Feeling a bit out of sorts with your job or looking for orientation? That’s a good time to do a questionnaire like MTBI, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. That’s a test HR managers and headhunters love to use. It’s based on C. G. Jung’s analysis of how we make decisions, with its opposite pairs:
- thinking vs. feeling
- sensing vs. intuition
- judging vs. perceiving
- introversion vs. extroversion
“The original developers of the personality inventory were Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers. They began creating the indicator during World War II, believing that a knowledge of personality preferences would help women who were entering the industrial workforce for the first time identify the sort of war-time jobs where they would be ‘most comfortable and effective’.” (Wikipedia)
The MTBI sorts you into one of 16 types, described on the Myers & Briggs Foundation site. You can take the test yourself at Human Metrics. If you’re learning English and do the MTBI you’ll find that the vocabulary is really great!
My type? I’m ENFJ, and the blurb says that means I tend to be
“Warm, empathetic, responsive, and responsible. Highly attuned to the emotions, needs, and motivations of others. Find potential in everyone, want to help others fulfill their potential. May act as catalysts for individual and group growth. Loyal, responsive to praise and criticism. Sociable, facilitate others in a group, and provide inspiring leadership.”
Yeah, right, ok, so in that case I guess I’m the born teacher. No position in the power-broker world of top management for me. Yeah. Grin and bear it! 😉
One Response
Nik Peachy is featuring a shorter version of the questionnaire in question format on his great blog for learners of English: http://daily-english-activities.blogspot.com/2009/03/your-english-personality.html