In response to a number of misunderstandings by the public and the mainstream media regarding intelligence, 52 intelligence researchers signed a statement that was published in the scientific journal Intelligence and the Wall Street Journal in 1994.37,38 In this statement, they jointly defined intelligence as:
“A very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience.”
They go on to note that intelligence “…is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects the broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings – ‘catching on,’ ‘making sense’ of things, or figuring out what to do.”
You can think of intelligence as the raw informational processing power of your brain. People with higher IQs find it easier to grasp new information, compare that new information to their existing store of information, and use that information or their sheer reasoning power to solve problems. Having a high IQ is an advantage in life, while having a low IQ is often a disadvantage. The advantages of having a high IQ become more apparent as the complexity of the job or activity increases.
Our intellectual power is reflected in the hard-wiring of our brains. Having a high IQ is like having a lot of RAM and hard-drive space, in addition to a fast CPU. You can also think of it like having a Ferrari engine.
Like our Basic Personality Tendencies, our raw mental powers are partially inherited. Although not impossible to alter, just like our physical skills and muscle composition, there appears to be an upper limit as to how much we can improve our IQ with today’s knowledge and technologies. But the information presented in this series of books will help you to maximize your brain and body’s capabilities.
Although having a high IQ is an advantage when it comes to success, it really depends on who’s behind the wheel. Success depends on a combination of things. Even for what are traditionally considered the more intellectually advanced professions like law, medicine, engineering, and academia, having an IQ in the superior range is not a prerequisite.
Of course, a superior IQ will make certain aspects of these occupations, particularly the learning part, easier and faster. But most are surprised to hear that even in these “brainy” careers, you only need about average intelligence to succeed. In fact, about 50 percent of the population has an IQ high enough to succeed in these careers.
If you are reading this book and understand the majority of what is written, then you are most likely within this group of people. What’s really important is whether you work hard and whether you work intelligently. Your drive is what really matters. Your drive depends on whether your goals and mission are in line with your deepest values. As Nietzsche said, “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”
How Your Basic Personality Tendencies Influence Your Career Interests
Knowing your Basic Personality Tendencies, what’s truly important to you, and your strengths are essential for your success. But many of you may be unsure whether your career path is right for you. Or you may be unsure what type of career you should pursue. The next step is for you to get in touch with your career interests.
Being a trained psychologist, I’m partial to psychological measures as you may have already noticed. I’ve been providing in-depth career assessments for many different types of people for many years now. These people include those with traumatic brain injuries, physical injuries, or psychological difficulties. On the other end of the spectrum, I perform these types of assessments with high achievers such as executives thinking of a career change, or athletes who are retiring from sport.
Sometimes people believe they are already on the right career path, but want to be sure. For example, I help people figure this out before making a big decision, such as whether to leave their corporate job and become an entrepreneur or go to medical school. These assessments help people figure out what career paths are suited to their Basic Personality Tendencies, values, passions, intellectual/cognitive abilities, and their other strengths and weaknesses.
One of the keys to these assessments is the measurement of vocational or career interests. Keep in mind that knowing your interests doesn’t tell you whether you have the ability, skill, motivation, opportunities, education, or training background needed to succeed at a particular type of career. What it does shed light on is whether your interests in particular types of activities match those found in specific types of careers, or of people already in those types of careers. It tells you which types of careers or job-related activities you’ll likely find most satisfying.
Undoubtedly, your values will also dictate what types of careers you will find most satisfying. So keep these in mind when examining your career choices.
I want to bring up a few connections between your career interests and your Basic Personality Tendencies.
Recall that there are 5 Basic Personality Tendencies that have been found across cultures. These include the following:
Negative Emotions
Extraversion
Openness to Change/New Experiences
Agreeableness
Motivation/Self-Control
Working in a career that is not at all congruent with your personality is going to be the quickest road to unhappiness. For example, I’ve assessed hundreds of potential police recruits applying to work as police constables. Occasionally, I have come across those whose personalities are not well-suited for front-line police work.
I recall assessing one candidate who had one of the least suited personality profiles for front-line police work. First of all, he was quite high in Negative Emotions. As you can probably guess, policing can be pretty stressful work. If you have a hard time controlling your fear and anger, for example, you’re going to have a hard time dealing with the stresses of the job.
The person was also Very High on Openness. Police work is very structured, at times monotonous, with little wiggle room when it comes to the law. Those who are Very High on Openness tend to be very open to different points of view and ways of doing things. Generally, a police officer requires more practical thinking with clear ideas of what is right and wrong.
