{"id":1835,"date":"2020-05-21T13:00:37","date_gmt":"2020-05-21T12:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/?p=1835"},"modified":"2025-10-22T15:16:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T14:16:28","slug":"the-right-personality-for-the-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/2020\/05\/21\/the-right-personality-for-the-job\/","title":{"rendered":"The Right Person(ality) for the Job!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This blog post was written by Information Assistant Tricia Onions<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

When I graduated university, I was of the (ill-informed) belief that employability was a black and white issue. That I was either cut out for the world of work or I wasn\u2019t. Now, I\u2019m not suggesting we all magically become confident overnight, but I think it\u2019s well worth remembering that there\u2019s no one-size-fits-all job \u2013 and no one-size-fits-all personality. Cheesy though it may sound, we all have different strengths. No two jobs have the same specification, and what doesn\u2019t suit one profession might be ideal for another.<\/p>\n

Many employers use personality tests <\/strong>as a means of measuring soft skills, such as resilience, work style, and motivation. Again, it\u2019s really important to remember this isn\u2019t a black and white issue. The question isn\u2019t so much, \u2018Are you a motivated person?\u2019 \u2013 that\u2019s to be expected! What <\/em>motivates you? What are your values?<\/a> Are you driven by targets or inspired by rapport?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a two-way process<\/strong><\/p>\n

The thought of being assessed this way might sound daunting. After all, how do we change our personalities <\/em>if we don\u2019t measure up? The point is we don\u2019t. As with any part of the application process, personality tests are a two-way street. They allow the employer to gauge whether you\u2019d be a good fit \u2013 and in return, you\u2019ll have the chance to better understand what would be expected of you, and if you\u2019d be happy in the role.<\/p>\n

A career in sales, for instance, is going to require a different working style from one in counselling. This is not to say that one career is better than the other \u2013 rather, each one needs a specific kind of person to bring the right qualities to the job. Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers \u2013 the mother-daughter duo behind the popular Myers-Briggs Type Indicator <\/strong>\u2013 found that 64%<\/strong> of a sample of accountants shared the same sensing\/thinking personality type. Research scientists were 77% <\/strong>alike with their preference for intuition.<\/p>\n

Our personalities aren\u2019t the deciding factor when it comes to down to it \u2013 but they can tell us a lot about our interpersonal skills, and the sort of work we\u2019re comfortable doing.<\/p>\n

What personality tests do employers use?<\/strong><\/p>\n