We’ve all heard the advice: “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” It’s a nice sentiment, but it’s only half right.
If you want to love your work, you need more than passion. You need to align your career with your personality style.
The Real Reason Your Job Drains You
You might be good at your job. You might like it and feel like you are making a difference. But if it doesn’t match how you’re wired, it will exhaust you.
Imagine…
- You’re a social, charismatic Parrot spending your days analyzing spreadsheets in silence. You feel boxed in.
- You’re an analytical and precise Owl, and spend your days networking at industry events, meeting groups of strangers, and engaging in small talk for hours. You feel anxious.
- You’re an empathetic and soft-spoken Dove in a fast-paced sales environment. You may succeed, but you come home emotionally depleted.
- You’re a daring and outspoken Eagle stuck in routine tasks with no decision-making power. You feel stifled.
When you work in alignment with your personality style, your job feeds you.
When you work out of your style, it drains you, day after day, week after week, year after year.
Turning Job/Style Mismatches into a Fulfilling Career
Many types of jobs are filled with people of the same styles because people of that style are drawn to those roles. Visit an engineering firm and you will likely find an abundance of Owls. Talk with a marketing team and brace for Parrot energy. Customer service reps who help people all day? Meet the Doves. Attorneys? Overwhelmingly Eagles and Owls.
But sometimes, people with unexpected styles can shine…if they find a niche that matches their personality.
Imagine Dania. She’s a nurse and she’s a fast-paced Eagle style. Most of her nursing peers are Doves and Owls, compassionate and detail-oriented. At first, Dania felt out of place. But then, she moved down the hall to the Emergency Room, and everything changed. Now, she makes split-second decisions and thrives in unpredictability. She didn’t change careers. She found the right role in the career she trained for.
Or Peter, a Parrot/Dove working in IT. Let’s just say that coding is not his thing. But the help desk was perfect! He gets to talk to people all day—and help them! He brings energy to each call and helps frustrated users with patience and humor. He turned a traditionally Owl-dominated field into a people-powered role that works for him.
It’s Not About Doing What You Love, It’s About Matching What You Love with Your Personality
You don’t have to change careers to align with your style. Sometimes, it’s about choosing the right department, client type, or specialty.
You’re not just looking for a job you love.
You’re looking for a job that lets your style shine.
Ask Yourself:
- What energizes and drains me at work?
- Am I using the core strengths of my personality style every day?
- Does my role reward who I naturally am or require me to suppress it?
About Merrick Rosenberg
Merrick Rosenberg is the creator of the Eagle, Parrot, Dove, and Owl personality framework and author of Personality Intelligence: Master the Art of Being You. As an award-winning speaker and founder of Take Flight Learning, Merrick has helped hundreds of thousands of people unlock the power of personality styles to transform their communication, leadership, and relationships. He’s on a mission to make self-awareness accessible, fun, and unforgettable.
