Empowering career search and enrichment

Written by Catherine Rains

Finally, we get to my favorite set of cues. The outer letters, the attitudes, show how we express our middle letters, and can thus be sometimes more obvious in terms of behavior cues. Remember too that the J and P were added by Myers and Briggs to indicate what a person shows to the world, or what they extrovert. So again, this attitude is often something that we can see, more so than the middle letters. This is ALWAYS assuming that someone is actually showing us their true preference for J or P. I am a case in point with this one as my behavior and appearance look J, but I have a preference for P. But I’ll share this next week when we get to behavior cues for Perceiving. Meanwhile, let’s look at common cues for the Judging preference.

Here are some things that I look for. They….

• Usually chose a major before they get to college, or by the first semester of their Freshmen year (this is a question I sometimes weave into a conversation!)
• Might show up 15 minutes prior to an appointment or engagement 
• Often will get assignments done days before the deadline 
• Could have a neat, crisp appearance with clothes pressed, hair well groomed, more conservative and angular in style 
• Often have a very organized back pack, purse and/or daytimer 
• Might plan out their weekends and vacations with a schedule, and don’t want to move forward without a plan 
• Could appear closed to new information once a decision has been made  
• Might decide quickly to get a decision checked off their list 
• Sometimes love the 4-year plan the career center provides, and follows the plan year by year

What else gives you the impression that someone has a preference for Judging? Please share what you have observed.

Written by Jim Larkin

I recently had the occasion to view a “TED” lecture. It was delivered by Simon Sinek, author of the book “Start with Why.” In a nutshell, Sinek distinguishes between “Leaders” and “those who Lead.” Leaders, Sinek says, hold positions of power or authority, those who lead inspire. We follow those who lead, not because we have to, but because we want to. We follow those who lead, not for their sakes, but for our own. And what inspires? Knowing the “Why” of what we do, not just the “What.”

Take a moment to think about why you do what you do. If you’re answer is to help point students in the right direction, think more deeply. Helping students find direction is what you do, it is the outcome. Why do you help them find direction? I believe you do it to help them become happy, satisfied, and content (or whatever your bottom-line is) in the direction you help them find. Sure you’ll feel good in five years when that “lost” student comes back into your office to thank you for helping them find a job/career because now they are making a lot of money and are climbing the corporate ladder. How much better will you feel when that same student walks into your office and says thanks because you helped them find job satisfaction; not because they make a lot of money or they are progressing, but just because they like what they do, they are satisfied and content in their work life?

What you do may be to help your students understand what it means to be an ENTJ or an Artistic, Enterprising, Social (AES) individual. Why you do it is to help them be at peace with what it means to be an ENTJ or AES individual. Why you do what you do is to inspire your students to be better at being themselves, to find the joy in their lives and to find a job that won’t push that joy down, make them suppress it inside, or have to find it somewhere else.

If you would like to view the Simon Sinek’s TED lecture, you can find it here. Find your “why” and let it ignite a fire in you to inspire your students to ignite a belief in themselves. You are the inspiration! Identify why you do what you do and it will inform the what of what you do.