ISTP Jobs and Careers - 5 Tips to Find Your Fit
ISTPs favor the two mental functions of Sensing and Thinking.
- As an ST (Sensing-Thinking), you want to get it right!
At minimum, therefore, you want a job where you are regularly challenged to get it right.
Not only is it hard to find a job, but it can also be hard to know what job or career to look for and how to get started on your search. Personality type provides a way to understand how to approach job hunting, even for the reserved, aloof, and interpersonally cautious ISTP.
Two Favorite Mental Functions
As one of the 16 Myers-Briggs® personality types, you use your favored S-T mental functions in a unique way.
These favorite mental functions are therefore a must for job choice, because of how our personality type is motivated and energized.
Most attractive occupations:
- Engineer
- Lawyer
- Law enforcement
- Pathologist
- Agriculture
- Military
- Farmer
- Engineering or science technician
- Transportation worker
- Dental assistant
- Laborer
- Mechanic
1. Job Types
Jobs that fit best the ISTP personality type are those that require
- INCLINATION: a tough-minded, quick analysis approach
- INCLINATION: careful handling and organization of large amounts of data
- SKILL: mastery in use of hands-on instruments and solutions
Job areas:
- Skilled trades
- Technically oriented professions
2. Job Environment
A good job match will include these elements.
- Solving problems in efficient and direct ways based on own experience.
- Feedback on performance is provided.
- There is efficiency.
- Emotionally related matters can be ignored or avoided.
3. Information to Gather
- What people actually doing the job like and dislike most.
- What the long-term outlook is for the job.
4. Making Contacts
- Ask close friends about any job opportunities they may know about, and then gradually widen the network.
- Practice interviews: Role-play speaking up and "selling" your strong points, and also prepare for hypothetical interview questions.
- When interviewed by an iNtuition type, don't overwhelm him or her with too many details.
5. Making Decisions
- Consider also what is truly important to you or others, and not just what makes sense by logical criteria.
- Set a deadline for deciding, posting it or announcing it to friends.
This hub combines some information from the two following books, as well as from a seminar I attended.
- Introduction to Type and Careers, by Allen L. Hammer:
Discusses personality type and career matching, career trends, tips on goal setting and decision making, and potential obstacles in the career development process for all 16 types. - Introduction to Type and Emotional Intelligence, by Roger R. Pearman:
Discusses the connections between personality and Emotional intelligence (EQ), which is a term used to describe our ability to control impulses, show empathy, and persist in the face of obstacles with resilience and flexibility. Provides specific actions for the development of emotional intelligence in each of the 16 types.
The 15 other Myers-Briggs personality types
© 2010 Deidre Shelden
