What type are you?

When taking time out to reflect on your future it is essential to have a starting point. In the Careers Service we are believers in starting with self–assessment. Self-assessment requires each individual to look inward and to identify an accurate understanding of their own personality, interests, motivations, skills and values. Through self-assessment, students gain valuable insights which allow them to make informed decisions about their education and career options. Personality refers to the combination of qualities that form an individual’s distinctive character. Personality involves genetic traits but it is also developed through life experience. Personality traits can have a major influence on how well suited a person is to a certain career.

Did you know that you can access a free online personality test through the UL Cooperative Education & Careers Division website here.

A little bit more on Personality…

Our personality influences how we do things – interact with others, plan our work, use our leisure time and tackle problems to name but a few.  Because of its wide-ranging effects, understanding personality is central to our self-awareness and development. We are unique individuals because of our personality. Some people do not like the idea of ‘measuring’ personality because they believe every person is unique, but so do most psychologists who develop personality assessments!  

Try asking yourself these questions:

• Do you think of yourself as unique?

• Do you share some characteristics with other people you know?

The chances are that you answered ‘yes’ to both of these questions; we can be both unique and yet share characteristics with others.  Theories of personality tend describe what is common between people.  Personality assessments then describe how individuals vary along these common dimensions. The personality questionnaire available through this site – the Type Dynamics Indicator – looks at your preferences or how you are likely to react and behave in different circumstances.  It is based on the work of psychologist Carl Jung, whose theories are behind the most widely used personality assessments in the world.

Personality – How understanding can help you

Increasingly employers at all levels, but especially graduate employers, want you to have a range of skills in addition to your academic qualifications. Employers will differ in what they look for, but the following are likely to be high on their list:

• team-working

• adaptability

• communication skills

• decision-making

• ability to influence others

• leadership

• interpersonal skills

• creativity

• learning

• problem-solving

• motivation

Your personality will impact on all of these areas.  Understanding more about your personality will help you to recognise the way in which you are likely to approach different situations and those where you might have to change your preferences to work more effectively. It is important to remember that personality assessments look at how you typically behave or what your usual preferences are.  When necessary we can all change our behaviour; this may just take a little work and conscious effort.

Personality – Using your results

Knowing more about your personality is central to developing self-awareness.  When you have completed the Type Dynamics Indicator, here are just some of the things you can do to help your personal and career development.

Finding your ‘true’ type:

• Read the report carefully and consider how accurately it describes you

• Look at the other personality descriptions that are ‘close’ to yours and see how they fit – the report from the questionnaire is a ‘best guess’ as to your preferred style and should be challenged if you do not agree with it

CVs and job applications:

• Use the report when writing your CV and application forms to highlight specific aspects of your style in different areas – this gives you something ‘concrete’ to say about yourself and differentiates you from others

• Similar to the previous point, think about how your report can help you in interviews to talk about specific aspects of the job or areas such as team-working and leadership

Personal development:

• When interacting with others, explore how your preferences come across – how can you make the most of your strengths and also deal with areas that come less naturally?

• Sometimes we have to work outside of our preferences – identify areas where it could be useful to behave in different ways and try practising these in ‘safe’ situations (e.g. with friends or family)