#2: How your Job Influences your Personality
#2: How your Job Influences your Personality
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How your Job Influences your Personality
When considering accepting a new job offer or changing roles we typically weigh up the pros and cons based on salary, location, title, scope, progression and a myriad of other tangible factors. However, we rarely consider how the experience will shape us as people, as every new experience does. Maya Angelou said it best:
You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.
You role, and the environment you work in, can influence your personality in number of ways:
Your role may weaken or reinforce certain traits: This excellent article by The School of Life examines how the nature of the work you do can more deeply ingrain certain traits, in a way acting like muscle memory for the brain. For example if you have a job which is default optimistic (e.g. personal coach, marketing), where you’re typically looking at the upside of events, you may find that becomes your default way of being. Similarly if your role requires a more pessimistic slant e.g. a lawyer who needs to consider what could go wrong and protect against possible downsides, the more pessimistic view may become the lens you view life events through.
You may adopt the habits of those around you: There is an old saying that you the become the average of the five people you spend most time with, and while the number 5 part isn’t scientifically proven, we as humans have a tendency to adopt the habits of those around us. Our health habits and our purchasing decisions are shaped by our social groups, which means our work habits likely are too. If you find yourself joining a particularly hard-working, upbeat or conscientious team you may find yourself altering in ways that bring you closer to the mean.
Our course it’s always important to remember that your job is not your identity! How much a role will influence your personality, either positively or negatively, is something that you can to a certain degree choose. Being aware is the first step.
Launch Update
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We’re creating our first courses in Product Operations, Product Marketing and Communications. Stay tuned!
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Interesting Reads
18 trends that will shape our career paths in 2022: This article takes a look at everything from digital native jobs to pathless paths.
How to identify and heal from toxic workplaces: An unfortunately common problem. This post provides some actionable tips to help change the situation.
Guide to the most common interview questions and answers: Thinking of changing roles? Check out this guide to ensure you’re interview ready!
See you in 2 weeks! In the meantime if you want to hang out with the Cohortly team, you can find us on Twitter.
