Personality Type and Career Choice

One of the most important decisions we have to make in our lifetime is choosing a profession. Professional success depends largely on the relationship between personality factors and job content.

Personality typology is a method with many applications, especially in the field of professional consulting. John Holland's theory of professional choice is one of the best known of these theories. It talks about 6 types of personal structures with different inclinations towards various professions:

1. Realistic type - prefers activities that involve working with equipment and machines of any kind.

2. Researcher type - prefers activities that are based on observation, research, analysis, evaluation, and problem-solving.

3. Artistic type - prefers activities based on nonconformism, creativity, imagination, and unstructured work environments.

4. Social type - inclined to work with people, support and counseling, avoiding activities that include machines and equipment

5. Entrepreneurial type - inclined towards activities of influencing, persuading, and leading others

6. Conventional type - inclined towards work activities with numbers and documents, towards a neat, detailed work environment, based on clear instructions.

Starting from the theories regarding the personality types, a series of evaluation tools were developed, which had as objective the extraction of information regarding the interest towards certain types of professional activities; attitude towards people, objects or data (figures, information); the ability to think logically and creatively; linguistic-persuasive abilities.

Most people represent a combination of several typologies, so it is very likely to show interest in several professional categories. Instead, just the preference for one field of activity or another is not enough; the capacity to develop practical skills for the execution of those activities must also be taken into account.

Ideally, the most suitable profession would be the one in which the basic activities are the ones you like the most, to which you are naturally inclined, in which the content of the work arouses your interest and for which you have the necessary professional knowledge and skills.

If for various reasons you cannot focus on this type of career, it would be good to accept a job for which you have the necessary skills, and later it is possible to show interest in the content of that job.

Self-knowledge is the best way to start thinking about the right career.

Here are some practical steps to self-knowledge:

1. Make a detailed list of all the activities you enjoy doing on a daily basis - meeting people, reading, problem-solving, listening to music, watching movies, etc.

2. Think about your previous experience. Personal qualities are obvious from childhood, so you can remember your favorite games at an early age. What do you like to play most often? What role did you play in the game - as a leader or organizer or as a simple team member? Or do you prefer independent activities?

3. What do you do in your free time? How's your weekend? The analysis of these activities will give you a representation of the interest in the field of work and the content of the work - you will be attracted to outdoor activities, physical activities or rather you prefer to communicate with people.

4. Ask for "mirrors" from co-workers or other people you interact with

Tell others that you are trying to see your professional development from other perspectives. Ask them to describe in a few sentences how they see you at work. Other people's image of you sometimes has nothing to do with your self-image, so use every opportunity to look at your own personality from a different perspective.

5. Seek the advice of a career counselor

Career consultants can give you an outside picture of your career path, helping you identify your strengths, areas for improvement, plan for the next steps and make decisions, or overcome difficult times. professional life.