The major value of personality when looking to and preparing for your future

By Stephen Shilton, Careers Manager

What is personality when it comes to career preparation?

Careers Managers often talk about ‘VIPS’ as part of a person’s self-awareness: values, interests, personality and strengths. All four are important to understand and reflect on in terms of career management.

Personality can be a tough one to grasp and define, but it’s the one which is helpful not only when applied to career thinking but also in understanding better many other areas of life like problem-solving, working relationships, communication style, conflict resolution, personal relationships, leadership style, managing change, valuing diversity and many more.

Do you have a personality?

Yes! We all do. There are various instruments available which try to identify different personality types, some using the concepts of colour or animals to define them. According to the Myers Briggs Type Instrument (MBTI), everyone has one of sixteen personality types, defined by four letters. (I must admit personal bias here—I’ve used the MBTI for nearly seventeen years now, and I’ve found it to be a powerful tool for students, and friends and family, in all the areas above.)

The MBTI emphasises that all sixteen?types are equally valid. There are no 'better' or 'worse’ types to be. Each has its own potential strengths and possible (not inevitable) pitfalls. It is therefore a positive instrument when used properly by a licenced practitioner. This leads me on to the next question...

Does personality matter in career preparation?

For me, the answer is a resounding (but not unequivocal) 'yes'. It depends how the concept of personality is used and applied.

How personality can be unhelpful in career preparation

Used badly, personality typing can be used to label stereotypically and place unhelpful and untrue limitations in terms of skills and abilities and even career choice. Don't let anyone ‘put you in a box’ which doesn’t even exist.

It's very easy to answer an online questionnaire such as HumanMetrics and take the result at face value. It may not be one hundred percent accurate. Worse is if you Google your ‘type’ and then limit your job ideas to the short list of job titles in type definition articles.

For example, you might find that your personality type isn't heavily represented in a certain occupation. Should you avoid that? Not necessarily. Personality theory should let you know where you will need to operate outside your 'comfort zone' in a job. However, that will affect people differently, depending on the strength of their preferences.

A close family member of mine has a personality type ISTJ. She's a Primary Teacher, having taught P1 for most of her long career. Looking at typical listings of jobs suited to an ISTJ, you won't find ‘Primary Teacher’. This is because someone who's an ISTJ can tend to make decisions based on logic rather than emotion and can be direct in verbal communication rather than emollient. Of course, this is a generalisation, and not every ISTJ will exhibit these to the same degree. However, they can be organised and observant, live in the moment, value established rules and be a logical decision maker and plain-speaking. All these qualities would be appropriate for a Primary Teacher to have.

How personality can be helpful in career preparation

Used well, personality theory can be useful in helping you to understand how much of your time might be spent in your comfort zone at work. The more you are in your comfort zone, the more you will be playing to your strengths, the better you are likely to perform and ultimately, the happier you will be. However, the extent to which this is true will vary from individual to individual, even of the same personality type.

For example, someone with a preference for introversion might operate out with their comfort zone when giving a presentation to a large audience. However, they might be a naturally confident person. They might just be good at giving a talk if they are well prepared and particularly interested in their subject. They might be drained after the presentation but feel fulfilled none the less. To avoid the job based on personality theory alone could be a mistake.

Personality theory also has something to offer in terms of understanding your comfort zone in managing your career.

For example, someone with a preference for introversion might find in-person networking with a speaker at an event difficult, while an extrovert might enjoy approaching such a person and gaining useful help in their career research and preparation.?An introvert might be more effective at researching on LinkedIn and approaching people virtually. It’s good to give yourself permission to manage your career in a way that suits you—it’s more likely to be successful.

Tread with caution

Understanding your own personality can be very helpful, but it really isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ for each personality type. If you are confused, it could be a good idea to seek out a trained practitioner who can help you understand the nuances of personality theory and help you to maximise the benefits of using it.

Other resources

16Personalities Myers Briggs Personality Instrument (MBTI): Use this free personality assessment tool to learn about different aspects of your personality, but remember that you shouldn’t base decisions solely on the results of this tool. Use it as a guide for reflection.

Prospects Career Planner: Use this tool to learn about career options that might be suited to your skills, motivations and desires. Remember that you shouldn’t base decisions solely on the results of this tool. Use it as a guide for discovery.