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Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Counseling to Type Strategies – Sensing (Part 1)


Back to our series on tailoring our counseling strategies based upon the type of student we are supporting!  This week we tackle the Sensing preference.

Here are some suggestions for working with students who prefer Sensing: 

Details please!  These students are listening for, and will remember most, if not all, of the details you share during your session.  They are data and fact driven, so be sure to be prepared with things like anticipated job growth and career assessment data, and make sure your facts are accurate and relevant to the topic you are discussing. 

Provide concrete, real-life examples, rather than metaphors or stories, to illustrate the points you are reviewing with your student.

Speak in a linear manner.  This type of student wants the career process described in a sequential, linear way.  Start with step 1, then go to step 2, and move to Step 3, and so forth.  These students will get lost if you jump around to wherever the conversation leads or what inspires the counselor.  This is the student that the 4-year career plan was made for! 

Provide practical applications.  When explaining informational interviewing, for instance, clearly illustrate how this job search technique is a practical and linear process for narrowing a student’s major/career options.  

In my next post, I will give you four more suggestion before I move onto counseling strategies for students with a preference for Intuition. 
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Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Death, Taxes and General Education Requirements

Learning to Learn Series - Part 3
By Jim Larkin and Jack Powers

 Let's face it, even if you find a major and career path that perfectly meshes with your talents and temperament, it still doesn't save you from general education requirements. It’s a universal pain point, like death and taxes. No matter how brilliant you are within your chosen field, you must endure a litany of courses with no apparent connection to your future, outside of their ability to sink your GPA, grad school plans and scholarship. So how does one survive general ed? 

People tend to approach general ed in two ways, depending on personality preferences for either Sensing (S) or Intuition (N), as presented by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® instrument. Those with either preference frequently hit a wall in general ed courses, but often at different points and for different reasons. 

Students with an S preference tend to focus on the practical “here and now,” and for them that “wall” comes almost immediately. If you’re a business major, for example, you may see having to take cultural anthropology or English composition as a waste of time with no practical career application. Consequently, you’ll be disengaged from the start.  

Focusing on the big picture
You can counter this by flexing your natural analytic abilities to understand that this is an experience that you must wade through to achieve your goals. Looking at the big picture may not be your immediate impulse, but viewing the course as a single rung in a ladder that leads to being able to do what you really want will help motivate you to buckle down and study.

Finding the method in the madness
If an immediate connection between the course subject matter and what you hope to do for a living eludes you, find one. For example, while as a business executive or engineer you may never be asked to produce an essay on the nihilistic voyeurism of Hemingway, you’ll certainly need to cogently, convincingly and at times creatively express your thoughts.

Those in technical fields are increasingly required to make the case for their initiatives to non-technical audiences -- to succeed, you’ll need better communication skills than the average math teacher. And for those with more administrative goals in mind, remember that a crackerjack speechwriter may not be there to help you with your big presentation. In such cases, you’ll be thankful if you paid attention in English class.

Take your general ed early
Finally, take your general ed courses as early as possible -- preferably your freshman and sophomore years. You may actually find that what you thought was your ideal career isn't so ideal, and that another course of study appeals more to you. If you don’t discover that until your junior year, it may be too late to switch directions.

In summary, if you've got a preference for Sensing, your general education stumbling block will be the perceived lack of practicality. However, if you dig a little deeper you may find that even if the subject matter is irrelevant, often the skills are highly relevant to your future, which will help you become more motivated and engaged to succeed.

Next time we’ll discuss how Intuitives (N) -- whose natural curiosity and big picture focus may get them initially stoked about a general ed course -- can avoid losing steam halfway through when the novelty of the new subject wears off and the coursework kicks in. 
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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Use MBTI® language to find your fit in the civilian world

(Managing your transition home – Part 4)
Written by Elizabeth and Katherine Hirsh 

Any time you make a career change, you may find it difficult to explain how the knowledge, skills, and abilities you acquired in your previous role(s) apply to a new job or field. This can be particularly challenging when you are moving from the military to a career in the civilian world. Even though your role in the service may be comparable to a job in business, you may struggle to describe how your military skills will transfer. Terms and titles are often dissimilar even if capabilities are much alike.

How can the MBTI® tool help? It offers service members a language in which to frame their approach to work and describe what sorts of environments bring out their best. You can search type descriptions and other materials on personality preferences to uncover key words and phrases that will help you paint a picture of the value you would bring to an organization, customer, or project.

