Book Review by Jack Falt, INFJ
As most personality type books do, this one starts with basic information about Jung/Myers theory and gives enough information so that readers can figure out their own types. There are cautions about verifying one’s type. To help with this verification process there are one page type descriptions that include possible blind spots.
Next, the authors move on to the concept of temperament: SJ Traditionalists, SP Experiencers, NF Idealists, and NT Conceptualizers. The temperaments are described and include their strengths and weaknesses as workers. Recommendations for the best kind of job for each temperament are given.
The concept of the hierarchy of functions is discussed, and there are interesting diagrams for each type that visually show which function is dominant and whether it is introverted or extraverted. There is some great material here to use when teaching these concepts. Next, it uses the hierarchy to discuss type development through the normal lifespan. A brief mention is made of how to use all the functions in problem solving, relating the concept to the problem of choosing a career.
The bulk of the book is made up of chapters of 14 to 18 pages for each type. In each chapter there are three profiles. Each profile describes the work that a specific person does in terms of his or her type. It describes why the work fits the type of the person. The last half of the chapter looks at the commonalities shared by each of the profiled individuals and how it relates to their type. It then gives career suggestions under various heading, including technology in some form. Readers are encouraged to utilize their strengths that relate to their type. It also looks at the pitfalls that beset each type and how to avoid them. They suggest how to deal with adversity and to turn it to ones advantage. The chapter concludes with a summary of strengths and weaknesses of the type in work-related situations.
There is a chapter that gives an extensive exercise that shows the steps to follow in choosing a career. Having some professional help through these steps would be an advantage. The chapter concludes with a section on how to use the internet in one’s job search.
The final chapter discusses the ethics of using personality type with clients and the need for having a good understanding of the theory before using it with clients. This book is readily available in almost any large bookstore. Anyone could read the preference descriptors and come up with a type that may or may not be the correct type. While I don’t see any great harm to anyone reading it, the book would be much more effective when used by an experienced counsellor.
There are several career booklets available, but this book’s main rival is Donna Dunning’s What’s Your Career? The main reason it was written was that Dunning was invited to write the book so that Davis-Black publishing company had a personality type career book they could include in their catalogue. I have taken seminars with both the Tiegers and Dunning. I think that they both have excellent books. They each use type dynamics in their descriptions. The Tiegers take each type separately and give extensive case studies for the type. Dunning looks at two types together that have the same dominant function but with two possible auxiliaries. While Dunning has short anecdotes, the Tiegers give more complete case studies. The Dunning book goes through the process in a more logical way, while the Tieger book is more a narrative style. Just having to read it as a book, the Tieger book would be my choice, while I might use the Dunning book if I was teaching a career seminar. The Tiegers have also written material to go with this book called The Personality Type Toolkit: The Career Professional’s Guide to “Do What You Are.” I have not had the opportunity to look at this material, but from the description it takes individuals through the process of choosing a career as described in the book.