Career choice and personality: a secret to success?

Career choice and personality: a secret to success?

Universität Mannheim, 68131 Mannheim, Deutschland - A current study by University of Mannheim examines the connection between personality and career choice. Under the direction of Dr. Claudia Rossetti, Dr. Katja Dlouhy and Prof. Dr. Torsten Biemann was analyzed by long-term data from the socio-economic panel, with information from up to 11,000 people. The analysis extended over a period of 12 years, from 2005 to 2017.

The researchers found that people with similar personality traits often choose similar professions. It is particularly striking that the personality traits are more similar within professional groups than between different professional groups. An example of this is doctors and pharmacologists who often have comparable personality profiles. In addition, the study showed that the degree of similarity in terms of personality traits between colleagues increases the longer one person is in a certain profession.

Influence of personal characteristics on career choice

Another aspect of the study is that people who work with very different personalities are more likely to change a job change. This makes it clear that personality differences can affect not only the satisfaction in the job, but also professional stability. The agreement between personality and work is therefore crucial for professional satisfaction and the commitment to the workplace.

The importance of the personality traits is also illustrated by the concept of Big Five , which includes the central factors of the personality. This includes openness, conscientiousness, extra version, tolerance and neuroticism. These factors are not only theoretical constructs, but also have practical relevance in personnel management and career counseling. Conservation, for example, correlates strongly with professional success and responsible behavior.

• Openness for experiences (openness)
• conscientiousness (CONSCISTIOUSENGE)
• Extraversion (extra version)
• Compatibility (Agreebleness)
• neuroticism (neuroticism)

personnel analysis and future prospects

The big five model, also known as an Ocean model, is used not only in research, but also in practice to assess applicants for different positions. A corresponding Personality test called Jobpert concentrates over 100,000 times a year. The results of the test show significant correlations with the big five constructs, which underlines the validity and practical benefits of such tests.