The Most Important Factor in Your Career Satisfaction

A Step-by-Step Guide to Identifying Your Greatest Strengths

“What careers would be suitable for me?”

Have you asked that question? It doesn’t matter whether you’re getting ready to enter your freshmen year of college or you’ve been in the workforce for years now, many of us still wonder what we’re meant to do. I definitely did.

Before this year, I had a hard time figuring out what I was passionate about and where my greatest strengths lie. Then, I learned something about myself that turned out to be a game changer…

Tired of working outside of your gifts and feeling stressed out? Follow this step-by-step guide to identify your greatest strength and find work you love!

About a year ago, I realized that I love to write. When I write, I come alive. I get in “the zone” – a place where I focus, crank out words like nobody’s business, and feel like I’m doing what I was made to do. I enjoy it and am decent at it.

It was only when I dug deeper into my personality that I was able to pinpoint my greatest strengths. More specifically, I identified my dominant function. The dominant function is the primary mindset through which each of us interprets and interacts with the world. It’s the source of our greatest strengths!

In My True Type, AJ Drenth says, “When engrossed in an activity that fully engages the dominant function, we tend to feel alert and alive, doing what we were ‘born to do.’” Knowing what you love to do and are great at is the key to career satisfaction. When your job asks you to use your greatest gifts every day, you’re a happy camper. You end up like Bill Gates, leaving vacation a few days early to go back to work because it’s more fun.

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Unfortunately, many people take the Myers-Briggs personality test and miss out on this incredible insight. They read their personality type description and stop there leaving the gold nuggets behind!

If you’re tired of working outside of your giftedness and feeling stressed out you want to identify your greatest strengths, let me show you how!

1. Determine your personality.

Head over to 16personalities.com, and take the free test. The test will take you no more than 30 minutes.

(Note: If you are confident you already know your true personality, skip to step 3.)

When you take it, answer the questions the way you’d prefer to do things. Don’t think about yourself at work, with friends, with family, at church, etc. Rather, answer each question the way you’d like to do things if you were in control of the world. This is critical.

2. Confirm your personality.

Once you get your results, confirm your personality type. Do this by reading about your personality. See if the description sounds like you.

Here are some sites where you can look up your personality type and read about it:

But don’t stop there! Many people give up when their test results don’t match their real personality. If the personality you tested as doesn’t fit, read about some similar personalities.

For example, if you tested as an ISTP, but you think you may be an INTP, read about that type too. Or maybe there are a couple letters off. Then, read about all the different possibilities.

Take your time looking into it. Ultimately, the test doesn’t tell you who you are – you do!

3. Figure out your dominant function.

A. My Dominant What?

The Myers-Briggs personality system originated from the work of Carl Jung. Jung tried to put people into categories based on how they interpret and interact with the world. He came up with 8 different mindsets, or functions, through which people see the world:

  • Introverted Sensing (Si)
  • Introverted Intuition (Ni)
  • Introverted Feeling (Fi)
  • Introverted Thinking (Ti)
  • Extroverted Sensing (Se)
  • Extroverted Intuition (Ne)
  • Extroverted Feeling (Fe)
  • Extroverted Thinking (Te)

Every person uses a combination of four of the functions listed above. For example, an INFJ would use the following functions:

  • Introverted Intuition (Ni)
  • Extroverted Feeling (Fe)
  • Introverted Thinking (Ti)
  • Extroverted Sensing (Se)

The first function is called the dominant function because it’s used most heavily. The second function is a sidekick, and it’s used regularly – but not nearly as much as the dominant function. The other two functions are used far less frequently.

B. Identify Your Dominant Function.

To identify your dominant function, locate your confirmed personality type in the table below and find your type’s dominant function.

 

4. Learn about your dominant function.

Once you’ve identified your dominant function, the real fun will begin. Start learning about what makes you tick! Click on the links below to find pages that describe your dominant function.

As you read, make note of the words and descriptions that pop out at you, and disregard whatever doesn’t fit. Remember that, although these abilities come easily to you, they’re gifts. Not everyone can do them!

Also, if you feel like the descriptions are way off, you may need to go back to step 2.

5. Find work that employs your greatest strength.

Now that you’ve read about your dominant function, it’s time to look at some suitable careers.

A. Brainstorm.

Look back at the words and phrases that you recorded. Can you think of any jobs of the top of your head where those abilities would be needed? For instance, introverted intuition is good with ideas, words, and theories. It makes connections easily. All of those abilities are used in writing, so someone with introverted intuition would make a good writer.

You’ll be surprised at what comes to mind when you mull it over for a while. In addition, you may want to ask close friends and family for their input.

B. Check out these resources. 

There are a few resources that I keep coming back to when I’m looking into careers that fit people’s strength. One of them is Do What You Are. You’ll find a chapter on each of the eight introvert personality types. It’ll include…

  • 3 examples of your type doing work they enjoy.
  • Explanations of why those people like their work.
  • A list of the top 10 things people of your type want in their work.
  • Career suggestions for people of your type organized by industries.

Keep in mind that any personality type can do any job. The key, however, is to find work that employs your dominant function on a daily basis.

I’ve also found two websites particularly helpful.

16Personalities.com

  1. Head back to 16personalities.com.
  2. Find your type.
  3. Click on the career tab.

PersonalityJunkie.com

Click on your type to read a career article.

Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.