Through the years of working with Career Counseling Connecticut’s clients, some of my happiest moments have occurred in “saving” young adults from entering mismatched careers.  The “work” has come from our interactions. The give-take of understanding our career seeking client and my years developing expertise in this niche has occasionally led to magic and normally leads to excellent results.

I also know that our career counseling clients often like reading the tests.

I’ll use Myers-Briggs as an example.

I am an ENFJ.  For those familiar with Myers-Briggs, “teacher” is a common nickname for ENFJs.  Those who know me would nod, as they know education and counseling have been life-long passions.  The polar opposite is ISTP.  “Mechanic” is a common nickname for ISTPs.  Those who know me would laugh as they know that my mechanical skills are likely lower than those of a caveman.

In my own career path, someone could have pointed out why working at a big law firm – where detail oriented work (Es and Ns usually prefer big picture to detail oriented work) on cases that were not meaningful (NFs are idealists) – would not be a fit. They also would have suggested that education/counseling in areas where I felt like I could make a difference would be a fit.

Many young people enter fields that simply don’t suit them.  They try to make it work and then they come to me for career counseling a few years later.  Upon showing them the results of their career testing (Myers-Briggs is just one) and then explaining and interpreting the results, they almost feel like they have permission to finally escape to happier work.

Career tests – I often say – are starting points for discussion. Nonetheless, as you start 2021 and consider career change, consider getting career tests interpreted by an expert. It might change your life.