Introvert! Get Thee to Career Counseling!
Today I’m excited! I just returned from career counseling. The last time I was there I took the Strong Interest Inventory. Today, my counselor and I went over the results. Results of awesomeness, I might add!
It turns out that all those little intuitions I’ve had about myself in the past, at least where careers are concerned, were on the right track. Librarian. Forester. Graphic Designer. Photographer. University Professor. Systems Analyst. Technical Writer. Geographer.
The Strong Interest Inventory doesn’t just spit out a list of jobs. It gives you insight into which general occupational themes are your best fit. Then it outlines your personal values, basic interests, and personal style (Ha! I don’t like working in a teamwork environment – who’d have guessed that!).
It also compares your likes and dislikes with those of people in the same occupation areas that you score high in, and goes on to tell you the jobs you’d probably be most likely to get satisfaction from.
What the Strong did for me was give some credence to what I already suspected. Why I needed that reassurance, I don’t know. You might not have the same need for some test to tell you what’s right for you.
Regardless, my next step is to spend more time researching these areas for myself – all of which are quite suitable for an introvert like me.
I will be using the following two websites to give me further insight into possible career and education choices: O*Net Online, and The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Will keep you posted. I am confident that there are satisfying careers out there for introverts.
By the way, if you’re interested in taking the Strong Inventory, click here and here. It will cost you (and I’m not advertising these two websites – I don’t get a cut). If you can find a career counseling program that is open to the public at a local college or university, like I did, you might be able to take the test for a lower cost or for free.
