Can your interests give you career clarity?
In a previous blog, I discussed how the MBTI can help you explore your personality and inform your career decision making. There is another assessment out there that serves as a really nice compliment to the MBTI--The Strong Interest Inventory (SII).
Where the MBTI provides depth and introspection, the Strong provides career options and direction. It provides you with a list of 130 different careers, each ranked ordered based on your level of interest.
More about the Strong Interest Inventory (SII)
The Strong Interest Inventory looks at your interests (what you like and what you don’t like), identifies your top interest areas, and provides you with a list of career options that are likely to give you work satisfaction.
As you can imagine, your interests fluctuate greatly over time and are heavily influenced by your experiences and environment. Because of this, your Strong results can change dramatically over time, so even if you took the assessment in college, it may be a good idea to take it again. In comparison, your personality is more steadfast and therefore, it’s unlikely that your MBTI results will change drastically over time.
Just like with the MBTI, there are hundreds of versions of the Strong, each utilizing the same theory and research, but each offering different benefits and ways of conveying information. The one I give my clients is the Strong Interest Inventory® Profile Report + Strong and MBTI® Career Report. This version shows clients how their specific interests and preferences link to various jobs, work settings, and career fields. Clients can use it to help them expand their career options and chart an action plan toward a fulfilling career. Here are some specifics of that report:
General Occupational Themes: Top themes describe your work personality in areas such as interests, work activities, and potential skills
Basic Interest Scales: Your top 5 interest areas, as well as areas of least interest
Occupational Scales: Your top 10 potential occupations based on similarity of their interest patterns to those of satisfied workers in a given occupation
Personal Style Scales: Your preferences for different ways of approaching people, learning, leading, making decisions, and participating in teams
Can I just take the Strong or do I need to take the MBTI as well?
I see folks who want to take both inventories so they can really dive deep and explore who they are and what makes them tick. But I also see folks who are more interested in simply getting to work and identifying careers of interest ASAP. Either way, I’ll meet you where you’re at. There are some great free ways of identifying your MBTI type and we can utilize this information to better inform your Strong Interest Inventory results.
Looking for a Career Counselor in Texas?
Interested in taking the Strong Interest Inventory? You can schedule a free 20-minute phone consultation with me by clicking the button below. I’m all about transparency and helping you figure out if I’m the right fit for you.