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Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, no matter what their occupation or status. Strengths can help us identify careers in which we would excel, but weaknesses shouldn’t be overlooked. When considering a career, focus on your strengths but also consider your limitations. In addition to personality, values and interests, natural skills and abilities should be evaluated when deciding on the right career path. Some job-related strengths include:
Creativity
You know creativity is important in artistic careers, but it can be an asset in many fields. For example, teachers often need to be creative in order to get students interested in a particular subject. If you aren’t creative, look for careers that require close adherence to specific rules and procedures. Careers that deal with data, facts, and regulations are good options to consider.
Stress Tolerance/Resiliency
Resilient people have plenty of stamina and don’t often suffer from anxiety. They can handle large amounts of stress and may even thrive in high-stress situations. If you often have negative physical and/or psychological reactions to stress, try to avoid careers that will definitely put you in high-stress situations. If you handle stress well and aren’t easily upset, you might be bored by a job that lacks a sufficient amount of challenging situations.
People Skills
Some of today’s most in-demand jobs require good people skills. Collaborating with team members, leading others, and building relationships are all important for most jobs. A lack of communication and social skills can put one at a huge disadvantage when interviewing and networking. Also, many jobs that don’t require a lot of interaction with others have been off-shored or replaced by technology. However, there are still great jobs that allow you to work mostly by yourself. If you’re not a “people person”, avoid jobs for which interaction with others is a primary responsibility and instead look for jobs that require good technical or analytical skills.
Analytical Skills
Do you love to solve difficult problems? Are you good with numbers and data? If so, a job that requires good analytical skills might be the best fit. Some high demand jobs for analytical types include statistician, actuary, and financial analyst.
Don’t feel ashamed or pressured to change just because you identify some weaknesses, because there are some things we can’t change about ourselves. Look for careers that will accommodate your both your inherent abilities and limitations.