Personality Types and Job Searching

Have you ever thought about how your personality type relates to your preferred method of job searching? If you are not familiar with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), this personality assessment was developed by Isabel Myers-Briggs and Katharine Myers over 50 years ago. Since then, many people have used this assessment to learn more about their personality type and connect it with their work, personal lives, and how they function on a day-to-day basis.

The MBTI categorizes individuals into the following dichotomies:

• Extraversion vs. Introversion
•  Sensing vs. Intuition
• Thinking vs. Feeling
•  Judging vs. Perceiving

How you fall into these categories can certainly affect your preferred method of job searching. Job searching often brings people out of their comfort zones and sometimes forces them to use the opposite side of these personality dichotomies. Being aware of your personality type and understanding how it can impact your job search can assist with finding employment after graduation. 

For those who fall in the extravert category, job searching and networking can often be fun and exciting. However, when extroverts do not hear back from a company for a long period of time with no interaction from that company, they could become disgruntled. Extroverts thrive on having people interaction and gain energy from attending career fairs, networking, and simply being around other people. Contrastingly, introverts can enjoy the job search process, but they might be exhausted after having to network with others. They gain their energy from being along and recharging by themselves. If they do not hear back from a company for a while, it might not upset them as much; they may enjoy having time to reflect on their thoughts and feelings.

Individuals in the intuition category can see the bigger picture when it comes to job searching. They can see the end goal for their career from the beginning. When they accept a job offer, they are usually thinking about how it will impact their future career and professional direction. They will probably also consider how a certain job will impact their family, social life, finances, etc. Sensing individuals will focus more on tangible job opportunities and their job search will typically revolve around jobs posted online, in newspapers, or any other outlet that is right in front of them. They want to hear about the job posting or see it for themselves in order to apply for it. Ultimately, they rely on their senses to conduct their job search.

For the thinking vs. feeling categories, this personality trait can influence people when they are making a decision about accepting a job offer. Thinkers will consider the logical aspects of the position; they will use their analytical and objectivity skills to make their decision. Feelers will rely on their emotions and gut feelings when accepting or rejecting a job offer. They will consider how that job could affect others, and they will be much more subjective in their approach.

Those in the judging category will want a job search that is organized and well-planned. They will probably keep a planner/calendar and have their job search process organized well in advance. They might have days set aside for networking, resume tweaking, calling employers, etc. Judgers want to set a plan and stick to it. Perceivers, on the other hand, will be much less structured during their job search. While they might have a plan to call companies one day, they could decide to go shopping for interview attire instead, and this change of plans will not bother them at all. They will typically be less structured and sometimes thrive under pressure.

Using the less dominant part of our personality types is common when job searching, even though it often feels uncomfortable. For example, I am an extrovert and prefer having face-to-face interactions with employers during the job search process. When I have applied for jobs on websites, I want to have some type of personal interaction with the employer rather than just submitting my application online. However, I realize that this face-to-face interaction will not always be an option during the job search process. Therefore, I have to be content with being slightly introverted during the initial phases of job searching. Job searching sometimes stretches us out of our comfort zones, but we can learn a lot about ourselves through the process!

If you want to learn more about your personality type and how it relates to your job search process and/or future career, contact us at (334) 844-4744 and we can give you instructions for completing a personality assessment.