Employment is thought to be more enjoyable and beneficial to individuals and society when there is alignment between the person and the occupation.

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Understanding the key personality of different roles could be the key to matching a person and the ideal occupation.

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For instance, software programmer and scientists tend to be more open to experience, while sports players tend to be more conscientious and agreeable.

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The research done by University of Melbourne with University of New South Wales and University of Technology Sydney used advanced artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics approaches to create a data-driven “vocation compass” – a recommendation system that finds the career a good fit with one’s personality. In this research, they were able to “successfully recommend an occupation aligned to people’s personality traits with over 70% of accuracy”, by pointing to professions with very similar skill sets.

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The information that people broadcast online through social media provides insights into who they are, which we show can be used to match people and occupations. Hence, the findings of "Social media-predicted personality traits and values can help match people to their ideal jobs" point to the benefit of not only identifying the skills and experience in a particular industry, but also being aware of personality traits and values that characterise jobs -- and how they align with your own. Findings have implications for career guidance for new graduates, disengaged employees, career changers, and the unemployed.

 

"Find a job that fits your personality, and you'll never work a day in your life."