Finding the right career is one of life's greatest challenges. Your ideal job should match your interests, align with your values, and play to your natural strengths — finding that is easier said than done.
One powerful way to discover career paths that suit you is looking at your personality type through the lens of the Big Five, a well-established framework that describes key personality domains: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.
Let's dive into each Big Five type and explore some careers that tend to be good matches as well as a few that may prove more challenging.
Careers for people high in Openness
If you score high in Openness, you're likely imaginative, intellectually curious, and drawn to novel ideas and experiences. You'd probably thrive in careers that involve creativity, exploration, and encountering the new and unfamiliar. Great career matches could include artist, researcher, entrepreneur, or travel writer. Your appetite for innovation means you may feel stifled in highly conventional jobs like accountant or factory worker.
However, be aware that your fascination with new ideas can sometimes impede your ability to stick with projects long-term. Certain high Openness jobs require incredible patience and persistence that may not come naturally. Overall though, as long as you find a career that engages your active mind and gives you fuel for your imagination, your Openness will be a major asset.
Careers for people high in Conscientiousness
High Conscientiousness means you're organized, dutiful, and self-disciplined - an employer's dream! Any job that requires careful planning and follow-through, like project manager, financial advisor, or quality assurance specialist could be an excellent fit. With your strong work ethic and attention to detail, you may struggle in careers that are unpredictable or lack clear deliverables.
Keep in mind that your perfectionistic tendencies can lead to overwork if left unchecked. Extremely detail-oriented Conscientiousness careers require you to perform at 110% constantly, which can prove exhausting over time. But in general, your Conscientiousness is a huge career advantage. As long as you pick a vocation with enough structure and clear expectations, you're primed to be a star performer.
Careers for people high in Extraversion
As an extravert, you're outgoing, assertive, and energized by social interaction. People-facing careers like sales rep, PR specialist, or event planner could be right up your alley. Your charisma and networking prowess can propel you far in these fields. On the flip side, your need for stimulation means desk-heavy jobs requiring long periods of solitary focus may leave you feeling drained and isolated.
Be careful not to let your enthusiasm for socializing overshadow your responsibilities. High Extraversion careers require exceptional social skills but also serious diligence behind the scenes. In the right context though, your Extraversion is a major professional asset. Any career where you can leverage your people skills is likely to leave you feeling motivated and fulfilled.
Careers for people high in Agreeableness
Highly agreeable people are empathetic, cooperative and oriented towards helping others. You may be drawn to "helper" careers in healthcare, nonprofits, counseling, or education. Your knack for collaboration and mediation also positions you well for roles like human resources manager or customer service specialist. Less agreeable careers focused on competition or getting ahead, like cutthroat sales or corporate litigation, may be an uneasy fit.
However, your desire to please others can be a handicap in certain contexts. Some High Agreeableness jobs require a degree of emotional distance to avoid burnout. You may also struggle with delivering critical feedback, which can impede your effectiveness as a manager. But by and large, your Agreeableness is a wonderful career strength. Any job where building positive relationships is central to success will allow you to shine.
Careers for people high in Neuroticism
If you're high in Neuroticism, you may be prone to anxiety, self-consciousness and stress in the face of challenges. But you also have gifts: you're more introspective and attuned to threats and pitfalls that others miss. Careers with a degree of stability and independence can play to your strengths while avoiding the pressures that spike your stress. Fast-paced, high-stakes careers may be overly taxing.
Your vigilance can be an asset in moderation, for example an editor's keen eye for errors or an auditor's ability to spot inconsistencies. But be mindful that certain high-alert jobs may be too anxiety-provoking to be sustainable. Overall, by pursuing careers that provide autonomy, play to your reflective nature, and aren't excessively intense, you can find roles where your Neuroticism is an advantage.
Bottom line
No personality type is inherently better or worse. Each pattern comes with unique strengths and challenges. By pursuing careers that leverage your specific Big Five profile, you can set yourself up for professional success and satisfaction. The key is to know yourself and find roles that allow your best qualities to flourish. Here's to discovering the career that lets your unique personality shine.
If you want to find out more about your personality type and how it can impact your career, take our Big Five personality test for free.