General Education

How to Match Your Personality to the Workplace

How to Match Your Personality to the Workplace
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Noodle Contributor January 23, 2020

Many factors determine success in the workplace. Privilege, connections and educational background; all these play a role in how well a person performs in the office.

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Many factors determine success in the workplace. Privilege, connections and educational background; all these play a role in how well a person performs in the office. Another factor that contributes to performance is personality type. Everyone leans toward one personality type or another, and these indicate how people flourish in a given setting. Mind Body Green even associates a person’s personality type with how they perform on the income scale. Recognizing how different types function helps determine what kind of roles cultivates success for different personalities.

Introverts are energized through spending time alone with their thoughts. In social settings, introverts usually prefer being in small, intimate environments. These types of people are able to zero in on the task at hand, and drown out all distractions until the task is done. They’re also good listeners and are very observant. The Balance Careers suggests that the best jobs for introverts are veterinarians, archivists, social media managers and researchers. These jobs allow introverts to work independently, and put their observational skills to good use.

Extroverts are the polar opposites of introverts. Gaining their energy from external stimuli, extroverts are people persons. Business writer Nancy Lovering looked at the advantages of extroverts in the workplace and found that these types of people thrive in team settings and networking events. A feature by Special Counsel on the different personality types in legal firms explains how those described as a “people person" are able to excel in social interactions as being “empathetic, interpersonally adept, and skilled in the persuasive arts". The perfect jobs for extroverts are those that allow them to maximize their social skills. Positions such as sales managers, marketing consultants, human resources representatives and public relations representatives all work well with extroverts.

Similar to introverts, artists prefer to work independently, with a flexible schedule. The greatest demand on an artist is to express their creativity and innovation in their chosen job. Artists find a 9-5 job constraining, as well as working under strict orders from a manager. These people prefer to follow through with their own ideas instead of implementing someone else’s. The types of industries that artists thrive in include design, writing, marketing, theater and music.

Analysts are problem solvers. These types work best when using their logical reasoning skills. They enjoy analyzing theories and finding solutions to complex problems. They are very disciplined, and will most likely not stop until they’ve found a solution to a problem in their head. They are also very process-driven, and enjoy doing something in a step-by-step manner. Analysts work best as engineers, corporate strategists, business managers, and accountants.

If you’re not sure where you fit in with these personalities, Business Insider created a test that helps people discover their personality and the ideal work style to match. Keep in mind however that these personality types are not set in stone. If you’re an introvert for example, there are still ways for you to be good at socializing. Journalism graduate Sara Kim made a list of networking tips that can help any personality type have a productive day. The aforementioned roles aren’t meant to restrict us, but rather help us understand the types of work settings where we can thrive the most. There are plenty of examples of people who have been one personality type and excelled in roles closely associated with other types. The trick is to find a role that you excel in.


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