Using the MBTI to Help with Career Exploration As an MBTI®-certified practitioner, you will already be familiar with the power of the Myers-Briggs® assessment and its impressive versatility. For example, it can be used as a tool to enhance team building, to improve communication, to help navigate organizational change, or to provide developmental insights to individuals, teams, and leaders. However, it also has very important applications in the realm of career development. This is becoming an increasingly valuable application as the current organizational landscape trends toward an increase in job-hopping. How exactly can you use the knowledge gained from the MBTI assessment to help your clients navigate their career decisions? Well, there are three different ways: It can help them narrow down their field One of the most difficult career decisions for anyone to make is just deciding what they actually want to do. Because there are innumerable careers to choose between, knowing more about oneself can help them focus on a career that they will be best suited for. Knowing that some personality types find it easier to network, some types prefer to work autonomously, or that some personality types have a preference for delegating tasks, for example, can give your clients a better idea of what field of employment would work best for them as an individual. It can help them identify their strongest skills Insights into unique personality preferences can also help your clients recognize their personal areas of strength, as well as their own potential weaknesses. As an example, some types have more of a preference to be analytical, some prefer organization, and some prefer hands-on learning. If your client has a deeper realization and appreciation of their strongest skills, they will be in a better position to enter a career in which these skills will be demonstrated. Knowing the areas in which your client might struggle can start a conversation around their personal development, and addressing these blind spots will help them become a more well-rounded professional. It can reveal the best work environment for them The last way that insights from the MBTI® assessment can help your client make a career decision is by uncovering the different atmospheres and environments in which they would work best. Certain personality types will find more success in their role depending on the overall environment in which they work. Introverts, for example, tend to prefer quieter areas in which they can process information in their own heads. Meanwhile, extraverts tend to prefer working with others, where they can verbally articulate their ideas and operate in the world around them. If your clients know their personality preferences, they will be better equipped to find the environment that will allow them to do their best work. *** These three factors combine to provide your clients with a more detailed picture of their ideal careers based on their personality preferences. The more they understand about themselves, the better chance they have of finding a pertinent career. There are no right or wrong personality types. By learning more about their own personality preferences, your clients will be able to simultaneously embrace their individuality while also recognizing their strongest skills and areas of weakness. Help your clients find a career that is well-suited for them by using the Myers-Briggs® tool to acknowledge their unique perspectives. Use these insights to provide your clients with a greater understanding of how their personality preferences will influence their careers. We would love to hear your own personal experiences using the MBTI® assessment to influence you or your clients’ career decisions. What was the biggest career-related realization that you or a client had after learning more about personality preferences? Email abrass@psychometrics.com with your feedback. Related Resources Exploring Type and Career Selection Coaching Career Development with the MBTI® Tool Using Type Preferences When Making Career Decisions Fostering A Fit: When Who You Are Isn’t What You Do