Page 291 - Keys to College Success

KEY 10.3 Personality Spectrum dimension indicate strengths and challenges.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN
DIMENSION JOB STRENGTH JOB CHALLENGES JOBS/CAREERS

Thinker ■ Problem solving ■ A need for private time to think ■ Some level of solo work/think time
■ Developing ideas and work ■ Problem solving
■ Keen analysis of situations ■ A need, at times, to move away ■ Opportunity for innovation
■ Fairness to others from established rules ■ Freedom to think creatively and
■ Working efficiently through tasks ■ A dislike of sameness—systems to bend the rules
■ Innovating plans and systems that don’t change, repetitive tasks ■ Technical work
10 ■ Ability to look strategically at ■ Not always being open to express- ■ Big picture strategic planning
CHAPTER Organizer ■ High level of responsibility ■ A need for tasks to be clearly, ■ Clear, well-laid-out tasks and plans
the future
ing thoughts and feelings to others
concretely defined
■ Stable environment with
■ Enthusiastic support of social
consistent, repeated tasks
structures
■ A preference for less rapid change
■ Order and reliability ■ A need for structure and stability ■ Organized supervisors
■ Loyalty ■ A need for frequent feedback ■ Clear structure of how employees
■ Following through on tasks ■ A need for tangible appreciation interact and report to one another
■ Detailed planning skills with ■ Low tolerance for people who don’t ■ Value of, and reward for, loyalty
competent follow-through conform to rules and regulations
■ Neatness and efficiency
Giver ■ Honesty and integrity ■ Difficulty handling conflict, either ■ Emphasis on teamwork and
■ Commitment to putting energy personal or between others in the relationship building
toward close relationships with work environment ■ Indications of strong and open
others ■ Strong need for appreciation lines of communication among
■ Finding ways to bring out the best and praise workers
in self and others ■ Low tolerance for perceived ■ Encouragement of personal
■ Peacemaker and mediator dishonesty or deception expression in the workplace
■ Ability to listen well, respect ■ Avoidance of people perceived (arrangement of personal space,
opinions, and prioritize the needs as hostile, cold, or indifferent tolerance of personal celebrations,
of co-workers and so on)
Adventurer ■ Skillfulness in many different ■ Intolerance of being kept waiting ■ A spontaneous atmosphere
areas ■ Lack of detail focus ■ Less structure, more freedom
■ Willingness to try new things ■ Impulsiveness ■ Adventuresome tasks
■ Ability to take action ■ Dislike of sameness and authority ■ Situations involving change
■ Hands-on problem-solving skills ■ Need for freedom, constant ■ Encouragement of hands-on
■ Initiative and energy change, and constant action problem solving
■ Ability to negotiate ■ Tendency not to consider ■ Travel and physical activity
■ Spontaneity and creativity consequences of actions ■ Support of creative ideas and
endeavors

Use your self-assessment results, along with the information in Keys 10.2 and
10.3, as a starting point for thinking about majors and careers. Consider questions
like these:
■ What courses did I enjoy the most in high school? What do these courses have
in common?
■ What subjects am I drawn to in my personal reading?
■ What activities do I look forward to most?
■ In what skills or academic areas do I perform best? Am I a “natural” in any area?
■ What do people say I do well?

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