on the job. And if “being herself” wasn’t a good fit, then it wasn’t the right fit.

So that trite saying really is true: just be yourself. And if you need a little help on how to describe yourself, do a little reading about your MBTI type. Pick out three or four qualities that reflect your greatest strengths, and make sure and mention them in the interview. Starting from “who you are” will help you be the best interview candidate you can be.

And by the way… she got the job!

We are happy to announce that over the weekend, CPP released the new Occupational Scales (OSs) for the Strong Interest Inventory® assessment. While this is not a new product, we want you to rest assured that we made these updates to continue to provide you with the most current information and research on occupations. The previous set included 244 Oss, while the new set will include 260 OSs (130 female scales and 130 male scales), comprised of:

• 46 new scales
• 30 scales have been removed
• 170 scales remain unchanged
• 36 scales were updated
• 8 scales were revised

Download the free Strong Interest Inventory® Manual Supplement: Occupational Scales Update 2012 which documents the technical details surrounding this update. You can also view a recorded webinar on these updates: Ask an Expert: Revisiting the Strong Interest Inventory® Assessment: What’s New? by visiting www.cpp.com/askanexpert (under "Education On-Demand").

CPP is also in the news! Check out CPP, Inc., Revitalizes the Strong Interest Inventory® Assessment for a New Generation of Professionals from the San Francisco Chronicle for more details surrounding this update.

Written by Catherine Rains

Behavioral cues for Extraversion and Introversion often seem obvious, however I know many people who prefer Introversion that say they are often mistaken for someone who prefers Extraversion. I most often hear this from people whose jobs require them to exhibit extraverted behaviors, which is true of most jobs in America! So it can sometimes be difficult to know whether someone prefers Introversion simply by observing their behavior at work. We often have to look for additional cues beyond the obvious (talking a lot) in order to pick up this preference up accurately. Some of the cues I look for are when they:

• Could wait until someone else starts a conversation
• Often are comfortable with extended pauses in conversation (it gives them time to think)
• Might lean back in their chair, away from the conversation
• Could ask is there something they could read to learn more about what you are discussing
• Might speak slower and with a quieter tone
• Could avoid eye contact
• Might not interrupt a conversation to make their point, even when appropriate to do so
• Sometimes prefer email communication over talking in person

What other additional behavioral cues can you add to the list?

Written by Catherine Rains

For the next 8 weeks, we are going to explore some of the behavioral cues that could indicate someone’s preferences, and that could help us be more effective with all types of people, especially with those who have opposite preferences than our own.

Let’s start at the top. What are the behavioral cues that would indicate the person in front of you has a preference for Extraversion? They…..


• Might start talking right away when you meet them.
• Could be uncomfortable with pauses in the conversation and will work to fill in any silence.
• Might talk over you, interrupt you, and finish your sentences.
• Sometimes are energized from rapid back and forth conversation.
• Might lean forward, into the conversation.
• Could talk with their hands, in addition to their voices.
• Might ask “why are you so quiet” if you aren’t talking as much as them.
• Often maintain eye contact.
• Sometimes speak rapidly and louder than their opposite preference.
• Often appear enthusiastic and animated when they speak.
• Could describe themselves as a “people person”.

What are some other behavioral cues that could indicate someone has a preference for Extraversion? Let expand this list for the benefit of us all!

*It is important to understand that you cannot assess a person's type based merely on type cues; having the person take an assessment and giving them a proper interpretation is always recommended. The point of the blog is to try to understand how to pick up on certain type cues when in the absence of giving someone an assessment and self-verification, such as in a job interview.