By Donna Dunning

Choosing a career that fits who you are can be tough to do. Not only are there lots of work options, there are also many education and training options that go hand-in-hand with finding meaningful work. It can seem overwhelming to figure out what to do next.

Many professional career counselors use personality type inventories, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ® tool to help clients understand who they are and the kinds of work they may enjoy. Understanding your personal preferences can make career planning easier. Knowing how you become energized, take in information, make decisions, and orient yourself to the world helps to assess who you are and what is important to you.

As you learn about personality type preferences, think about how you approach work and what you might like to do. For example, if you have preferences for Sensing and Judging (SJ) you likely want to have some structure and predictability in your work. You may want to be given clear directions and follow standard procedures. However, if you prefer Sensing and Perceiving (SP) you may seek flexibility and want to work in a changing, dynamic environment. For every combination of personality type preferences there is a characteristic, preferred way of approaching work. Knowing your preferences starts you on the journey of self-understanding, the first step when making a career choice.

People with different personality type preferences are attracted to different kinds of work. For example, if you have preferences for Intuition and Feeling (NF) you may enjoy working in counseling or educational roles where you can help people develop and grow. If you have preferences for Sensing and Feeling (SF) you may be attracted to practical helping or service roles. You can see, from the considerable research on the personality types of people in select occupations, if an occupation attracts people who share your preferences. Career planning books, such as What’s Your Type of Career? provide lists of  type-preferred occupations. These lists help you generate ideas and think about the career choices that might work for you.

Although I find personality type a great tool for people making career choices, I also urge you to be cautious. Here are a few tips to help you use personality type effectively in your career journey.

• If you are caught up in the middle of a crisis, give yourself some breathing room before taking inventories or making decisions. Sometimes when you complete inventories under stress the results are more about who you are in a crisis than who you normally are. In the same way, decisions made under stress may miss important considerations.

• Use validated tools. Have a career counselor or coach administer an official MBTI ® assessment or you can take the official MBTI® Complete on-line. There are two reasons for doing this. First, the official tool is more reliable and valid than many of the quick, unofficial versions. As well, the official version uses a process to validate your type. For many reasons when you fill out a self-report assessment you may get a four-letter type result that is not accurate. For example, you might answer questions thinking about what you are doing now, what you wish you were like, or what others expect from you. When you complete an official MBTI ® assessment there is a process in place to help you make sure that your self-assessment is accurate. It is a waste of time to learn about a personality type unless you are sure it is the best fit for you.

• Separate what you can do from what you prefer to do. Everyone uses all eight of the personality type preferences at least some of the time. Your personality type preferences do not limit you or define what you can and can’t do. For example, some of my favorite teachers have Introverted (I) preferences. Some of the Introverted teachers I know love to teach and tell me they like helping people understand new ideas (Many of these are also NFs). Having time to process information internally naturally energizes them. This doesn’t mean that they are unable to use Extraversion (E) in a classroom or training session. I have heard Introverted instructors tell me they are exhausted after a class or that they prefer small, intimate groups, but it would be a misuse of personality type theory to assume that Introverts wouldn’t do well at or like to teach. Same for the other preferences. Never dismiss work because people with your type are not commonly found there. Do think about what it would be like for you to work in your non-preferred mode and consider if the other rewards of that kind of work will make it a worthwhile venture for you. All four letters in your personality type code combine to make a pattern. Find a career that works with who you are overall, not work that just matches one or two of your preferences. No single type preference can be used to dismiss or highlight your career choices.

• Think about type development. You may be exploring the idea of developing non-preferred aspects of personality type. For example, an Insightful Expeditor (ENTJ) business executive in mid-life may be considering ways to make a more personal and meaningful contribution to society. This doesn’t mean a change in natural approach; it simply means added depth and balance to his or her personality. Mid-life career changers may find development is important to their choices.

• Don’t just look for one specific job match. I know it would be great to have a tool that can tell you exactly which work choice will be the “most” ideal. Although lists of occupations that attract people who share your preferences are helpful, they are only a sample of the work that is out there. As well, many other factors such as interests, values, competencies, lifestyle and constraints will affect the type of work you are suited for. Almost half of the workplace today is engaged in non-traditional work arrangements rather than jobs. Use occupational lists as a starting point or way to generate ideas rather than a “pick one of these” activity. Remember, you will likely be changing your work a number of times over the course of your life.

• Carefully consider your skills, education and experience and assess how these link to your interests and preferences. Also consider your values, lifestyle and constraints. Personality type is only one factor in career development and must be integrated with other considerations in order to make well-rounded career choices.

Using personality type information wisely makes the process of career choice easier. The practical information and insights gained from an understanding of who you are and how you prefer to work leads to wise career and educational choices.

Who you are is your foundation; you will grow and develop, but your preferences remain the same. This picture, taken by my husband Paul on our trip to the Alberta Rockies this summer, shows the stability and beauty of the mountain. As the weather changes around the mountain, different features are highlighted, but the foundation remains unchanged.