Perfect Personality Profiles (9 page)

However, because of their structured approach to working there are some types of work for which they are less suited. In some jobs a structured approach is less helpful because circumstances are constantly changing and plans become out of date before they are implemented. There are situations where it is necessary to extemporize, to cut corners or to do something quickly, even if it is not perfect. They may find multi-tasking difficult because they have to move from one thing to another without being able to finish anything properly or tie up loose ends.

A highly conscientious person can become caught up in minor details and lose sight of the main priorities. While it is the role of managers to make sure that other staff are following procedures, they often have to decide when procedures should be abandoned or ignored to meet new priorities. For example, a manager might decide not to check a new delivery according to procedures in order to get the raw materials on to the production line to keep it running or to meet an urgent order. Someone high on conscientiousness might find this kind of decision difficult. People working in sales often need to capitalize on opportunities as they arise, and this may mean abandoning a lead that does not look very promising. This kind of behaviour can make a conscientious person feel uncomfortable.

Highly conscientious people will tend to take a methodical and structured approach to job seeking. They will be careful to meet deadlines for completing application forms and sending in information, and they are likely to turn up to an interview smartly dressed and on time, carrying all the information they need in a neat folder. They will try hard to provide interviewers with the answers to their questions, but they could find that their tendency to focus too much on minor details makes their responses less effective. They may find assessment procedures quite stressful when they do not know what to expect and are unable to prepare themselves appropriately.

Low conscientiousness

People who are low on conscientiousness see deadlines, procedures and work demands as flexible. They prefer not to be constrained by set plans and rules and to be able to respond to the requirements of the moment. They tend to dislike work that requires a meticulous or careful approach. They prefer looking at things in more general, global or ‘big picture’ terms to getting tied up in detail. They may be more concerned with getting things done and prefer not to spend time checking quality and accuracy. They may become impatient if they are slowed down by someone who wants to do things with greater care and attention. They don’t mind taking some risks and are likely to be willing to go with new opportunities that arise even if this means changing plans. They tend to be unstructured in their approach. They can be untidy and messy in their work habits, miss deadlines and fail to finish things properly, leaving loose ends for others to tie up. They may be easily distracted on to other tasks and leave some things undone unless reminded.

Low conscientiousness people are better suited to work in unstructured environments where the focus is on meeting constantly shifting priorities, where it is important to work with the needs of the moment rather than to plan ahead to meet fixed deadlines. They can be suitable for roles where a flexible approach is helpful, such as sales. They can be better at working in multi-tasking or swift-moving environments than people who are high on conscientiousness, but they are not well suited to doing careful, meticulous work, and they may find it difficult to meet deadlines without external prompting and support.

As job seekers, low conscientiousness people will tend to take quite a haphazard approach and often miss opportunities through being late for deadlines or failing to prepare thoroughly. They may arrive late for interviews and forget to bring important documents with them. On the other hand, their natural tendency to extemporize may stand them in good stead when they are dealing with questions they had not expected or exercises they had not prepared for. They are likely to be able to take a broad perspective rather than being distracted by minor details when they are answering an interviewer’s questions.

Moderate conscientiousness

People who are intermediate on conscientiousness may be moderately careful and meticulous in their work and place a reasonable degree of importance on meeting standards and deadlines. However, they will not be too rigid in their approach and will balance the need for structure with an understanding of the need to shift priorities to more important tasks and to sometimes leave tasks unfinished. They will be moderately tidy and careful, but they may make errors from time to time or sometimes leave things in a bit of a mess, although they might have a burst of tidying up from time to time.

People with this behavioural style will be well suited to jobs that require a moderate degree of structure and attention to detail. They will also be suitable for jobs that have elements of structured, careful, detailed work as well as elements that require more global thinking or flexible working.

Others who are moderately conscientious may be high on some of the traits associated with conscientiousness and low on others. For example, a person might be very structured and tidy in their work but pay little attention to deadlines and be very willing to restructure what they were doing to meet new priorities. Alternatively, a person might be very risk averse and safety conscious but pay little attention to detail and quality in their work. Depending on which elements of conscientiousness were high and low such people could be suited to roles that required strong conscientiousness in some aspects and low conscientiousness in others.

Assess yourself on conscientiousness

Circle your answers to the questions below. Are they mostly in the High or Low column? If it is a mixture of both you are likely to be moderately conscientious.

