If she hits it harder, it might start.
A friend recently sent me one of those personality test e-mails. You answer a lengthy list of questions and they tell you your personality type and even suggest a career path based on the results.
After ten minutes of answering questions about whether or not I like being the center of attention and how much I notice about my immediate surroundings, I learned that I am gentle, loyal and compassionate. I am patient, accepting and nonjudgmental. Apparently, I would also make a great botanist or mechanic.
While I do consider myself to be loyal and somewhat compassionate if you catch me on a good day, nonjudgmental is not a word that can be used to describe me – not even on my best day.
In the workplace, I have a somewhat different persona. At work, I like to think that I am accepting, and even nonjudgmental. As a public relations professional, that’s what I’m paid for. I couldn’t help but notice, however, that public relations was not one of the careers suggested for me.
I would hope that my friends would view me to be loyal and compassionate. But my true circle of friends also know the dark side that can’t help but raise an eyebrow or two, and whisper snide comments at the way some people are dressed when we go to the mall.
The description also said that I have little need to control others. That one just makes me laugh. My lifelong goal is to get others to do my bidding. No one seems to be going for it, but that doesn’t stop me from trying.
I’m not sure how questions regarding whether or not talking with people for an extended period of time makes me tired can point me towards a career as a gardener or a police officer (two additional choices on my list), but some people actually put stock in this stuff.
At the top of the web page, it indicates that this “scientific” evaluation comes from a college somewhere in the United States. And while my mother may believe that everything on the internet is true and there for the good of all mankind, I’m a skeptic.
Having said that, I still filled out the survey and even bothered to pass it on to others so that we could compare our answers. I guess deep down, finding the label that sums up your personality is too good to pass up.
But how can 25 or even 100 questions really allow some database to make assumptions about who we really are and how we should spend our lives? I might think I’m organized, but my little piles around the house drive my husband crazy. I might think I’m compassionate, but others would totally disagree. Who is right?
As I read through the other personality type descriptions, I couldn’t help but notice that they were all very positive. Not one was described as the pathological liar who cheats on their spouse. Not one was called lazy, and not one of the career options said “unemployable.” Yet, we all know those people are out there.
As with any prediction hoax, I found this to be terribly general – just like the palm reader on the boardwalk who promises that “you will be successful and find great love in your life.”
The list of possible careers that my personality dictates also couldn’t be more varied. According to the results, I would make an excellent beautician (who has the same style she had when she was 18). I’d be a great dancer (but one look at my wedding video would tell a very different story). I could have been a gardener (who never remembers to water anything), a mechanic (who has trouble finding the latch to open the car hood), or a nutritionist (who doesn’t eat vegetables).
Out of curiosity, I looked up the personality traits that it takes to work in public relations – an occupation in which I’ve been steadily employed for over 10 years. I should be empathetic, warm, helpful and supportive. Above all, I should be diplomatic. I might have made a better mechanic after all. •
A thirty-something wife and mother, Shelly Belcher lives in McMurray, has lots of opinions, and lots to learn about life, love and the pursuit of happiness. You can send Shelly your comments about her column to shelly.belcher@hotmail.com.
