Written By Vernell Dees
Many people don’t realize it but personality and work are very closely intertwined. You will quickly discover if you find yourself overwhelmed with a position that does not agree with your personality type that your work days will be very long and unpleasant.
Most people that need to work to provide for themselves usually work a minimum of 8 hours/day. Depending upon the work and the company, that work day can stretch to 10 hours or more a day. When you are investing this amount of time in your work, it makes the most sense for your personality and work to mesh well together.
Certain jobs are more suited to a particular kind of personality. A job that requires a more aggressive personality, like a sales person, will not be a good match for an introverted person. On the opposite side, an extroverted person that likes to interact and be around people will not be happy with a job where they have to sit at a desk indoors all day and keep to themselves.
Have you ever known anyone who had a job that they absolutely could not stand but felt they needed to keep it so they could provide for themselves and take care of their financial responsibilities? What about someone who kept changing their job because they could not find one that they were really happy with? Do you know someone that went to school to study one subject or kind of business only to work at that for a few years and then discover that it was not well-suited for them and their personality type?
An individual may have studied, invested years and money in, earned a degree in and practiced dentistry, for example, only to find that the actual work was leaving them unfulfilled. It could take someone years to realize it or to be willing to admit they have prepared for something that is not matching their personality. If you find yourself in that situation, you will realize that it’s not always about the money that you make or the prestige of the position if your soul is feeling naked and useless.
It is very important if you want to be happy with your work that you know your personality and what kinds of work are suitable for it. There are ways to find out what kind of personality you have. There are many books available that you can read to learn about different personalities. If the books or articles are well-written, your personality traits will jump out at you when they are being described. It won’t be hard to figure out which traits describe you and your personality.
Another way to help discover what kind of personality you have is to take a personality test or profile. There are many kinds available. Some of them are free but many of them have a cost. It is best to do your research online, talk with friends, profile and test administrators to get the best idea of which test or profile will be best for you, depending upon the kind of results you need and how you want to use those results.
If you are interested in reading more about personality and work, there is a blog post at www.theaplusresume.com/blog dated March 22, 2012. It offers more specific information about the DISC personality profile, one of the more popular profiles that people take.