And if these issues weren’t enough, this person was also Very High on Agreeableness. Recall that those who are Very High on Agreeableness tend to be very trusting, honest, and sympathetic. These are not bad traits to have, but when dealing with criminals, you need a certain level of skepticism, guardedness, and tough-mindedness or else you’ll probably be too nice to arrest anyone, even if they deserve it. At the same time, you can be too disagreeable, which can be even more damaging.
With this personality profile, the candidate would be very likely to be unhappy and out of their element most of the time in the field of law enforcement.
There are a number of Basic Personality Tendency profiles that can influence what types of career interests you are likely to have. Keep in mind that these are just tendencies and you shouldn’t rule in or rule out a particular type of career solely based on these patterns. If you fall at the extremes in your ratings on the Basic Personality Tendency dimensions, then the career interest description is more likely to be accurate than if you fall somewhere in the middle.
Also keep in mind that you can work in almost any career regardless of your personality traits. Jobs and careers are multifaceted in terms of what you do during the workday. But there are certain types of jobs or certain job activities that your personality may make you more suited for.
Negative Emotions & Careers
Generally, if you are high on Negative Emotions, then you’re going to work best in career settings where there isn’t a lot of stress. Prototypical careers would be a hairstylist, librarian, or a lab technician.
On the other hand, if you are very low on this dimension, then you will be more able to handle careers with high levels of stress without being overwhelmed. Surgeons, fighter pilots, and hostage nego
tiators would fall in this category.
Extraversion & Careers
If you are high on Extraversion, you’ll probably enjoy careers that are fast-paced with a lot of social contact. Those high on this dimension feel at home in positions like sales, management, leadership, politics, teaching, event planning, nursing, and family medicine.
If you are also low in Agreeableness, then you may make a good leader given you are likely dominant and self-assured. You would enjoy making big decisions, and directing and managing others.
If you are low on Extraversion, you’ll tend to feel most comfortable in positions where there is less stimulation, especially social stimulation. You will want to be in positions where there are large chunks of time where you can work alone or one-on-one, such as working as a librarian, bookkeeper, writer, or scientist.
Openness & Careers
If you are high on Openness, you’ll likely feel most attracted to careers that involve the appreciation of art or the use of your curiosity, creativity, vision, or other “outside-the-box” thinking. Prototypical examples include work as an artist, entrepreneur, designer, or visionary leader.
If you are low on Openness, you’ll gravitate toward careers where you can use your practicality, logic, and clear ideas about how things should be done. Good examples of related careers are orthopedic surgery, technician, and quality control specialist.
Agreeableness & Careers
If you are high on Agreeableness, you may enjoy careers where you’re in a friendly environment and you can be helpful and cooperative. Good examples of suitable careers include working as a personal trainer, social worker, and a customer service representative.
If you also happen to be high on Motivation, then you’re likely an ideal team player and highly valued in team contexts. You’ll be willing to do the difficult, but thankless, tasks that need to be done to help the team.
If you are low on Agreeableness, you’ll probably feel most comfortable in positions where being nice and friendly is not necessary. You’ll work best when you can exercise your skepticism and competitive nature, and where you’re free to speak your mind. Great examples of this are judges, criminal investigators, quality control specialists, forensic psychologists, and trial lawyers.
Motivation & Careers
Lastly, if you are high on Motivation, you’ll likely do well in any type of job you choose, as this dimension is the number one personality predictor of job success across industries.
But you may work best in careers where you can work hard and move up the ladder. You won’t need much structure to keep you on track, as you have your own internal structure. You won’t need a manager breathing down your neck to make sure you’re doing your work. There are no real prototypical careers for those with high levels of Motivation, as this constellation of traits is helpful in almost any type of work.
If you are low on Motivation, however, you’ll probably work best in environments with clear structure and rules for you to follow. Any job that has clear expectations and procedures will help keep you on track. Work on an assembly line, in the military, or even on professional sports teams are good examples of jobs with high levels of structure and organization.
If you happen to be low on Motivation and high on Openness, you’re likely somewhat of a dreamer in that your mind may be less influenced and constrained by old ways of doing things or ambiguity. This is a great profile to have when it comes to brainstorming. You’ll likely need people who are high on Motivation to carry your ideas through, as they are more methodical and organized.
Extraversion & Openness Profiles & Careers
When we look at other combinations of Basic Personality Tendencies, particularly those involving Openness and Extraversion, we can find even more specific types of career interests or activities that may be suitable.
