How to Find the Right Career – 3 Rules for Lasting Fulfilment at Work
- Brainz Magazine
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Jack Aaron is a business psychologist and the founder of the World Socionics Society and InPsyght Consulting UK. A thought leader in personality psychology, he helps individuals and organisations unlock potential through evidence-based insights and practical solutions.
Choosing a career has never been more confusing. With thousands of roles, the rapid rise of AI, and the vague cultural advice to simply "follow your passion," many people end up confused, directionless, or trapped in work they find quietly dissatisfying.
My name is Jack Aaron. I’m a business psychologist specializing in personality assessment, career fit, and organizational behavior. I work with individuals and leadership teams to help people find roles where they can perform at their best and feel genuinely fulfilled.
Here are three rules that will help you identify not just a job, but the right kind of work for you. Follow them, and you will dramatically reduce the risk of burnout, career drift, and long-term dissatisfaction.
1. Separate the industry from the role
People often reject or pursue whole industries based on a single stereotyped role. How many people have dismissed the military because they don’t see themselves as soldier? How many avoid creative industries because they don’t see themselves as “creative”?
We naturally rely on stereotypes to simplify complex decisions, but those shortcuts also blind us to many of the best opportunities available.
Every industry contains a wide range of roles.
You might feel drawn to the military but not to combat. That still leaves intelligence analysis, medicine, psychology, engineering, logistics, or chaplaincy, none of which involve frontline fighting.
You might be drawn to film or publishing without wanting to be a writer or performer, leaving production, management, operations, or talent coordination.
The role is not the sector. The role defines what you do. The sector defines what you contribute to. The sector should be chosen based on values and interests. The role should be chosen based on psychological fit.
So start with this. Ask yourself:
What kind of impact do I want my work to have?
What kinds of problems do I want to help solve?
Most industries cluster around certain value themes:
Unity: connection, shared meaning, idea-sharing (e.g., academia, arts, culture)
Impact: service to a mission, social or political change (e.g., NGOs, politics, defense)
Autonomy: independent achievement, critical thinking (e.g., business, finance, technology)
Growth: development of people and potential (e.g., education, psychology, coaching)
Your values tell you where you belong. Your interests refine that further. Once you know the environment you want to work in, you can decide what you should be doing there. That brings us to Rule 2.
2. Match the role to your natural strengths
Every role places repeated, unavoidable psychological demands on the person performing it. Some roles demand:
Constant idea generation
Rapid decision-making under pressure
Long-range synthesis and pattern recognition
Continuous emotional engagement and social regulation
If those demands do not match how your mind naturally works, the job will always feel effortful, draining, or quietly stressful, no matter how prestigious or well-paid it is. Think of each role as built around a primary function, with one or two supporting functions. That primary function is what the role continuously asks of you.
If it matches your strengths, the work feels natural and sustainable. If it doesn’t, you compensate with stress, over-control, or avoidance, and eventually burn out.
Most roles fall primarily into one of these categories:
Enterprising: creating, innovating, optimizing ideas
Inspirational: influencing culture, expression, and meaning
Analytical: strategy, modeling, trend-spotting, synthesis
Spiritual: depth, ethics, transformation, purpose
Operational: action, tactics, real-world execution
Persuasive: communication, influence, networking
Methodical: systems, logistics, precision, reliability
Nurturing: relationships, care, atmosphere, continuity
Which of these feels natural to you? Which feels draining or anxiety-provoking? Choose roles that place sustained demands on your strengths, not on your weak points.
3. Design for fulfillment, not just competence
This is where initial success can mature into stagnation. You can have:
The right industry
The right role
Excellent performance
And still feel empty. Why? Because being good at something is not the same as finding it meaningful. Fulfillment comes from being able to express what you care about, not just what you’re good at. Ask, "Does this role allow me to express my values, not just deploy my skills?"
Common sources of fulfillment include:
Ideation: introducing new ideas that stimulate others
Learning: growing through experience and skill acquisition
Achievement: succeeding independently through competence
Influence: shaping key decisions, culture, or how you are perceived
Equilibrium: maintaining harmony, clarity, and coherence
Authenticity: becoming more oneself through acceptance and honest reflection
Discernment: avoiding bad ideas to focus only on what truly matters
Ideology: revealing an absolute truth or higher purpose to life
A fulfilling career stretches you in the direction you want to grow, not in directions that merely pressure you.
Putting it all together
A strong career fit requires three alignments:
Industry aligns with your values: what you care about.
Role aligns with your strengths: how you naturally operate.
Role allows fulfillment: how you grow and find meaning.
For example, you might choose an industry that values independence and autonomy, such as a trading company. Within that environment, you could then identify a role that both capitalizes on your strengths, say, strategic analysis and structural modeling, and stretches you in a fulfilling direction, such as sharpening your discernment of ideas, risks, and people. A role like a senior risk analyst in a trading firm would be an excellent fit for certain individuals for precisely this reason. It aligns values, strengths, and growth into a coherent whole.
In summary:
Don’t choose a role because it looks impressive. Choose it because it fits how you function.
Don’t choose an industry because it pays well. Choose it because it aligns with what you care about.
Don’t confuse competence with fulfillment.
Your career is not just how you make money, it is how you will spend a large portion of your waking life for decades. Design it deliberately.
If you’d like help clarifying your own strengths, values, and ideal role structure, you can explore this further through my work at the World Socionics Society. Finding the right career doesn’t have to be a guessing game. With the right lens, it becomes a design problem, and a solvable one.
Jack Aaron, Personality Type Expert and Coach
Jack Aaron is a business psychologist, coach, and founder of the World Socionics Society (WSS), one of the leading international platforms for Socionics and personality-type research. Through the WSS YouTube channel, he has interviewed hundreds of people and built a global audience, establishing himself as a thought leader in personality psychology. He is also the founder of InPsyght Consulting UK, where he helps organisations strengthen leadership, enhance teamwork, and build healthier cultures. His work has impacted lives directly, from helping teams collaborate more effectively to saving marriages and even helping people find their life partners, including his own.
