The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a popular psychological personality inventory that can have practical application when applied to learning methods, career choices and increasing job satisfaction. Understanding the different behaviors that indicate a type preference can help in making personal job choices. It can also help employees understanding others who exhibit behavior typical of a specific personality, according to Sharon L. Hanna, Doug Radtke and Rose Suggett, authors of Career by Design: Communicating Your Way to Success [Pearson, 2009].
Extroversion-Introversion Career Choices Testing
A Myers Briggs career test focusing on the extroversion-introversion categories indicates what type of work environment a persona would be the most energized in – a social situation with others to help spread work around and brainstorm with or a solitary place to contemplate alone and come up with the best ideas. It's the difference between needing a girl's night out or preferring a long bubble bath after a stressful week.
Knowing the personality preference of extroversion and introversion can help when reviewing job opportunities. An extrovert who enjoys being around people and draws energy from collaboration may not do their best when working from home. An introvert who does their best thinking when given time for self-reflection may feel emotionally drained when working in a team-oriented environment.
Sensing-Intuition Career Choices Testing
A Myers Briggs career test focusing on the sensing-intuition categories indicates how a person gathers information about the world around them. According to Rowan Bayne, author of The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: A Critical Review and Practical Guide [Nelson Thornes, 1997], someone who exhibits a sensing personality is practical, realistic and particularly good at working with facts and figures, while someone with a more intuition-based personality is considered more imaginative and does well when given problems to solve.
Knowing the personality preference of sensing and intuition can help when deciding how to divide up tasks on a team. Sensing employees are less likely to be bothered by repetitious work that follows strict procedures, while intuitives can devise their own methodology for completing an assignment (or come up with one where none exists) and prefer jumping from task to task.
Thinking-Feeling Career Choices Testing
A Myers Briggs career test focusing on the thinking-feeling categories indicates how a person makes decisions. Thinking personalities are logical, while a feeling personality is more considerate of his own emotions and the emotions of others.
Knowing the personality preference of thinking and feeling can help when choosing a team or project leader. A thinking leader can be seen as alternatively oblivious to the feelings of others and being decisive, with the ability to make tough decisions. On the other side of the spectrum, a feeling leader can be seen as either empathetic and sensitive or illogical and overly emotional.
Judging-Perceiving Career Choices Testing
A Myers Briggs career test focusing on the judging-perceiving categories indicates what orientation a person has to the outside world – that is, what they do with information once they get it. Judgers are highly organized and prefer to feel in control of their lives. They're the type of people who live by their day planners, the authors of Career by Design note. Alternatively, a perceiver probably wouldn't have a day planner, because he prefers to go with the flow and enjoys the freedom of spontaneity.
Knowing the personality preference of judging and perceiving can help when going over performance reviews on the job. A judger is highly organized but could be considered inflexible in his work while a perceiver is quick to adapt to changing work conditions and job duties but could be considered flighty and disorganized.
Most people have degrees of preferences in each category and can actually display behaviors associated with both preferences on a given scale. However, many people tend to fall on one half of a category more than the other. There are dozens of Myers Briggs career tests online that can help someone determine their personality preferences and the best career choices based upon those preferences.
Heidi DeVries - Heidi DeVries was a resume screener for a communications firm and shares tips to secure an interview and be a successful job applicant.
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