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Do What You Are: Discover The Perfect Career For You Through The Secrets Of
Personality Type
by Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger
Little Brown & Company Publishing
384 pages, $13.27
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review by David Beran, Copywriter, AppleOne Marketing
Chances are good your career isn't as fulfilling as it could be yet. According to a recent
poll, fewer than one out of every six people has landed that perfect position. But, never
fear. If you're one of the 83% of workers toiling away in a job that isn't as rewarding as
it should be, a new book, Do What You Are, provides powerful tools for those that want to
take steps to change that situation.
Do What You Are compares knowing your natural strengths to writing with your strong hand.
When you sign your name with your normal writing hand it feels natural and easy. Signing
with your other hand, however, feels awkward and slow. Discovering the best career path
for your special personality is no different. Once you find it, work will be easier,
more rewarding and enjoyable.
Not Your Typical Career Aptitude Test
If you've ever been subjected to one of those high school guidance councilor type tests
that tell you you're most suited to work as a park ranger, you may be a little suspicious
of what these types of tests have to offer you. Do What You Are, which is based on the
Myers Briggs Type Indicator, allows for more personalized and flexible results. It helps
you recognize that even within a general career category, there are countless choices
that can lead to a more or less fulfilling work experience.
For example, Do What You Are gives the example of a frustrated grade school teacher, who
finally figures out that she can’t cope with the rigidity and endless rules. Armed with
this knowledge, she is able to develop a highly successful and rewarding career teaching
at the college level.
Four Basic Combinations
According to the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, there are four basic personality divisions:
- Extraverts (focus on outside world-their gift is breadth)
Introverts (focus on inner world-their gift is depth)
- Sensors (focus on what can be seen-focus on details)
Intuitives (more interested in possibility and meaning-they go for the big picture)
- Thinkers (analytical, objective)
Feelers (decide based on how much they care and what they think is right-generally,
women are socialized to behave more like feelers)
- Judgers (orderly, like to have issues resolved)
Perceivers (spontaneous, flexible, like to have options open)
Temperment is broken down into four divisions:
- Traditionalists (prefer sensing and judging)
- Experiencers (prefer sensing and perceiving)
- Idealists (prefer intuition and feeling)
- Conceptualizers (prefer intuition and thinking)
An online version of the MBTI is located at
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.aspx. There are 16 combinations of the above
categories, and fitting the pieces together gives you a fairly clear portrait of your type.
The authors are quick to point out that there is a difference between which strengths you
share and which you use privately. The final portion of the book gives profiles of people
who discuss why their careers work for them, their pathways to success, possible pitfalls,
and how to customize their job search.
Originally published a decade ago, this updated version reflects the revolutionary changes in
the way people find jobs now using the Internet. Do What You Are does not offer generic,
one-size-fits-all advice, but allows readers to individualize the career discovery process.
Anyone stuck in the wrong career, trying to realize their dream job has felt as if they were
spinning their wheels at some point in the process. Do What You Are acknowledges that although
we may feel like our wheels are spinning there are proven methods to get traction that begin
with discovering personality type and matching it to an ideal career.