The influence of personality type on career choices: a critical literature review
Abstract
The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between personality type and
choice of a career. This relationship is important in that it will act as a guide to career
choice and secondly, the relationship between each personality type and career choice
will be analyzed thus helping management to understand how employees need to be
treated to offer their best services to the organization.
A review of the literature from 1990 to 2009 was conducted. A total of 32 research
studies were analyzed. The review indicated that personality type does have an
influence on not only career choice, but also career development and career change.
The gaps that have been identified in the literature review are that;
I. Many of the studies were carried out for students as they made their university
choices and no subsequent follow up was done to evaluate whether they
retained those career paths after college completion
II. Many of the studies were carried out outside Africa and it would be prudent to
carry out more studies locally to identify the critical factors that influence
career choice. Further, to evaluate whether the factors already studied are
universal to all people
iii. There is need to explore other races to identify whether the personality types
identified through research for particular races apply universally
IV. There are few studies carried out in Africa but none was found from the
review for Kenya in particular. It is important to carry out related studies for
Kenya to enhance on local empirical literature
Citation
Masters of business administrationSponsorhip
University of NairobiPublisher
School of business,University of Nairobi