The Job Demands Questionnaire (JDQ) identifies the types of behaviours required for success in different careers. This page provides an overview of the methods used in compiling the JDQ Career Research, and draws some tentative overall conclusions.
Summary
Click on a career below to see what people are saying about that career, and to view our radar diagrams that show the personality type demands in that career.
Method
Data was collected over a period of 2 years using the Job Demand Questionnaire at the Team Technology website. This is an online questionnaire that uses a pairs comparison technique (i.e.: it is not a psychometric) to asks respondents to identify which team roles are more likely to lead to success in their job. Data was stored only if a complete set of answers was given to the questions.
When there were approximately 15,000 records, the data was cleaned (eg: removing duplicates or very similar returns by the same person) and average scores calculated for each team role, for each career.
Summary results
The overall data showed a skew towards three roles, all at the top/left:
- Conducting (extraverted Thinking, dominant in ESTJ and ENTJ – i.e.: organising, setting goals, measures, producing plans, and following procedures etc.)
- Activating (extraverted Sensing, dominant in ESTP and ESFP – i.e.: getting things done, dealing with ad hoc matters as they arise, implementing or achieving individual goals)
- Analysing (introverted Thinking, dominant in ISTP and INTP – i.e.: problem solving, through understanding the principles of how things work)
The actual average scores were:
- Conducting (Te): 15.6
- Activating (Se): 15.4
- Analysing (Ti): 15.0
- Clarifying (Si): 13.7
- Innovating (Ni): 12.5
- Harmonising (Fe): 10.4
- Campaigning (Fi): 10.0
- Exploring (Ne): 8.7
Given the nature of the questionnaire, and the primary population completing the questionnaire (British, North American and Australasian), these results probably reflect the nature of work and reward in western culture, though there will also be other factors, such as a skew in the population or the questionnaire design. That is, the perception of success in most careers is based on being organised to achieve goals, meet targets, and resolve any problems that occur in the process.
Adapting the results for career choice
To assess the best career match between job and personality type, the results have to be adjusted to account for the overall skew due to cultural and other factors. The raw scores were therefore converted to Z-scores using the mean and standard deviation for each team role. These Z-scores were then converted back into a JDQ score, and it is this score that is used to produce the radar diagram on each career page. That is, the radar shows the typical typological demands of each career, after taking account of the overall culture.
JDQ Radars
(Return to /jdq/careers/ )