For example, if you have a preference for Judging, let others know that you can contribute your best when you are able to devise routines, plan milestones and goals, and provide organization and structure. Explain that you value schedules, order, and decisiveness at work.

If, on the other hand, you have a preference for Perceiving, let others know that you can contribute your best when you are able to respond to new information, flex to meet changing demands, and handle unexpected opportunities as they arise. Explain that you value freedom, adaptability, and openness at work.

Describing who you are and the special talents you offer can be tricky. Knowing about your personality type provides a language to help bridge the gap between service and civilian life. Realizing that what you can contribute flows from your personal style can also help you overcome the service person’s natural tendency toward modesty and understatement. Remember, you are not bragging; you are simply helping potential employers determine fit by describing your style. 

You can learn more on the topic of psychological type and reintegration in our booklet Introduction to Type® and Reintegration.

Elizabeth and Katherine Hirsh are coauthors of several publications, including Introduction to Type® and Teams, MBTI® Teambuilding Program: Leader’s Resource Guide, Introduction to Type® and Decision Making, and the MBTI® Decision-Making Style Report.


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Friday, February 8, 2013

Group Study Part II: How Extraverts can Bring the Introverts “Into the Fold”

Part 2 of our "Learning to Learn" series. 
By Jim Larkin and Jack Powers


In our previous post we discussed how people with a preference for Extraversion, who are energized by social interaction, tend to operate much more naturally in a group study situation than their Introversion-oriented counterparts, who have to expend energy for social interaction.

However, this doesn't mean that those preferring Extraversion will necessarily have an easy, or even a positive experience in group study. If you prefer Extraversion, you may feel frustrated with some of the other group members who aren't participating as readily as you. Furthermore, your grade may in fact suffer because you’re not getting input from 50 percent or more of your team.

Before you throw up your hands in resignation, consider that some of the lack of engagement you’re perceiving from some team members may have nothing to do with their level of interest or dedication to the project. Rather, it may stem from a natural discomfort in group study-type situations with those with a preference for Introversion. The following tips may help you manage the situation to the team’s benefit and bring the Introverts “back into the fold” per se, and contributing on equal footing with the Extraverts:
1) Pay attention to non-verbal cues. If you’re talking a lot, others may may feel like they can’t get a word in edgewise, or perhaps that you’re stealing their thunder by expressing what they’re thinking before they can say it. Watch body language -- if someone looks like they have something to say, give them a chance to say it.

2) Designate a facilitator. Let’s face it, sometimes you’re just having too much fun to notice that others aren’t. Therefore, in a group with mixed preferences, it’s often beneficial to designate someone as the facilitator and assign them the task of making sure that speaking time is more equally divided -- encouraging the more reserved members, and perhaps toning down the more aggressive ones.

By understanding how preferences for Introversion and Extraversion manifest themselves in these kind of group settings, you can more effectively harness the knowledge and creativity of everyone in your group to make it a positive, productive learning experience.
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Friday, February 1, 2013

Counseling to Type Strategies – Introversion (Part 3)


Written by Catherine Rains 

In my first two posts of this series, I shared some tips on how to tailor your career counseling strategies to students with a preference for Introversion.  Here are the last couple I’d like to share:

Pause when you ask a question.  Silently counting to 10 after asking a question will go a long way toward supporting a student who prefers Introversion  to sort through their possible options and respond with a well thought out solution.  As hard as it may be for counselors who prefer Extroversion, hold your breath and literally count to 10 in your mind – you will be surprised at how positively your students will respond with this simple technique.

Hold back on the number of questions. When a counselor who prefers Extroversion doesn't get an immediate response to their question, they quickly ask another question, often without giving a client who prefers Introversion time to thoroughly think through the first question.  Extroverted preference counselors also ask more and more questions when they don’t get an immediate response  because the silence makes them a bit uncomfortable.  Without immediate feedback, they think their client is not engaged, so they continue the questioning process hoping to find a way to engage their client, which could actually be pushing their client further away. breaking down communication between counselor and student.

So what have I missed?  Please share your suggestions for what has worked for you when working with students who prefer Introversion.  Next week we’ll talk about how to effectively work with students who prefer Sensing.

Read Part 1 here.
Read Part 2 here. 


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