Does Self-Monitoring Affect Professional Choice?
Job and careers are the essential elements that decide the way people live, the satisfaction of the life, the type of persons we meet in daily basis. However, how would the self-monitoring relate to the job and professions choice is the topic that we are focusing on today.
Choosing A Job
We may assume that whether you are a high self-monitor or low self-monitor, your behavior is somehow affected by the self-monitoring, but what the exact role it plays in the choice of occupations?
Most low self-monitors are willing to use their real personalities or attitudes to support their career choices. People who consider themselves warm-hearted are more likely to choose the social service or helping professions. However, people who regard themselves aggressive or assertive would choose law, business or other professions that show their strong attributes.
High self-monitors are willing to play the role that is well defined. In the other words, high self-monitors would like to stay in a field that could show or improve their self-presentational and expressive skills through the works they have been involved in, such like lawyers, diplomat, public-relations.
A psychological research of people applying for a job showed that high self-monitoring candidates preferred the detail-oriented jobs so they could act as an extroverted member in their role. However, low self-monitoring candidates, unless they are natural extroverted, are more willing to approach the jobs which they could fulfill the requirements and be themselves in the role for the jobs (Snyder, 1987).
Personnel Selection
Self-monitoring not only affect the personal choice, like career choice and the job performance, but may also affect the decision the job seeker receives. From a study (Snyder, 1987) indicated that high self-monitors select the applicant who looked the part for the job. In other words, they more focus on the applicants who appeared the concern of the professions, like well-dressed appearance. However, low self-monitors put applicant who was the part of the job as the consideration. For example, they are willing to select the people with emphatic personality whether the applicant well-dressed or not.
In conclusion, self-monitoring may affect people’s choice of career or even the direction of the professional development, but when people decided their occupational situation, the working environment, and social style may also influence their self-monitoring style. The employee satisfaction is not only determined by one single factor. Understanding the corresponding relationship between self-minoring and professions could actually help our important future career plans.
Reference
Snyder, Mark, 1987, Public appearances, private realities : the psychology of self-monitoring, New York : W.H. Freeman