If you are high on Openness and high on Extraversion, you are more likely to be interested in careers where there is a lot of change and where you can have a lot of different experiences you can share with others. You’ll enjoy fast-paced and exciting careers where you can also engage your creativity. For example, you’re likely to enjoy careers that involve public speaking, teaching others, or meeting people different from you.
If you are low on Openness and low on Extraversion, then you’re going to feel most at home in careers where a large part of the work is done alone or one-on-one, and in a slower-paced environment. Working as a bookkeeper or accountant, technician, or technical writer are congruent with this personality profile.
If you are instead high on Openness and low on Extraversion, then you may feel most at home in activities where you get to introspect more, like painting and creative writing.
If you are low on Openness and high on Extraversion, then you’re likely attracted to careers that involve mainstream ideas and products. Selling traditional and practical products like home improvement tools, cars, or financial products may interest you.
Career Interest Inventories
One of the best ways to get an idea of your career interests is to take a reliable and well-validated career or vocational interest measure. Career or vocational interest inventories are psychological tests that call for you to respond in terms of your level of agreement with, or interest in, statements such as descriptions of work activities. Your responses are scored and compared to various groups. You are then provided with feedback about what types of career interests are dominant for you. Some measures even compare you to people already working in particular careers.
There are many vocational interest measures on the market. Most of the good ones require a visit to a counseling psychologist or career counselor. There also are many different ways to measure your interests. Some measures compare your responses to others who are in particular fields. Others look at your “work personality” and help you figure out whether your personality theoretically fits with specific career types, like the idea that Extraverts theoretically enjoy sales. Other measures look at how your interests theoretically match up with those in particular careers.
It can be really hard to decide which measure to take and even harder to find a qualified person to administer and interpret the measure you want.
What to Look for in a Career Interest Measure
Ideally, a good career or vocational interest measure provides you with feedback on the following:
How you compare to others, regardless of what career they are in, in terms of interests in performing specific activities. For example, a high score on a particular scale, like Performing Arts, would indicate that you show a preference for working in settings involving the activities described by the scale name, which in this case is enjoying performing for an audience. A low score would indicate that you would prefer not to work in such settings and would probably find this type of work unsatisfying.
How you compare with others on broad patterns of interests rather than interests in specific activities. Many measures refer to these as “work personality.” Popular themes include: Expressive/Artistic, Logical/Practical/Realistic, Inquiring/Investigative, Social/Helping, Conventional, and Enterprising.
How your interests compare to university or college students of various majors. This is especially useful if you are open to retraining or are about to start post-secondary schooling.
How your interests compare to the interests of people already successfully working in specific careers.
Recommendations on how to further explore the career interests identified by the measure.
Thankfully, there is a high-quality measure available online for a relatively small fee that provides the feedback noted above. This is the Jackson Vocational Interest Survey, or JVIS.
The JVIS is arguably the best vocational interest inventory ever developed. It was devised by one of the world’s foremost psychological test developers, Douglas Jackson. It was set up using the most advanced statistical methods for psychological tests. It also combines the strengths of many of the other measures available. You
can take the test on-line here: http://FriesenPerformance.com.jvis.com/take
Something to keep in mind with the JVIS, or any measure for that matter, is that no measure is 100 percent accurate. Also, our interests can also change over time. And of course, you need to carefully consider many factors, including your Basic Personality Tendencies, values, purpose, skills, talents, weaknesses, educational background, work experience, and unique circumstances before making any career decisions.
You may also want to discuss your career interests test results and your plans with a counseling psychologist or career counselor. These professionals can help you interpret what the results mean if needed and help you figure out where to get additional educational and career information. Such professionals are often found in high schools, colleges, universities, private practices, and employment centers.
A Guided Career-Discovery Exercise
Another way to get in touch with your interests is to complete my Career Interests Guided Discovery Exercise below. This is a compilation of what I believe are the most powerful questions you can ask yourself to get in touch with your career passions and interests. There are no scoring keys or right or wrong answers.
This should be considered more of a process exercise. In others words, simply taking the time to think deeply about these questions will give you ideas, insights, and new perspectives on yourself and what you should be doing with your career.
Find a time and place where you can do this without interruption for at least 15 to 30 minutes. Turn off your phone, computer, TV, and put a Do Not Disturb sign on your door if you have to. Take 10 slow and long breaths as described in the Strengths Guided Discovery Exercise above. This should result in a mental state of calm focus and help clear your mind before you begin.
Go to FriesenPerformance.com/Achieve-Bonus-Materials to download a printable Career Interests Guided Discovery Exercise.
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