Assessments Writeup Example #2

[Thanks to YJB for sharing her writeup based on her Strong Interest Inventory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) results.]

The letters I got for the Strong theme letters are CAS, which stand for Conventional, Artistic and Social, and the letters I got from the MBTI are ISFJ, which stand for Introversion, Sensing, Feeling and Judging.

From the book exercises, I got CES, which stands for Conventional, Enterprising and Social, and I got the same ISFJ letters. Most of the Strong letters matched up except for A (Artistic) from CAS and E (Enterprising) from CES. I think in a way, being Artistic and being Enterprising are connected. The descriptions are rather opposite, but if you look closely you can see the connections between those two.

For example, it is stated on the interests for Artistic as “self-expression” and values as “independence.” All those factors are needed for enterprising – to manage, persuade and even lead people. You do need to know how to express yourself. I think the difference is that I have both abilities evenly, and it was a matter of a question or two to be decided whether I am artistic or enterprising.

My Top Careers/Majors

• Office and Administrative Assistant – I have always been working in the office as an administrative assistant. I built my manners to assist customers on the phone. I learned to not forget about the little things, as little problems can become big problems. I can use pretty much learn any type of computer system. I know how to keep records of documents. I think I will do a really good job as an administrative assistant or any type of office job and would feel very comfortable at it.
• Librarian/Information Services – I think librarian requires similar skills as administrative jobs. The most essential part of every office job is to be detail oriented and organized. I would feel comfortable working as a librarian or in information service. One thing I am concerned about is speaking to people in person. I am still training myself not to be awkward around people, but this will take a long time to be achieved.
• Counseling and Helping – If I could overcome my shyness and nervousness around people, counseling is the career I would like to pursue. Ever since I was a little girl, I felt satisfied by finding lost goods for my friends, listening to their problems and helping them within the range of my power. It is such a joy that I could help someone when they are having problems, and I feel happy when I see their happy faces.
• Accounting – Accounting isn’t my number one choice, but I am interested as I am pretty good at mathematics. I am an organized, detailed person when it comes to work. I think utilizing those skills in life might help me achieve an accounting career as my forever job. My current major is accounting and it is not an easy subject to learn, but the economic profits I could possibly gain in the future makes me interested in this major.
• Business Owner – I have always had a dream of becoming an owner of my own business. Since I am majoring in accounting, I thought that would make it easier for me to run a business on my own. I am not planning on learning business in the near future but am willing to learn if I have a chance.
• Government Service – The only reason I chose government service is because of its stability. It seems to be a safe job with a steady income until retirement. What more can I ask for?
• Graphic Designer – I had a chance to work with people who are graphic designers. The first thing that came to mind was the work-at-home environment. I thought it would be nice to become a graphic designer and work at home having my own business and earning profits. I believe this job could be very flexible and will give me some time to enjoy my life.
• Social Worker – It would give me so much satisfaction helping those who are vulnerable and weak in this society. I tend to be very selfish at times and becoming a social worker and helping others would enable self-improvement while bringing confidence and happiness to those people in need of help.
• Translator – As I am a bilingual in both Korean and English, I have had many experiences being a translator for many Korean people who needed help in English. The part I loved the most about being their translator was the satisfaction derived from helping others.
• Teacher – I used to teach students ages 7 to 16. The best part of being a teacher was to be an inspiration to the students and to feel that positive energy from them. Their pure, positive and powerful energies made me happy, and I enjoyed teaching them a lot. If I have a chance to become a teacher again, I am willing to do it.

The Strong Interest Inventory indicated that my preference along the personal style scale is that I likely prefer working with people. I was very surprised by this, as I always thought of myself as a loner who enjoys and prefers doing everything alone. This statement got me to rethink about my preference.

Working with people and communicating with them does give me energy, even in a competitive environment, though I prefer a friendly environment. I always thought to myself that I hate being around people, but at the same time, through working with and helping others, I can learn to improve myself and become a better person. I am thankful to have the opportunity to review my thoughts again by taking these assessments.

I think about what I want to do with my life on a daily basis, and I have countless unrealistic “dream jobs” running through my head all the time. I’ve never been able to figure out what I wanted to do the most until now. The results I received were clear and obvious based on what I am capable of. With these two assessments, I will be able to prioritize my career dos and don’ts.

As accounting was part of my “do” careers, I am going to pursue it until I achieve my degree and will further pursue a CPA license. If I am lost and am thinking of pursuing unrealistic and hard-to-achieve jobs again, then I will remind myself of these results and motivate myself to get back on the right track.