"I've Taken the MBTI: What Job is Best for Me?"

Dear Editor:

Taking the MBTI assessment has really opened my eyes! I would like to learn more about myself. I realize that I've been anxious about my job and now I'm understanding why (I am an INFJ & not sure my personality type matches my current role). Is there a book you can recommend?

-Betsy

Dear Betsy:

I had the same kind of "epiphany" when I identified my best fit type and realized that my personality preferences helped me understand many of my career decisions up to that point. My type preferences helped explain why I enjoyed and gravitated to some job roles and responsibilities and not others. And type also factored into identifying the kind of work environments that bring out the best in me versus the ones that I might be more likely to struggle with.

There are a couple of books that I can recommend. The first is Do What You Are - Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type by Paul Tieger and Barbara Barron. This book will help you understand your innate strengths and also provide practical tips on how to find work roles and environments that are most likely to result in career satisfaction.

According to the authors, as an INFJ, career satisfaction means doing work that:

-Requires careful observation and meticulous accuracy, where you can use your ability to remember facts and details

-Lets you work on tangible projects that help other people, often requiring great accuracy and attention to detail

-Lets you express your compassion and devotion by working hard behind the scenes, but where your contributions are recognized and appreciated

-Is done in a traditional environment, where the results are practical and service-oriented

-Requires that you adhere to standard procedures, use practical judgment, and follow through in a careful, organized way

-Lets you focus all your energy on one project or one person at a time, working on products or services that have observable end results

-Gives you a private work space so you can concentrate fully for extended periods of time and with a minimum of interruptions

-Lets you work primarily one-on-one helping others, or with other people who share your personal values and beliefs

-Requires you to be organized and efficient in completing your assignments

-Does not require too frequently that you present your work in front of groups of people without having adequate time to prepare well in advance

-Each of these elements won't be equally important to all INFJs so you may want to re-read the list and decide which elements are most important to you.

Also keep in mind that, unfortunately, there is no perfect job. So, realistically, you’re not always going to look forward to going to work and you’re not going to be energized by what you do 100% of the time. Your goal is to find a job where you can play to your strengths and use your natural personality preferences at least 51% percent of the time. The more the better. Basically, you want to maximize the career "satisfiers" listed above and minimize job-related “dis-satisfiers.”

My second book recommendation is Type Talk at Work - How the 16 Personality Types Determine Your Success on the Job by Otto Kroeger. The material covered in the book can help you:

-Identify your strengths and blind spots

-Further your career by matching your individual potential with your job requirements

-Communicate more effectively

-Resolve conflicts more quickly and effectively

-Reduce stress

One of the central themes of the book is that our individual differences, when understood and appreciated, make everyone's contribution more effective and the workplace as a whole more productive and profitable. So one big benefit of the book is that, in addition to helping you understand yourself better, it will help you learn how to understand, appreciate, and work more effectively with the people around you.

Best regards,
Jeff Thoren, DVM, ACC

References:

Searching for Your Best-Fit Job by Jeff Thoren, Exceptional Veterinary Team, September 2009
Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career for You through the Secrets of Personality Type by Paul Tieger and Barbara Barron, 4th Edition, Little, Brown & Company, 2007
Type Talk at Work - How the 16 Personality Types Determine Your Success on the Job by Otto Kroeger, Dell Publishing, 2002