Continuing the second in a series of three seminars devoted to UNB Counselling and our careers, Rosemary Whitlock delivered a seminar that dealt with how our interests relate to our career paths. With that goal in mind, Rosemary had us complete two activities that discussed what we would do if we won twenty-five million dollars and another that discussed our interests in general. After performing these tasks, we were each given personalized reports very similar to what we had received in the seminar that dealt exclusively with personality except this report was solely based on our interests.
The first activity stated that I had won the lottery and stressed creativity in deciding what I would do with my winnings. It highlighted that relaxation time would soon get boring and that I would need a more concrete plan for the future. The way I described how I would spend my money is expressed in the following summary I wrote on the exercise sheet: "The first thing I would do would be to build my ideal home. It would probably be similar to a large manor with a rustic feel and a personal study that would double as an office. It would have all the amenities one would typically think of when picturing a “rich” home. After a while, I would go travelling all over the world. I would basically just go wherever suited my whims. Afterwards, I would put my money into safe long-term investments which I would run out of my study. I would write as a hobby in my spare time and have a vast library with which I could hone my skills as a writer." It was obvious that the activity was designed to help us more easily express our interests without the burden of money getting in our way. Personally, I’ve felt that I’ve always had a good image of what my interests are and don’t have very much trouble separating them from money. This is likely why I chose safe investments when describing how I would perpetuate the money. What’s the point of getting that much richer if you can already afford everything you want?
The second activity highlighted individual interests that each of us selected from a list or from what we had written in the first activity. We then compared those interests aloud and on a board in order to see if there were any notable similarities or differences. Some of my interests were financial planning, psychology, travel, foreign languages and cultures, writing, tourism, nature, and sports. Interestingly enough, most of my group’s interests were very similar to mine barring a few personal touches. Another noteworthy element of the discussion was that most people in the group elected for safe investments rather than riskier investments to perpetuate their wealth. It seems that the others felt the same way I did about having enough money to buy whatever I wanted.
Rosemary then explained that students often liked the results of either the personality evaluation or the interest evaluation but usually not both. I am inclined to agree with that statement as I personally felt that my MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) report listed occupations and information that I agreed with more closely than my STI (Strong Interest Inventory) report. The significance of the report in terms of the MBA program or future employment is obvious: it helps to discern where one’s interests lie and what type of occupation they might see themselves in based on those interests. Rosemary did stress that this was only one-third of a more complete picture that was yet to be painted and that we would get a clearer idea of what occupations best suited us after the final seminar from UNB Counselling.
The STI report considered numerous factors which were used to communicate which fields of work we might be most strongly interested in. The report broke us down into three of six general occupational themes which measure interest patterns that can be used to describe our work personalities. I had the greatest correlation with Social, Conventional, and Investigative. Artistic, Enterprising, and Realistic held the least correlation. The Social theme means that I value cooperation, generosity, and service to others. This seems fair, but I also consider myself quite logical and doubt I would be as altruistic as performing any of these tasks at great personal risk. That being said, the categories seem intentionally vague when compared to the MBTI test which described me more or less perfectly. The Conventional theme suggests that I value accuracy, stability, and efficiency. The Investigative theme suggests that I value independence, curiosity, and learning. I don’t disagree with any of the elements of the Conventional or Investigative themes. The themes were used to generate our list of top ten occupations based on our interests. My top three were Corporate Trainer, Marketing Manager, and Attorney. While the only position I can see myself in would be that of Marketing Manager, I do understand that the other two positions correlate with my interests quite strongly. The results of the test were also used to list our work styles, preferred learning environments, leadership style, risk taking style, and team orientation. Needless to say, it is a lot of information. To summarize, I fell into moderate strengths on the scale for each factor and thus was comfortable with some measure of compromise for the greater good. These results were used to generate a list of what my strongest interest areas are. Management, office management, writing and mass communication, taxes and accounting, and human resources and training were my strongest areas. I find that I agreed with this latter portion of the report much more closely than I did the former portion.
All in all, it seems that this report did shed some light on my career path but that light was like a match struck in a dark room compared to the MBTI report which was more akin to a bright flashlight in that same room. These results are to be taken with a grain of salt as it is impossible to perfectly summarize people on paper. Nevertheless, it is interesting and does give me some career options to consider in the future. I am eager to see how this will all be tied together in the third seminar.
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