If you want to find out if you have got what it takes to be a top earning expat, you can take a personality test online that firms use to select the best talent.
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The test is nothing new – it was developed in the Second World War to assess the best posts for women seeking work while men were serving in the armed forces.
The idea was a lot of time and bother could be saved by profiling a woman’s personality to match her with the job that best suited her talents.
Since then, the test has undergone tweaking and refinement so human resources psychologists can delve into a job candidate’s psyche to see if they are a fit for the post.
The test is called the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and comes under the heading of psychometrics.
Competitive people
The results group people into 16 distinct broad categories like judge, extrovert or thinker.
These categories are further refined into four personality types.
These personality types are artisan, guardian, idealists and rationalists.
An expat can have a personality mix identified by an acronym like, ENTJ, which stands for extroversion, intuition, thinking and judgment.
Someone with these traits is considered charismatic, competitive, and quick-minded – the qualities often seen in leaders. Celebrated ENTJs include Steve Jobs of Apple, Margaret Thatcher, Al Gore, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The theory is that certain personality traits are more suited to some jobs than others and that teams may need a mix of personality types to function effectively.
One recruitment firm has looked into comparing Myers-Brigg assessments with personal data like gender, qualifications and salary.
“What we found and were really not expecting was generally the more extroverted and judgmental the candidate, the more they earned,” said Jonathan Bollag, of the Career Assessment Site, which compiled the data.
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“By taking a Myers-Briggs test, candidates also explore their preferred work tasks and work environments as well as the most and least popular occupations for any personality type and can devise strategies for improving job satisfaction”
An ENTJ rationalist averages a salary of $85,000 a year – far in excess of any of the other personality types, but guardians came in at second, third and fourth equal, earning between $70,000 and $75,000 a year.
Artisans tended to have a lower average income than the rest.
Free Myers-Briggs tests are available online – and the Washington Post has an interesting infographic that links Myers-Briggs personality types to typical incomes.
But the big question is are you comfortable in finding out so much about yourself…or would you rather carry on regardless?
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