There have been plenty of instances when I've been presented with an opportunity or a scenario that doesn't exactly light my fire as much as I would hope. I like to think that I do a pretty good job of acting in a responsible manner in these situations, although this doesn't say anything about my personal feelings or attitudes. There have definitely been occasions where "begrudgingly" might be a good word to describe the mindset with which I performed my task; I suppose that would constitute reacting in a negative fashion. In these situations, I exhibited adaptability in that I was not jazzed up about my role or participation in an activity, but still worked at a high level in accordance with my personal standards.
For a specific example, I remember being asked to play taps at our town's war cemetery at the conclusion of the Memorial Day parade. I thought that was a pretty neat, powerful opportunity, so I said of course I would do it. We get to the end of the parade, having marched a couple miles in the ninety-degree heat (not a lot of fun), and we were hot, sweaty, and tired. Then the band director comes up to me and says, "The people in charge of the ceremony are telling me that they might not need you, but would like you to stick around just in case." My negative reaction: I'm pretty hacked off. Though I was nervous, I was looking forward to doing this, and it was somewhat the light at the end of the tunnel (with the tunnel being the tediousness of the parade). They cancel on me at the last minute, and they are still wanting me to commit my time? I want to go home and shower.
Long story short, I got over my initial reaction and stayed for the ceremony. I'm glad I did, because halfway through, someone came up and told me I was back on again. It ended up being a special, moving moment for me, playing taps in a cemetery for an audience of war veterans.
A major benefit of being adaptable is opening yourself up to experience opportunities. I wouldn't have had the opportunity for that experience if I had gone with my first reaction to the situation; I thought about things, sucked it up, and did something that was against my initial motivations following the parade (I.e., a shower). Adaptability allows for opportunities for success in a constantly changing world.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Mentorship
I think the word "mentor" is thrown around pretty casually when talking about a relationship between two young people. Honestly, how vested is a kid about to be in another kid's success? It is rarely that his focus is not set on the minutia of his own life; something as universal as helping people seems to escape most children. What can a mentor, who is himself a child, offer to another child? Guidance?
Childhood is all about making mistakes, and the prefrontal cortex doesn't even fully develop until age 25. Beyond that, an adolescent has very limited power to "make something happen" in another's life - like referring that person to a job interview, or getting them an introduction to someone important.
My senior year of high school, I was in a program called "Senior Mentors" - though I'd hesitate to call what we did "mentoring" - which paired a few seniors with each freshman homeroom. Every two weeks or so, we (the mentors) would talk to the room full of freshmen about some predesignated topic, like drugs & alcohol, extracurricular activities, or preparing for college. Wait just a minute. First off, I know some of these kids had done things I couldn't even imagine doing. Secondly, I'm in band. That's my extracurricular. Nobody wants to sign up for that instant label. Third, I'm not in college yet, I have no idea what it's going to be like and what to do as a freshman to prepare for it.
I took the program seriously. I did what I could and answered questions to the best of my knowledge. I don't think it changed anyone's life though.
As for being mentored, my dad is who I've always called (and continue to call) for advice. And as I transition more into career mode, I expect that mentorship capacity will become even more important. He has three decades of experience in the industry I want to be in, doing what I want to do. I will invariably hesitate before asking him to pull any strings for me though. I the four years I will have spent grinding out this degree to get me something based on my own merit.
My senior year of high school, I was in a program called "Senior Mentors" - though I'd hesitate to call what we did "mentoring" - which paired a few seniors with each freshman homeroom. Every two weeks or so, we (the mentors) would talk to the room full of freshmen about some predesignated topic, like drugs & alcohol, extracurricular activities, or preparing for college. Wait just a minute. First off, I know some of these kids had done things I couldn't even imagine doing. Secondly, I'm in band. That's my extracurricular. Nobody wants to sign up for that instant label. Third, I'm not in college yet, I have no idea what it's going to be like and what to do as a freshman to prepare for it.
I took the program seriously. I did what I could and answered questions to the best of my knowledge. I don't think it changed anyone's life though.
As for being mentored, my dad is who I've always called (and continue to call) for advice. And as I transition more into career mode, I expect that mentorship capacity will become even more important. He has three decades of experience in the industry I want to be in, doing what I want to do. I will invariably hesitate before asking him to pull any strings for me though. I the four years I will have spent grinding out this degree to get me something based on my own merit.
Monday, October 8, 2012
MBTI
There are a few reasons why I think that the MBTI is, as far as a job interview setting is concerned, one of the least-applicable of the assessments I have taken.
First, I think that the MBTI is limited in what information it provides; it shows where an individual falls on a predetermined spectrum. By nature it doesn't have anywhere to capture anything unique. It reduces a person to a number on four "this or that" scales.
Second, still continuing on the fundamentals of the test itself, under what circumstances is supposed to accurately reflect an individual's type? The most general circumstances? I would propose that a more valuable piece of information is what type a person is under pressure. That's when performance matters most. Just because some test tells me I'm usually an introvert is not reflective of how I will perform when required to do so.
And third, the MBTI is not going to be of very great concern to someone interviewing me. Here is why: The jobs I will be interviewing for are focused on a work product (be that a system design or an approach for cutting costs or a development plan); the focus is not going to be my personality type. They will be interested in my social interaction skills, as much engineering work is team-based, but they'll likely get everything they need to know from interviewing me.
Also, offering up my MBTI in the interview will only be relevant for evaluating me as an individual; it doesn't say anything about how I will fit in with the team. What are my coworkers' MBTI scores? Do my highs and lows clash with any of theirs? Does the team have a variety of approaches to decision-making? The interviewer would have to have a frame of reference of the team.
For the reasons above, the MBTI seems impractical for my applications.
First, I think that the MBTI is limited in what information it provides; it shows where an individual falls on a predetermined spectrum. By nature it doesn't have anywhere to capture anything unique. It reduces a person to a number on four "this or that" scales.
Second, still continuing on the fundamentals of the test itself, under what circumstances is supposed to accurately reflect an individual's type? The most general circumstances? I would propose that a more valuable piece of information is what type a person is under pressure. That's when performance matters most. Just because some test tells me I'm usually an introvert is not reflective of how I will perform when required to do so.
And third, the MBTI is not going to be of very great concern to someone interviewing me. Here is why: The jobs I will be interviewing for are focused on a work product (be that a system design or an approach for cutting costs or a development plan); the focus is not going to be my personality type. They will be interested in my social interaction skills, as much engineering work is team-based, but they'll likely get everything they need to know from interviewing me.
Also, offering up my MBTI in the interview will only be relevant for evaluating me as an individual; it doesn't say anything about how I will fit in with the team. What are my coworkers' MBTI scores? Do my highs and lows clash with any of theirs? Does the team have a variety of approaches to decision-making? The interviewer would have to have a frame of reference of the team.
For the reasons above, the MBTI seems impractical for my applications.
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