This blog post was contributed by Reanne Brian.

When deciding on an initial path or a career change, there can be many factors at play. People often think about wages and working hours as well as the specific role itself. Career coaches advise that to find the most fulfilling role, you should first take a long hard look at yourself. This will enable you to go for something not only that you are good at – but that also matches the way you naturally interact with people and your values.

Your Personality

Some career experts believe that the best job that we can pick is one that aligns with our personality. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is an assessment that can further define our personalities with the help of four sub-categories.

These categories assess four main things. The first is how we get our energy, the second is how we take in information, the third is how we make decisions, and the fourth is how we organize our world. See here for some more information and a self-test.

Experts like Tieger and Barron-Tiger (Do What You Are, 1995), believe that certain roles match certain personality types. This means we can be happier and less stressed by picking something that gels with our personality, in their opinion.

The idea of ensuring that we have a less stressful work life, as we don’t have to pretend to be someone we are not is appealing. However, other career experts argue that there are additional key aspects of work that this does not account for.

Your Values

One of the key aspect that the Do What You Are (1995) system doesn’t deal with explicitly is values. Our values in life can be an essential part of our choice and motivation in work. For example, someone may choose to be in the Police Force, even though they might not be a seemingly natural fit. However, their desire to provide safety for their community and protect people overrides this. It is enough to sustain them through the challenges that they might face.

What do You Enjoy?

Of course, inherently within the personality analysis should be the things that we most enjoy. Do all people of a single personality type enjoy the same things? This is highly doubtful. Boles (What Color is Your Parachute?,1977) highlights it’s vital to address your favorite fields of interest when choosing a career.

Two people with a similar personality profile may have vastly different interests. One may be fascinated by medical subject matter and decide to be a doctor, surgeon, or to pick from the plethora of pediatric nurse jobs available. While the other is much more interested in how kids learn, and chooses a teaching role.

By choosing a field that they are interested in, they are ensuring their career is based on something that is important to them. In this way’s it’s assumed that they will work, better and retain the motivation they need to succeed.