High extroversion

Extroversion is one of the best-known personality traits – indeed, the word has entered the general vocabulary. Extroverts are lively and gregarious, and they like to spend time with other people, partying and having fun. However, as well as these better known characteristics, there are some others that are related to extroversion. Extroverts seek excitement and like to be stimulated in all manner of ways. They are often eager for novel experiences, and are the first to want to try out something new. They tend to be quite optimistic in their outlook, which makes them willing to take on new and difficult tasks. They prefer to be in noisy surroundings with lots going on. They like to be the centre of attention and tend to enjoy having an audience to listen to them. They are confident and are rarely reticent about putting themselves forward or singing their own praises. Extroverts may prefer to discuss things with others to thinking things through in their heads. They often want to share their thoughts and feelings with others, and this can lead them unintentionally to say things that are indiscreet or inappropriate on occasion. They make their presence felt in a group and can be quite forceful and assertive. They typically dislike spending time alone, and they may not be good listeners, preferring the sound of their own voice. Their optimism and excitement seeking may mean that they underestimate the risks or difficulties involved in a course of action and take on more than they can deliver.

Extroverts are well suited to roles that require a lot of contact with others, especially jobs where it is important to build rapport with someone quickly, such as many customer service and sales roles. Extroversion is helpful when others need to be motivated or engaged, and this might include positions as team leaders, teachers or trainers and tour guides. It is a positive factor if a role requires much public speaking or influencing and persuading others, and it can also be useful where there are many challenges and it will be necessary to take risks. Extroverts are less well suited to roles where much of the time is spent concentrating and working alone. They are easily distracted, and their need for contact with others may lead them to spend time chatting rather than working. Strong extroverts may sometimes find it hard to be constantly diplomatic and discreet. Equally, they may underestimate the need for caution in some situations.

Extroverts are likely to do well in interviews. They are comfortable meeting new people and are likely to easily strike up a rapport with an interviewer and make a strong impression. They are not shy about talking about themselves and do not tend to suffer from any false modesty about their abilities and achievements. They may sometimes find that their mouth runs away with them and that they give away more than they intended in response to an interviewer’s questions. Role plays, presentations and group exercises are also likely to suit the extrovert personality. However, exercises requiring quiet concentration may be more of a challenge, and extroverts may struggle to concentrate on tests and questionnaires or find it hard to focus on completing an application form accurately.

Low extroversion

People who are low on extroversion are described as introverts. These are people who like to balance time spent with others with time on their own. They like to think things through in their heads before sharing their ideas with others. They may find meeting new people difficult or awkward and they prefer to avoid noisy gatherings with many people because they are uncomfortable in such situations and prefer to interact with a few people they know well in less hectic surroundings. They are often quite reserved and would rather be ignored than made the centre of attention. They are more comfortable deferring to others than behaving in an assertive manner, and they may not enjoy influencing or leading others. They tend to be modest and may be reticent about their own skills and achievements or even underrate their capability. They usually keep their feelings to themselves, and others may find them difficult to read. This can make them slow to develop rapport with others and to develop new friendships.

Introverts are particularly suited to roles where there is minimal interaction with others, such as working with machines, tending land or animals, and working with information or computers. In jobs such as driving or operating machinery people spend a great deal of time entirely on their own or with very little opportunity to interact with others, and introverts are much more tolerant than extroverts of this type of work. Introversion may also be a positive trait for jobs that require being with others in a listening rather than a more active role, such as being a counsellor or running focus groups. Introverts can also be good team workers, but they are most comfortable in a low-key role.

Introverts can find the whole process of job seeking quite difficult. Their ability to concentrate alone will help them in completing application forms and collecting information in preparation for a selection day, but they may find the social side of selection more difficult. They may be uncomfortable talking about themselves at interview, and their natural modesty will make it difficult for them to sell themselves effectively. Their natural tendency will be to give short, direct answers to questions, and interviewers may struggle to get them to talk more openly about themselves and their approach to work. Group exercises, requiring interactions with many people, may be particularly difficult, and introverts may find a selection day a tiring experience. However, introverts can learn to present themselves effectively at interview and may show their strengths in written exercises, tests and questionnaires.

Moderate extroversion

The majority of people are neither strong extroverts nor strong introverts. The typical person is mildly to moderately extrovert, and this sort of person may be similar to the extrovert described above, but in a more moderate manner. They like having fun with others and enjoy parties and excitement, but in moderation. They like to balance this type of experience with quieter, more restrained activities. They don’t mind being the centre of attention from time to time, but they like to be able to shade into the background sometimes. They are reasonably comfortable meeting new people and establishing rapport but are more comfortable with people they already know. They can cope with spending time alone but like to connect with others when they can.

People who are moderately extrovert are suited to roles that have some elements that require extrovert behaviour and some that do not. For example, someone working in IT maintenance may spend time working directly on computers without human interaction, but another part of the role may involve training users on how to use the system and providing support, which will require contact with people.

Less commonly, some people who are overall moderately extrovert may have some features of a very extrovert behavioural style but not others. For example, someone might be strongly gregarious and prefer lively surroundings but not be very assertive and dislike trying to influence or persuade others. People with these mixed types of behavioural style will be best suited to work that matches their own characteristics.

Assess yourself on extroversion

Circle your answers to the questions below. Are they mostly in the High or Low column? If it is a mixture of both you are likely to be moderately extrovert.