When asked to describe a great leader, which type of person springs to mind? The all-guns-blazing, exuberant networker? Or how about the dominant visionary who flips tradition on its head? Certainly not the understated loner who listens more than they speak, right?
Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging—even the labels don’t make you sound so friendly. And let’s be honest, you probably aren’t going to win any prizes for being the office joker anytime soon.
We are constantly told how important social skills are to career success. But what if you don’t have many people skills — and don’t want to acquire any, either? Here’s a look at five stimulating, well-paying jobs where the quality of your work matters more than your ability to schmooze.
Introverts are sticklers for authenticity. When it comes to their jobs and careers, they strive to “do what they are.” Despite the beauty of this ideal, they often run into difficulties when it comes to its real-world actualization.
Judgers and Perceivers differ significantly in how they make decisions and approach their lives. Where Judgers prefer structure and routine, Perceivers thrive on spontaneity and possibilities. These differences in style can cause clashes in the workplace. Office politics often gets a bad rap for amounting to nothing more than a collection of cut-throat behaviors, whereby some people try to advance themselves at the expense of others. It needn't be that way, however. Office politics can be conceived as a system in which people work together to accomplish goals, and understanding personality typology as it applies to Judgers and Perceivers constitutes a great start.
Large amounts of stimulation from the outside world, including in-person socializing, can feel draining to introverts, and the prospect of job interviews often reinforce that feeling. In job interviews, introverts must put themselves in the spotlight, beat their own drums and engage in small talk. For extraverts, those activities are second nature. Introverts, however, have their own strengths which are equally important and which can help them succeed in job interviews. Are you an introvert? These job interview tips for introverts will help you take stock of your strengths and consider how they can help you get hired.
As analytical problem solvers, INTJs strive to understand and improve complex systems. They're achievement-oriented people for whom there's no such thing as too much knowledge. Though INTJs excel at abstract thinking, they love the challenge of putting their solutions to work in reality. They're perfectionists and highly attuned to detail. They value logic, order, and efficiency. If you're an INTJ, you're fortunate: three hot careers for INTJs made CNN Money's list of the best jobs in America.
As a result of the current recession, more and more people are looking toward the Federal Government for a good, steady job. Many young people graduating college are interested in pursuing a career that makes a difference, both for individuals and for the country. The Federal Government is doing massive hiring in several mission critical areas, among them security and protection. This category includes Federal law enforcement jobs, such as working as a Special Agent for the FBI, CIA, ATF, or Secret Service.
A study of undergraduates at Mercyhurst College found that students in the Intelligence Studies program were significantly more likely to prefer Intuition and Thinking, and slightly more likely to prefer Extraversion, when compared with the general population.
Whether your interest in a job change has been prompted by dissatisfaction with your current role or rumors of impending layoffs, the prospect of identifying and jumping into a different career can definitely feel overwhelming. However, this is a challenge that most professionals will face at least once in their working lives – data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that American workers change jobs an average of seven times over the course of their careers.
THE FINE PRINT:
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