could a personality test help you choose a career?

Blog Challenge Day 6

I almost forgot to post today! Just got home from watching to Gtown bball game. Good times. And the best part of the game was the dude sitting in the student section dressed as Moses (full length robe and wig/beard) with a sign that read "Thou shall not pass." LOL...gotta love the school sprit incorporating our Jesuit identity.

For the past two days I've been talking about personality types. Today I promised to talk about my results and how they helped me think about my future. One of the cool ways that the results can be used is to help people flesh out career interests (a la "What Color is Your Parachute"). As it turns out, the career section of my personality results was something of a "game changer" in my life. Some context is needed before I go further: Around this time I was getting sort of antsy at work. I had been on the job for about a year and I just wasn't feeling "fulfilled." I was (and still am) working at a public policy think tank doing research and writing. I work on interesting topics and do important work but I didn't feel like I was making any sort of impact on anything/anyone.

Here is what is says about careers for INFPs: When armed with an understanding of your strengths and weaknesses, and an awareness of what you truly value, you are in an excellent position to pick a career which you will find rewarding...The INFP is a special, sensitive individual who needs a career which is more than a job. The INFP needs to feel that everything they do in their lives is in accordance with their strongly-felt value systems, and is moving them and/or others in a positive, growth-oriented direction. They are driven to do something meaningful and purposeful with their lives. The INFP will be happiest in careers which allow them to live their daily lives in accordance with their values, and which work towards the greater good of humanity. It's worth mentioning that nearly all of the truly great writers in the world have been INFPs.

Reading those words I felt as though they had been written just for me. I agreed with everything it said and that's what I wanted out of a job/career. I just didn't know what that would look like practically. Listed below this info were possible career paths:
 - Writers
 - Counselors / Social Workers
 - Teachers / Professors
 - Psychologists
 - Psychiatrists
 - Musicians
 - Clergy / Religious Worker

For some reason, psychologist jumped out at me. I had taken AP Psychology in high school and liked it but didn't take any Psych classes at Gtown and had never ever thought about psychology as a career. The friend (also a coworker) who sent me the quiz and I joked about how perhaps that was my true calling. But after the joking I had a lingering feeling of "what if..." I tracked down (gotta love Google) my AP Psych teacher from high school who works in Egypt now, and she was the first person to encourage me to seriously consider a future in Psychology.

Long story short...I did a lot of research, talked to students and people in the field, took the GRE, enrolled in community college Psych classes, and applied to PhD programs for Counseling Psychology. Now I'm just waiting to hear back from schools. I got a little piece of promising news yesterday. One of the (6) schools has invited me to their visit/interview day! They've narrowed the applicant field down to 35 of us, of which they will select 8 for their incoming class. I AM SO NERVOUS! But, I know what's meant to be will be, and all I can do is prepare as best I can. I'll keep you guys posted when I have news.

So, this story may sound crazy but life is like that. It took a chain email personality quiz to help guide me to the career path that I think is really meant for me. Now I just have to hope for the best!

Anyone think I'm nuts for this? Do any of you have similar stories of stumbling into your current jobs? Or, do any of you feel drawn to another field, but are sort of stuck doing something else? Other thoughts?

:-)