Find Your Personality Type 

It just makes sense that people are more satisfied in jobs with opportunities to do work that is interesting to them. Your interests often parallel your personality type. Finding out your interest areas and personality type will allow you to explore careers in areas that will “fit” you, like finding the right size shoe for a long walk. Following are six groupings which describe different interest areas and personality types. No type is better than another. The important thing is to recognize yourself and focus on occupations that fit into that grouping. Read the descriptions and ask yourself which best describes you. Then  zero in on occupations that would suit your interests and personality type. 

Conventional

• Prefer well-ordered environments
• Like systematic, verbal and numerical activities
• Avoid ambiguous situations and problems
• Conscientious, efficient, practical
• Identify with power
• Value material possessions and status
• Orderly, persistent, calm
• Adverse to free, unsystematic, exploratory behavior in new areas
• Do not seek outside leadership
• Stable, controlled, dependable
• Most effective at well-defined tasks
• Save money, buy conservatively

Enterprising

• Good verbal skills, persuasive
• Strong leaders
• Avoid work involving long periods of intellectual effort
• Strong drive to attain organizational goals
• Concerned with power, status, and leadership
• Aggressive, popular, sociable, self-confident
• High energy level
• Adventuresome, ambitious
• Enjoy making things happen
• Value money and material possessions
• Dislike science and systematic thinking
• Buy luxury cars, nice clothes, country club memberships  

Investigative

• Scientific orientation
• Task-oriented, all wrapped up in their work
• Introspective and not too social
• Think through rather than act out a problem
• Strong need to understand the world
• Enjoy ambiguous tasks
• Prefer to work independently
• Have unconventional attitudes
• See themselves as lacking in leadership skills
• Confident of their intellectual abilities
• Analytical, curious, reserved, independent
• Great dislike for repetitive activities
• Buy electronic equipment, maps, non-fiction books  

Realistic

• Robust, rugged, practical, physically strong
• Uncomfortable in social settings
• Good motor coordination
• Weak verbal and interpersonal skills
• See themselves as mechanically and athletically inclined
• Stable, natural, persistent
• Prefer concrete to abstract problems
• Have conventional political and economic goals
• Rarely perform creatively in the arts or science
• Like to build things with tools
• Like to work outdoors
• Cool to radical new ideas
• Like to work with big, powerful machines
• Buy boats, campers, snowmobiles, motorcycles

Social

• Sociable, responsible, humanistic, religious
• Like to work in groups
• Have verbal and interpersonal skills
• Avoid both intellectual problem-solving and physical exertion
• Enjoy healing, developing, training, or enlightening others
• Understanding, helpful, idealistic
• Dislike working with machines or in highly structured situations
• Like to discuss philosophic questions
• Concerned with the welfare of others
• Cooperative, friendly, generous
• Attend workshops, other group experiences  

Artistic

• Like art, music, drama, other creative interests
• Prefer free, unstructured situations
• Impulsive, non-conforming, independent
• Adverse to rules
• Deal with problems through self-expression in art
• Value beauty and aesthetic qualities
• Expressive, original, intuitive
• Like to work in free environments
• Like small, intimate groups
• Willing to take risks to try something new
• Dress in freer styles than other people
• Have need for individualistic expression
• Not assertive about own capabilities
• Sensitive and emotional
• Spend money on art objects–books, paintings, DVDs, CDs. 

NOTE: If you identified yourself as the Artistic type, please be aware that occupations in this area are not as plentiful as in the other areas, and you may need to go to your secondary type to find the kind of career that meets your needs.

The descriptions used on these pages were adapted from the “ Overview of Holland’s Vocational Personality Theory,” O*Net Interest Profiler User’s Guide, p.17, and from “What is My Personality Type,” Delaware Career Compass 2005-2006, p. 10.