Self-Reflection

1. What am I good at?

During an internship as a white-collar worker, it was a difficult position and role that I was put in. In the end, there was a lot of feedback and constructive criticism, but I was commended for two things. It was my hard-work ethic and focus on developing relationships with staff and other interns and mentoring them. I am also good at improving and maximizing efficiencies in processes.

2. What do I value?

Integrity is a value that I hold dear. Family is another value, as they give me purpose and provide support. Communication is important to me, as I tend to over-share, but like the grappling with ideas and making ideas and lives better. This goes hand-in-hand with courage, as it can be difficult to share and talk about matters that are important, but challenging.

3. How did I get here?

I started in Brookings, Oregon and traveled the world. Living in Europe for over a year and in the Middle East. It was the invitation of my friend and brother, who invited me to join him, as he went to school for his second bachelors. It was during that period of working and getting involved with my community and church that I decided I wanted to go back to school and provide for myself and my family.

4. Where am I going?

I will go wherever the job takes me. I hope to stay in Oregon, but I will take my family with me and make a home that is made of memories and is safe. I hope to travel and to push my career into operations, becoming a COO at some point in my career.

IPIP Results & Reactions

On the IPP-NEO narrative report, it tells me that I am

94 Extraversion, 97 Agreeableness, 92 Conscientiousness, 36 Neuroticism 79 Openness

For extraversion, it states that I am rated a sociable, energetic and lively. I am enthusiastic towards the external world and action-oriented, where I am willing to accept opportunities, boisterous and assertive, drawing attention to myself.

Looking at agreeableness, I am someone who works well with teams and seeks a cooperative spirit, willing to compromise and is considerate of other people and generous.

With conscientiousness, this relates to controlling and regulating impulses. People who rate high are long-term planners, organizers and goal setters who are very persistent.

Neuroticism is the tendency to experience negative feelings. This means that the person has one or more primary feelings of anger, depression or anxiety. They might respond to events that the average person doesn’t normally experience. Looking at normal situations with dread, seeing it as threatening and having minor frustrations.

Expanding on openness to experience is looking at how down-to-earth, imaginative or creative people are. Being rated highly on this component means that you are more likely to be able to think about abstract ideas, whether that’s music, math, philosophy, language or any of the performing arts. They enjoy change, novelty and variety.

An employer looking at these five components would see several weaknesses in it. I would not be an A-player in police work, sales or service occupations. This type of person can handle everyday life, but may not be suitable for high-stress jobs that require quick decisions. This type of person could be considered stuffy and a rule follower, who doesn’t necessarily think outside the box and could be a perfectionist and workaholic. This type of person would not necessarily thrive as a scientist, soldier or even as a referee, who has to make disagreeable decisions and be okay with that. Being high on extraversion means that the person will work well with a team, but may not operate as strong in a position, where they need to make their own decisions stick to a task-oriented job for long periods of time.

Some of the strengths are being able to work well with a team, taking charge, as needed and being willing and able to entertain new ideas and concepts from co-workers and use it to make a decision. Well organized and a strong planner, being able to create strategy and think for the future and plan accordingly; persistence to see the project to the finish. Capable of handling everyday stress and working on a job, not letting things get them down, too much. A strong player in sticking to what is conventional, balancing out the rest of the team, who might be more willing to adopt new and untried methods without thinking it through.