The relationship between career and personality

An individual’s choice of career is oftentimes a reflection of their personality and a person’s personality plays a huge role in their career productivity. 

This is because a person’s choice of career is a reflection of who they are, their habits, dislikes, and what they enjoy doing. 

If there is a huge mismatch between these aspects, it is likely to affect both the productivity and longevity of a person’s career. It could be the reason why you currently hate your job. 

Research has proven that the average person spends about 90,000 hours of their life working. 

Despite spending this amount of time, 85% of people do not enjoy their jobs and the kind of work they do. While a large number of factors are responsible for this, one key factor which is often overlooked is personality

Career and personality defined

 Personality is the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make a person unique. It is the collection of their thoughts, emotions, habits, and interests. 

A career can be defined as a profession in which one undertakes to earn a living and gain relevant experiences both within and outside the organization and which forms a unique pattern over an individual’s life span. It is a way of life. 

Personalities differ from one person to another and play a significant role in determining how a person would behave in different situations.

Personality reflects peoples’ natural tendencies to behave in certain ways; people are remarkably consistent in their behaviors over time in part because of the direct effect of personality.   

Should my personality have anything to do with my career?

The answer to the above question is a resounding YES!!!

Your personality and career should be aligned in order to get the most out of your career.

Being on a career path that matches your personality makes things a whole lot easier because you’re at ease and things come naturally to you. 

Some people do not make headway in their careers not because they lack the necessary skill-sets, but simply because there is a huge mismatch in their career and personality hence their full potential cannot be unleashed when they remain in the wrong place. 

Knowing about your personality enables you to think about your emotions, behaviors, and patterns of thinking on a day-to-day basis. For example, do you prefer to work alone or do you prefer to work in groups? Would you be content in a career that requires that you are extremely organized and have a set schedule? Or are you the type of person that likes to have an open, flexible schedule that allows you to be spontaneous? 

There are a lot of career switches happening today but it is important to carefully study what each of them entails, your current skill set and how well suited your personality is for that line of work before switching to just any career. For example, tech is almost like the best thing since sliced bread and everyone wants to be a coder or software developer but not everyone is suited for the role. 

Before switching to any career at all, check if it matches your lifestyle and if you can handle it. Also, get career clarity. 

Being in the right career fit for your personality makes you happier and lets you achieve more. Your values and personality should be prioritized when picking a career because how you deliver in that field matters and enjoying what you do for a living keeps a person mentally healthy.

Where you choose to spend 90,000 hours of your life should be a place to thrive and grow, not solely a place to collect a paycheck. 

Personality types

There are 6 basic personality types. These are;

1.    Doers (AKA ‘realistic’)

 Doers are no-nonsense individuals who prefer physical interaction with their environment to abstract work. Basically, they like using their hands.

Doers like working with their hands by making or fixing things or equipment. Doers sometimes prefer working outdoors and work best when alone or with others in the same category as them. 

Examples of good career fits for doers are engineering, carpentry, pilot, and so on. 

2.    Thinkers (AKA ‘investigative’)

Thinkers enjoy tackling theoretical and logical tasks. They are the most analytical of all 6 types of personalities.  Thinkers are precise and intelligent and like to be acknowledged for their work.

Thinkers make good doctors, psychologists, and consultants, all of which have high-income potential.

3.    Creators (AKA ‘artistic’)

Creators tend to shy from structured and constricting environments; desk jobs don’t often suit a high creative scorer. Creators value independent and expressive people. They enjoy working in groups but only if they are allowed expressive freedom and are encouraged to share their ideas. Instead, artistic types excel in accepting spaces where their originality, creativity, and visualization skills can be allowed to run free.

Creators are suitable for careers such as musicians, dancers, painters, graphic designers, editors, directors, and so on. 

4.    Helpers (AKA ‘social’)

Helpers excel in high-cooperation, socially aware roles like counseling and teaching. They like to dominate their environment and enjoy providing services for others. Nurses often score highly on this personality type too, and the best customer service/client-facing roles go to people who max the ‘social’ scale.

The best-paid social jobs are in sales or management.

5.    Persuaders (AKA ‘enterprising’)

Persuaders draw energy from teamwork and connecting with individuals. But while helpers are empathetic, persuaders enjoy the feeling of power and influence over others, achieving goals, and risk-taking.  They are good at getting people to lean a certain way. They are, all in all, the perfect CEOs.

Persuaders excel in promotional, sales, development, and organizational roles. Lawyers and politicians fit into this category, as do successful business people.

6.    Organizers (aka ‘conventional’)

Organizers make up the bulk of the technician, actuarial and analyst workforce. They can work in a dizzying range of sectors, from the military to the legal and medical industries. They specialize in numbers and systems, but a strong organization has more than a dash of creativity to it. And there’s nobody more dependable to whom businesses can turn in a crisis

The most profitable career path for an organizer would be accounting.

It is noteworthy to mention that most people possess a mix of these 6 traits hence self-knowledge is important.

Run a personality test today if you are not sure of it.

Determining The Right Career Fit

It is not always easy to immediately decide on a career path. Here are a few tips to help;

1.    Volunteering and Internships: Taking up internships and volunteering in fields related to your interest can greatly help in making your career decision. Doing something and having an interest in it are different things, so by volunteering and interning, you can experience firsthand what that field entails and if it is suited for you.

2.    Hobbies and Networking: sharing ideas with like-minded people is another way to grow. Being in a space with people who share the same views helps you to see things differently because each person has their own experience and you can learn from the experiences of different people.

3. Seek career clarity: Get Tumihub’s course on career clarity. 

Above all, venturing on a career path is something to be done carefully, and with due consideration. 

Writer: Chidera