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Contributor Career Success Stories and Strategies

A request from Donna Dunning

Please Share Your Story or Strategy

Although I have studied personality type for over 20 years, I still find it most helpful to hear from the experts on the different types. That’s you. To help others learn and develop, please share your stories. How does your career suit who you are? What have you learned to do to be successful? Thanks for sharing.

To find a sample of type-preferred occupations go to the Contributor occupations page.

Not sure of your type? Learn more on the What’s Your Type pages.

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If you want to share your career success story or strategy on our web site, please fill in the form below. *All fields are required. By submitting your story you are agreeing to let us publish it. We may edit your story for length and clarity. Thank you.

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3 Responses to “Contributor Career Success Stories and Strategies”

  1. Alex says:

    Personality Type: ESFJ

    I first heard about the MBTI® over thirty years ago when I was directing a nine-month residential program of personal spiritual renewal. Straight away I saw how it would be a wonderful instrument to help the participants, not only in personal understanding, but also in their interpersonal communication, decision making and community building. After I was trained to use the instrument by Mary McCauley and Harold Grant, two of Isabel Myers’ intimate collaborators, I began to use the indicator as the foundational instrument for the Galilee Institute of Personal Spiritual Renewal and did so until I left the Institute eleven years later. During these years I grew in my appreciation of the MBTI® as an effective tool for growth and change in many areas.

    My wife (INFJ) and I then started our own training and consulting company and, once again, used the MBTI® instrument in a variety of training sessions, especially in many departments of the Federal Government. Neither of us being much good at marketing (ESFJs and INFJs are the least represented on Type Tables of Marketing Professionals!) we both soon obtained alternative employment – my wife in the federal government and myself at a new long-term care facility as the director of staff development and education. Once again, I was very energized when I used the MBTI® with good effect as a foundational instrument in my many courses in non-clinical staff training and development (such as communication strategies, time management, decision making, team building, effective meetings, etc.). I also used the MBTI® in the bringing together of three disparate cultures (a chronic care hospital, a veterans’ home and the chronic care unit of the National Defense Medical Centre) into the one new health centre and generating the set of core values for this new entity. During this time, while facilitating MBTI® sessions elsewhere, I became aware of and very concerned about the non-ethical use of the instrument in some applications. I approached Psychometrics Canada with the possibility of training people in the ethical and appropriate use of the indicator. For the past 14 years I have been on the Psychometrics faculty, training many people to be competent, ethical, consumers of the MBTI®. Each time I train a group or facilitate an individual in the discernment of their true type, I learn more about myself and become more convinced of the great benefit this instrument can be in helping people understand themselves and other people and its value in possibly even bringing about peace and harmony in our troubled world.

  2. Pam says:

    Personality Type: ENFJ

    I manage a college career centre and have done so for twenty years. People are often surprised that after all this time I’m doing the same job, but I know I’m still doing it because I’m perfectly suited for the work I do. Its not the same job because all of the people I work with are uniquely different and finding new possibilities for them excites me. I also energized by planning events, creative problem solving, strategic planning, and writing proposals. I am sometimes drained by budgeting, managing an extensive database, and personnel behavior issues. To remain successful I have learned to ask experts in my organization for help with the parts of my work I sometimes feel overwhelmed with. I enjoy teamwork.

  3. Kristy says:

    Personality Type: ENFJ

    I am an ENFJ (and an MBTI Practitioner) and have found that my ever-changing career has finally found its niche. I used to work in Finance and Administration (always for nonprofits, so I could have some meaning), and while the organization of it greatly appealed to me (writing manuals, keeping many details in check), I became bored and stifled at the lack of creativity and interaction.
    I finally dumped my whole career behind me to pursue medicine. I started training as a Medical Assistant (MA) and now am in school for my Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing (and possibly may become a Nurse Practitioner), while working as an MA at an Urgent Care center. I’m absolutely energized by the people I get to work with and the high level of interaction all day long; by the hands-on caring, comfort and compassion I am able to provide; by the close attention to detail (in everything from charting to medication administration); by the opportunity to take symptoms and connect them to the bigger picture; and the constant opportunity to learn and expand my knowledge. I love the Urgent Care setting because, while spontaneous (something I don’t have a preference for), there’s also a predictability in the flow: it’s only the types of illness or injury that vary, and I love the exposure to learning new things and getting to practice and hone skills.
    I’m sometimes drained by inconsiderate or rude patients; coworkers who don’t carry their own weight or follow through on something they say they’ll do; perceived inefficiency; and the rushed pace that sometimes does not allow me to connect with my patients from start to finish (or that doesn’t allow me to personally be the one to follow up with them on a return visit). I also get discouraged sometimes when I don’t do something perfect, or fail or make a mistake in front of a patient or a doctor. I know it’s all part of the learning curve, but there is little to no room for error in this profession (I suppose this could be a plus, too, depending on how you look at it) and I set very high standards for myself.
    But overall, I feel thrilled that I’ve finally found a career that suits me perfectly. There will always be room for me to grow and learn, to see tangible results in helping others, and to use my preferences for organization. Even though I’m finding this out when I am 35, at least I *did* figure it out! I love it so much that it doesn’t even feel like a job; it feels like a fully satisfying and wholly meaningful hobby.

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