Remember when we told you that employers take your personality and potential—not just technical skills—into account when making hiring decisions?
In today’s blog post, we’re diving deep into several personality types that hiring managers try to avoid hiring, as described by Dr. Andrea V. Gray at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting in 2015.
If any of these personality types resonate with you, check out our tips for making the best of that side of yourself—so that you can demonstrate to employers that you’ll be productive and positive at their company.
#1 The Downer: If you tend to find the downside of any situation or view yourself constantly as a victim, then you probably have a bit of Downer personality in you. This personality type makes both customers and coworker want to avoid working with you and gives your company a bad reputation, especially if your job requires you to interact with others.
Let’s Fix This: In job interviews, say that you have a personality type that allows you to think ahead and identify trouble spots in new initiatives. When you’re on the job, ask to be put on projects that allow you to be critical of processes and create recommendations for improvement.
#2 The Dangerous Duo: If you tend to form an exclusive alliance with another person at work, in which teamwork and loyalty exist between only the two of you, that can lead to other employees feeling isolated and even bullied.
Let’s Fix This: It’s human nature to form close connections to the people you see every day at work. If you tend to do this, indicate to hiring managers that you would enjoy mentoring other employees. Taking on a mentor role will fulfill your need to be close with coworkers, while forcing you to establish clear mentor/mentee boundaries that will keep your relationship from becoming potentially unhealthy for the company.
#3 The Primadonna: If you tend to think that you’re smarter and worthier than your coworkers or other job candidates, that you’re above discipline, and that you can follow your own rules, you might be a Primadonna.
Let’s Fix This: If you’re interviewing for jobs, mention that you can work very well on projects by yourself. Ask to be assigned projects that allow you to have some authority while still being supervised.
#4 The Draminator: If you tend to go into crisis mode everytime something unexpected or uncomfortable happens, or if you escalate small problems into unnecessarily large issues, then you’re going to stress out everyone in your company and make your boss wonder why she hired you.
Let’s Fix This: If you’re searching for a job, play up your skill for galvanizing groups of people, and how you can use that productively, like getting buy-in from coworkers on a big, perhaps unpopular office change. When you’re on the job, ask to be put on projects that require you to speak with many people and get them on board with something.
#5 The Excuse Artist: If you tend to point fingers when something at work goes wrong, or always have an excuse ready to go when you’re in trouble, that could create toxicity in your work environment and make your coworkers resent you.
Let’s Fix This: Creativity is your strength—you’re an artist, after all! When you’re interviewing for jobs, mention your passion for finding creative solutions to problems. Ask to be assigned projects that requires you to be innovative, to point to why the current process or solution is failing and how to fix it.
#6 The Know It All: If you tend to think that you’re always right, even when you’re wrong, that could prevent your coworkers from wanting to work with you or customers from wanting you to help them.
Let’s Fix This: During job interviews, mention that you thrive on learning new things so that you’re an expert in your field. Research some continuing education programs that you can pitch to a potential boss, that would help you learn more and benefit the company as a whole.
#7 The Plodder: If you tend to procrastinate on tasks or if you find that your workload always expands to fit the time you were given to complete it, you hurt your company’s bottom line, and you don’t exactly motivate your coworkers to be productive, either.
Let’s Fix This: Procrastination can often mean that you are a careful, deliberate worker. Mention this to prospective hiring managers and ask to be put on detail-oriented tasks, like updating the company manuals or working on the company website.
