Empowering career search and enrichment

Written by Catherine Rains

Alas, we live in a world the culturally prefers Judging. So what happens to the 50% of us who prefer Perceiving? We learn Judging skills to be successful in a world that values Judging type behaviors. This certainly was my case. As I have mentioned in previous blog entries, my father (who prefers INFJ) trained me almost from birth to exhibit Judging behaviors, and I’m very grateful that he did. As a result, most people pick me up as someone who prefers Judging, which has helped me live successfully in a Judging world while also honoring my clear preference for Perceiving. And I am far from unusual - I have met MANY people who prefer Perceiving, while exhibiting Judging behaviors professionally, making it a challenge to figure out their true preference. This also means that it could be difficult to guess their dominant function. However, if you look real close, and are patient, you can still find the true preference lurking in the background – it just might not be obvious at first glance.

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

• Usually won’t choose their major until the absolute deadline for doing so – end of sophomore year or when an authority figure says they must 
• Could add a minor, a double major, or choose one major with LOTS of career options (i.e. Communication, History, Psychology) 
• Might dress in a more casual, comfortable or artistic style, even in professional garb 
• Sometimes ask things like “when do you really need that by” or “is that the real due date” as they will be energized to get things completed close to the ultimate deadline 
• Often think no decision is final and are willing to change their mind when new information surfaces, like when they discover a new major that is more interesting than the one they already choose and have earned 60 credits toward 
• Sometimes look at the 4-year plan from the Career Center as a list of suggested activities and will jump into the list wherever it looks interesting 
• Might drop in to meet with you without an appointment 
• Often want to keep ALL options open until the last minute, including what they are going to do this afternoon

What am I missing? What other cues do you use to pick up whether someone has a preference for Perceiving?

Written by Catherine Rains

Ok admit it all you Perceiving preferences out there, you really think you are happier in your careers than Judging preferences. Why? Because Perceiving preferences constantly monitor the environment for the best possible career (major), and are willing to make a 180 degree change in their career to follow a new option that appeals to them more than what they are currently doing. Judging preferences also want to be happy in their careers, but they are much less likely to change course mid-stream after they have already gotten an education and experience in a particular field. For instance, if a Judging preference student decides the major they have chosen is "wrong”, they will either stick with their major and figure out a way to make it work, or change majors to something very related to the original major so they don’t lose any credits and can still graduate in four years.

In other words, once a decision is made on a major and later a career, Judging preferences are much less likely to change course, even if a more appealing option reveals itself. So this must mean that Perceiving preferences are more satisfied long term, right? Wrong! According to research, Judging preferences report higher career satisfaction because they aren’t always looking for more options, but rather look for ways to make where they are now work for them. Most Perceiving preferences I know live with a touch of dissatisfaction with where they are because they are always in search of something even better!

Written by Catherine Rains

Of course this is another trick question. Perceiving preference students often are labeled as “procrastinators” because of the way they wait until the deadline to complete a project or make a decision. But as we’ve discussed in previous blog entries, they aren’t actually procrastinating with these behaviors. They are simply energized by the deadline, and/or want to keep their options open to make the best decision. Yet, even though we know this about Perceiving preferences, they still get labeled as the procrastinators, even by themselves, because in America we culture our citizens to have Judging preference behaviors.


So the real question is not about who procrastinates more, but what do you procrastinate on? To put it simply, everyone procrastinates, and what you procrastinate on will be with those behaviors associated with your non- preferred preferences. For instance, my preferences are for ENFP, so I tend to delay doing things that will require Sensing or Thinking skills, which are preferences I’m just not as comfortable doing. These take much more energy, so I procrastinate. When I wait until the deadline to complete a project, I am not procrastinating; I’m simply using my energy in the most efficient manner!

Written by Catherine Rains

One of my favorite ways of “guessing” whether someone has a preference for Judging or Perceiving is to ask them WHEN in their college career did they choose their major. Often times, people with a preference for Judging will say they chose before they went to college or by the end of the first semester of their Freshmen year. They need that decision to be made and checked off their list so they can get on with the business of completing the coursework required to graduate in 4 years or less. Perceiving preferences, on the other hand, will often say they chose at the drop dead date for choosing a major, usually at the end of their sophomore year.

This is an ALMOST full proof way of identifying someone with a Perceiving preference, unless something in the Perceiver’s world pressured, encouraged, and/or nudged them to choose earlier. Most Perceivers will say they were “forced” to choose, and even when they did choose, they didn’t consider it a final decision. Much more often than Judging preferences, Perceivers are willing to change majors to something quite different than the original major. For example, they might choose Biology and then switch to Business, and then switch to Philosophy, hence losing credits in the process and delaying graduation by a semester or two.

What can we do to support students with Perceiving preferences stick with their choice of a major? Stay tuned for next week’s article on this very topic!

Written by Catherine Rains

Over the last 15 years I have taught hundreds of MBTI workshops all over the U.S., and during every one of them (yes, I mean at EVERY one), someone will come up to me and “out” themselves as a P for the first time. Why does this always happen to me?


Maybe because I always share my story about being trained to have a Judging preference as a child, a process I liken to being trained to use your right hand even though you are naturally left handed. This never fails to trigger a career counselor in the audience to start questioning their preference for Judging, and by the end of the workshop, they excitedly confess their true preference for P, as if discovering a long lost best friend, or being let out of jail.

Knowing that you are really a P doesn’t suddenly change how you get things done – you still get things in on time, make lists, set goals and accomplish them. However, it does open up a world of new choices for how to integrate the world of P into what you had been trained to do as a J. What might that look like? Stay tuned for next week when we talk about how a P survives with grace (and humor) in a J world.

Written by Catherine Rains

Let’s face it – we live in a J world. ESTJ to be exact. Most organizations, and most schools in the U.S., validate people who exhibit Judging behaviors. From birth, you are taught to get things done on time, arrive early, keep your room neat, use a day timer, keep lots of lists, make decisions and stick to them, etc. Ok, I admit it, I’m talking about myself. I was raised as a Judging kid, by a wonderful Judging father. He was so successful at raising me as a J that I thought I was one until I turned 33.


What changed? Well my type didn’t. I was ALWAYS a P undercover, even to myself. What changed is what happened when I turned 33. At that point in my life I was the director of a college career center, managing 10 professionals. For the first time, I was able to do things in a manner that I preferred, without a boss managing my daily actions. Through the process of learning to be a manager, I realized that I had always been a Perceiver, who was trained as a J to survive in a J world.

Don’t get me wrong – I am very grateful that my father taught me Judging skills. They have greatly added to the success of my professional life. However, now I can easily access my J skills when appropriate (and it often is), and can bring in my preference for Perceiving to make the process much easier and more fun.

Stay tuned for the next excerpt on this exciting series on the “world of P”!