It’s a funny thing about passion. When you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work! After interviewing the author of The 50 Best Jobs for your Personality for a piece I was working on for ClassesUSA, I simply had to reflect. Sometimes things are so obvious but we’re so immersed in our careers that in some instances the most blatant observations may seem the most obtuse: our career personalities are really extensions of our own personalities. They’re one and two in the same. And when people are unhappy (aside from things like having a turbulent boss or being underpaid), maybe it’s the actual job. It may not be a fit with the true you. Or it may be the environment. Or it could be both.The career personality aspects (the book actually outlines jobs to match personalities) provides an introspective look at personalities, essentially equating to our own careers for optimum happiness and success. Based on John Holland’s theory of personality types, there’s the artistic type (self-expression), enterprising (desire to start and carry out projects), social (helping careers – think teacher or social worker), conventional (following set routines and procedures), realistic (practical, hands-on jobs like agriculture or airline pilots), and investigative (think engineers and economists).
For instance, I interviewed actress Mena Suvari recently and she simply loves loves loves her craft. While she falls into the artistic scenario as she’s worked on a photography project in conjunction with limited edition scarves, it’s still in the same family of self-expression.
For another source I interviewed, a chef, suffice it to say he thrives on creativity cooked up in the kitchen. Others seek structure like finance-oriented jobs.
Here’s the kicker: it’s not unheard of to have multiple personalities since jobs often have multiple dimensions. For instance, a teacher may be a social personality wanting to help people but by virtue of grading and having lesson plans, it’s a hybrid with the conventional personality. As a writer I definitely fall into the artistic realm which fabulously fuses with the enterprising type. While I love networking, as a recruiter the job may be considered a hybrid of social and conventional, yet I thrive in an enterprising environment yet again.
Interestingly enough I wrote the piece several weeks ago and as it went live on AOL I relived the self-exploration I enjoyed while initially immersed in working on the piece. People who love what they do, people whose personalities are on the same page as their careers, seem to be happy. Success often follows suit. You and I, well, we are who we are. As our personalities shine, so do our careers to match.
