Different people like doing different things and behave in different ways. Some people like the outdoors, while others prefer staying indoors and reading a good book. One person might enjoy social gatherings and interacting with lots of people, while another might like more intimate settings like having dinner with 1-2 close friends.
One way to describe and understand these differences is through the concept of Personality. MBTI & Personality Type
The MBTI is a well-known instrument for insights into personality, which is based on the work of psychiatrist Carl Jung. According to the MBTI, a person’s personality can be described by their preferences in the four areas shown below:
Favorite world: Do you prefer to focus on the outer world or on your own inner world? This is called Extraversion (E) vs. Introversion (I).
Information: Do you prefer to focus on the basic information you take in or do you prefer to interpret and add meaning? This is called Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N).
Decisions: When making decisions, do you prefer to first look at logic and consistency or first look at the people and special circumstances? This is called Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F).
Structure: In dealing with the outside world, do you prefer to get things decided or do you prefer to stay open to new information and options? This is called Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P).
Based on your preferences for each area, you will have a certain personality type, which is represented by four letters such as ENTJ. Each personality type is different and has different behaviours, strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes and so on.
Different personalities are also suited for different careers. If you are wondering what careers are best for you, based on your personality, then “Do What You Are” is a good book for that.
Broadly, the book covers the following topics/structure:
- Explaining the different types of personality (based on the MBTI)
- Taking you through some exercises to arrive at your personality type
- Describing each personality type in detail, along with strengths, weaknesses, typical career matches and a few case studies of career choice/change
While it is a good book and I do recommend buying it, there are a few points to note:
- The book covers only one aspect of career choice and decision making. Therefore it is not comprehensive and does not take into account other areas such as interests, skills, values, goals, constraints and so on
- It is not 100% certain that you will arrive at an accurate personality type through the book. So don’t take everything in there as though it is written in stone. If the content interests you and you want to get into more detail on the subject of personality, then consider speaking with a career advisor
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