When performing a job search, it makes sense to choose jobs that sound interesting to you. But what makes a job appeal to you? Apart from factors like education and work experience, it depends very much on your personality.
Your personality style allows you to perform well at certain things and not as well at others. In the career planning process, you must ask yourself what kind of job would complement your personality.
Before answering this question, it is essential to understand more about yourself.
How to know your personality?
To truly understand yourself, you have to keep an open mind. Try to be honest to yourself and seek advice from someone who knows you well. Here are some ways to increase your self-understanding:
Write down what you like to do in your spare time. Just list any kind of activities such as travelling, shopping, reading, cooking, chatting with friends. This may help you identify what type of tasks you most enjoy doing. For example, if you like to hang out with friends, you might do well in a job that involves working with people.
Take a personality test. Personality or career tests serve as a tool to measure your personal characteristics. When taking these tests, you are required to answer multiple choice questions to express your preferences for a given situation. Your choices indicate the personality traits you possess – how you perceive the world, how you interact with people and how you react to problems.
Many websites offer both free and paid career personality tests. After you complete the test, results will be generated to explain what your personality type is. Some tests also provide list of careers that match your personality.
Ask your friends. We all have blind spots in understanding our attributes. So it is not surprising to find different perceptions of you through the eyes of others. Ask your friends what they think about you. Perhaps you can discover some common traits that you are not aware of.
There is no right or wrong personality type. Each personality type has its strengths and weaknesses. By identifying the personality type that most describe you, you may be able to explore career choices that better satisfy your interests and needs.