Personality Test and Career Change

I am going to be bold and say, this is my year, also known as The Year of Barb (YOB for short).  I understand many others have claimed this year as their own and that’s OK, the year is big enough to accommodate anyone who wants to take it for all it’s worth.

One of my goals for this year is to find a new job.  As a single mom, my teacher’s salary just isn’t cutting it.  And while I love so many aspects of my role as a teacher, I have come to realize that my current position provides few opportunities for professional and financial growth.  And I want that.  While I love helping the children learn and grow, I want to learn and grow as well and be fairly compensated for it.   That’s not asking too much, right?

I recently spoke to a career coach on the telephone.  We will be meeting in person next week to begin my process of “where do I go from here?”.

In the meantime, he asked me to take a personality test, The Jung Personality test,  so that we can use the results as a launching point.

The test separates people into 4 main personality types and under each of those 4 main types there are 4 subgroups. 

After taking the test, I found that my personality type is ENFJ (Extrovert, iNtuitive, Feeling, Judging),  a.k.a. Teacher/Mentor.

OK, so I am thrilled to have results that so obviously speak to who I really am, but I must admit, it makes me really wonder “where do I go from here”?    If I am currently doing what matches my personality, then where and how do I look for something better?

Well, after reading about and google-ing the ENFJ type I have found there are many careers that involve the ENFJ teacher personality type.  It sure is interesting and exciting to see that many of the career options on the list are ones that I have already contemplated. 

Here is a brief description about what the ENFJ type means:  The ENFJ personality type

The only part of the description that made me wonder was the “natural leadership” part.  I have never thought of myself as a leader.  However, I must admit, that my role as single mom has definitely forced me to make decisions and be the leader even when I didn’t want to.  And in doing so, I have found it easier and easier to take on that role in other areas of my life.  It is easier to speak my opinion and much easier for me to object when I don’t agree with something.  So, while I view myself as more of a team player and not so much a leader, I do think I have gained some leadership qualities over the last few years.

All of this being said, I am so eager to meet with my career coach in person to start this exciting process and to hear his take on my professional life and it’s possible next path.   

And how encouraging to know that I am on the right path……that I have spent the majority of my working life doing a job that fits my personality.  It makes me feel more confident knowing that I won’t be wasting all of the skills and knowledge I have acquired in the  last 10 years of my professional life.   Knowing that many of my teacher skills are highly transferable is encouraging!

The personality test itself is a set of 72 “yes” or “no” questions.  I answered each one as honestly as I could.   Some were very easy to apply as “yes” or “no” and some I wished there was a “maybe” or “sometimes” or “explain your answer” section.  But the fact that I answered as honestly as possible and received results that really do describe me, is pretty cool.

Try it out for yourself!  You can find and take the test here:  Jung Personality Test

Tweet This Post