The other day I was going through my feed reader and was intrigued by this post at DoTs & HoTs. This then led me to a post over at Tree of Life about blog personalities. Now, I'm a curious sort. I just had to plug the blog into Typealyzer to see what it came up with! After I did that, I needed to find a free online personality test for myself since I don't remember my high school results.
The Blog
So Typealyzer analyzes words used on the blog to develop a sense of the blog's personality. Ideally this would be the personality of the blog author, but in some cases is more reflective of the author's blog persona. From what I could gather, it only analyzed the first page of text. Generally this is a pretty good snapshot of what a blog offers; however, if you've recently posted a lot of things outside your normal posts, you might want to hold off until the front page returns to normal (or analyze a couple times to see if the types of posts change the results or not).
Our blog came up as ESTP – The Doers
(from the description at Typealyzer):
The active and playful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities.
The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time.
I'd definitely agree that the blog is playful and full of humor. I'd also agree that I am often good at starting projects, but not necessarily “finishing” them. As for physical activity and not sitting still – Um, Hello? I play WoW.
The Author Behind The Blog
So what about the real Syrana. Well, I went to Personality Test Center to take a free personality test. I really wish I could remember how I scored 10ish years ago to see if my personality has shifted in my old (haha) age. But, we'll stick with what we got.
I came up as ENFJ.
(from the description at Personality Test Center):
ENFJ: “Pedagogue”. Outstanding leader of groups. Can be aggressive at helping others to be the best that they can be. 5% of the total population.
The ENFJs optimistic outlook toward social relationships is a burden to them at times. When external conflicts affect a group, the ENFJ is likely to assume responsibility. Their ability to empathize then turns into a liability. ENFJs, when over-identifying with the pain of others, will loose sight of their own concerns and interests. Their idealism can also be the cause of some distress when their assumptions are unable to weather the winds of reality. Fantasized relationships rarely translate into reality and even the best charismatic leader encounters unexpected resistance.
The ENFJ, however, will repress the unpleasant side of life only to have to face it later in an intensified form when it explodes from its hiding place. It can manifest itself as fits of anger, sudden outbursts, or emotional explosions. Often the ENFJ's body will reflect pent-up stress by manifesting various physical symptoms that will erupt unexpectedly.
(from the description at Wikipedia):
Extraverted feeling types seek continuity through harmonious relationships and collective values. They excel at picking up on the tone of a situation and acting accordingly, adding warmth to a cool setting or turning sour into sweet. They naturally seek to know what people do well, what they enjoy, and where and how they work. They seem to have an infinite number of acquaintances from all walks of life and are always on the lookout for people in need and those who can help out.
ENFJs focus on others, feeling a glow when those around them are happy, and troubled when something is amiss. They are natural cheerleaders, often expressing support, gratitude, and encouragement, and heaping praise onto those they appreciate. They take note of what is being done and what needs doing, offering their assistance wherever necessary.
ENFJs enjoy organizing group activities and tend to take their commitments seriously. In general, they are reliable and do not like to disappoint others. As team players and project leaders, they have a gift for rallying their players, focusing on what is being done right and each member's strengths. They are loyal and they expect loyalty. They carry conversations well, finding common ground with their speaker. They tend to find the correct and gracious way to respond in any given situation, no matter how tense or uncomfortable it is.
Now, I shouldn't be shocked or amazed that this is an accurate reflection of me (particularly the career me). It's also interesting to see how some areas overlap with how I write and run the blog and other areas almost seem at odds with each other.
For the real me, this is totally yeah. I work with people that have gone through traumatic experiences, and sometimes focus too much on those around me and lose sight of taking care of my own mental health. I hate to disappointment people and take commitments seriously. I carry my stress in my back and shoulders. I am definitely a helper. Anything I can do to help someone out, I try to do it. Although, sometimes I overextend myself. I have gotten better at saying no if my plate is too full, though.
As for organizing group activities… I seem to excel at that better virtually with guild events and such.
Relation to Careers/Hobbies
The list of careers for this personality type couldn't be more accurate for me either. I suppose this explains how I ended up doing what I'm doing today, rather than what I planned for years prior to graduating from college. Here are a few snippets from the list that closely relate to what I've done career-wise over the past 4 years:
Facilitator
Social Worker
Alcohol/Drug Counselor
My job is a mix of the first two, while working within the alcohol and drug field. And, I've been thinking about returning to school to become a certified counselor.
The other piece I found interesting about the list of ENFJ careers were the ones that reflected blog and guild activities (especially when I was an officer):
Entertainer
Recruiter
Writer/Journalist
Recreation Director
Well, I organized social guild events and was an active recruiter for awhile. I certainly write here and aim to entertain.
Huh.
Who'da thunk it?
It said I’m an arrogant thinker! I’m not arrogant and uncaring, I’m just too brilliant to be slowed down by the inferior minds of my inferiors.
@Kleps – Haha! Well, you do have some very bold and thought provoking posts. I wouldn’t use arrogant to describe it though, but interesting that Typealyzer did!
Very interesting find. This is what it has to say about my blog:
ESFP – The Performers:
The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation – qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.
Which is the exact opposite of me in real life. In real life I’m INTJ. I’m wondering if it’s just the few post on my main page right now, and if I did it next week if the results would be different.
Hooray another thing to obsess about! 🙂
@Thistlefizz – I’d be interested to see if the results change in a week! Glad you checked it out. I definitely thought it was interesting to look at how much of the “real me” comes through (or doesn’t) on the blog. Fun stuff!