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 

The latest issue of the Career Insider is out! We wanted to make sure to give you enough resources to guide you through this stressful time of year when graduation and interview preparations are taking place. Here is a preview of some of the articles included in this issue:

• Bringing yourself to the Interview, by Patrick Kerwin – A friend of mine was getting ready to interview for a job recently, and she was talking to me about a piece of advice people were giving her that she wasn’t finding very helpful. Read more.
• Graduation Trials and Tribulations, by Donna Dunning – Once you graduate, the pressure is on to determine who you are and how you are planning to live your life. “What will you do now?” will be a reoccurring question and concern. Read more.
• Help Students Manage Stress to Build Resiliency with the MBTI® and TKI Assessments, 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. Read more.

Read the Summer 2012 Career Insider issue for more articles and helpful resources.

Written by Patrick L. Kerwin, MBTI® Master Practitioner

Sometimes, despite your best efforts to keep yourself chill for the holidays, at work, family reunions, etc., you can feel yourself going down that slippery slope of being totally stressed out. One of the ways you know you’re headed in that direction is when you start “overdoing” your personality type. And every type has its own “special” way of doing that! Find yours below, and watch for those signs…


ISTJ and ISFJ: Obsessing about details
INTJ and INFJ: Over-swirling about connections and possibilities
ISTP and INTP: Over-focusing on finding logical conclusions
ISFP and INFP: Over-analyzing how you’re feeling

ESTP and ESFP: Being obsessively active
ENFP and ENTP: Bouncing from one possibility to another to another
ESTJ and ENTJ: Overly-controlling situations and people
ESFJ and ENFJ: Over-focusing on creating harmony and pleasing others

Often just recognizing that you’re overdoing it is enough to get you off of that slippery slope!