Empowering career search and enrichment

Written by Laura Simonds

Dealing with graduation and a job search at the same time can cause a tremendous amount of stress and lower a student’s resiliency. The excitement and anticipation of graduation, coupled with the fear and uncertainty of a job search, can result in conflict and atypical behavior. At this time of year students unknowingly find themselves in “fight, flight, or freeze” mode to protect themselves from being overwhelmed. On the other hand, “normal” tension can be motivating and stimulating. A healthy amount of anxiety can actually keep them fully engaged.

 What can you do to help students cope during this stressful time and get through it with increased resiliency? You can work with them using the MBTI and TKI assessments. These assessments used together give a clear picture of how students’ inferior function (“in the grip” of stress) informs which conflict style they use. By accessing the appropriate conflict mode for the situation, their goal should be getting back to their dominant function and a better approach to the stress. Then your students will be able to move from “fight, flight, or freeze” to action—and build their resiliency! CPP has some resources to help you learn more about using the MBTI and TKI assessments together.

Here is a guide on how to use the MBTI® and TKI assessments together