The DISC model was first published by psychologist William Moulton Marston in 1928 and since its cultivation, the DISC assessment has been among the best personality tests for workplace.
If you are searching for the best careers or looking out for a career change as a DISC I personality type, you may find great career ideas in this article.
Before we dive in, let’s see what the DISC personality test is and what the DISC styles are.
What is the DISC I personality type?
The DISC theory plots people into four dimensions of personality types, including Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. Influence describes the process of persuasion and building relationships with others. The other three dimensions describe accomplishing results (D), cooperation (S), and quality & accuracy (C).
The DISC I personality type people are outgoing and friendly. They easily build and manage relationships and enjoy being around other people. I types often find themselves at the center of attention.
DISC I personality types: an overview
| Strengths | Creativity, spontaneity, and ability to persuade and influence others |
| Weaknesses | Too optimistic, may lack details, avoid conflict and repetitive work |
| Mixed I-styles | Influence & Dominance (ID), Influence & Steadiness (IS) |
| Best career fits | Human resources, Content marketing, Leadership, Creative jobs, Sales, Management |
| Best workplaces | Dynamic & innovative environments, highly collaborative workplaces |
DISC I Personality Type Careers
Different personality types may have different career aptitudes. For example, D types are strong leaders, while S types are great team members.
It’s important, however, that no DISC style is better than any other, and no one is 100 percent I type. With this in mind, let’s see the best DISC I personality-type careers.
1. Graphic designer
It might be a little surprising that influence personality type people are a good fit for graphic design. However, I styles have personality traits that make them a great graphic designer. They work as part of a team, often at the cross-section of leadership and customer success.
They can make use of their great listening and emphatic skills to be a great team player and their positive and persuasive skills to make great things happen (well, at least graphically). Plus, they don’t like repetitive work very much, and graphic design tasks are quite creative.
2. Event planner & travel agent
Interacting with very different people is at the heart of event planning and travel organization. Event planners and travel agents meet with lots of individuals both online and in person to help them plan their events and trips.
I-type persons can leverage their positive, energetic, and outgoing personalities to establish great relationships with clients. They also can make use of their creativity and influential attitudes to make the best out of their careers.
3. Realtor
A significant portion of a realtor’s work is scheduling appointments, negotiating contracts, agreements, and legal documents, delivering presentations, and showcasing properties to clients.
All of the above tasks require that they establish and maintain good relationships with people while maintaining a positive attitude toward everyday situations. That’s why DISC I personality types are a good match for realtor jobs.
They can approach people with openness and genuine positivity while maintaining their relationship with them over the long haul with their energetic and sociable personality traits.
4. PR manager
PR managers bridge stakeholders, customers, and the public to maintain a positive image for their clients or organizations. As such, they work closely with media professionals and different departments of their organization including stakeholders.
Because their job depends primarily on how well they can preserve (and improve) the reputation of their organization or brand, they need exceptional social skills while adhering to high standards.
DISC I types are good candidates here, as they are great listeners, often possess great persuasive skills, and can build strong relationships. Their positive and energetic personality traits help them to bridge the gap between different players on the business landscape and thus improve their organization’s reputation.
5. Creative director
Creative directors are guess what… creative people who are responsible for overseeing the creative aspects of a project or campaign so that it meets objectives and expectations from the client side. As such, they bridge the gap between clients and in-house staff.
There are at least three things that make I style a great fit for creative directors…
First, having an Influence type DISC personality means they can approach people in the right direction and bring them together. Second, they love creative work. Third, they can react to unexpected events or emergencies dynamically with their positive and adaptive attitude.
6. Recruiter and human resources
People with I-style personality traits can become great recruiters as their main job is building relationships with potential employees to find their ideal job.
They regularly meet new people of different DISC styles to find out who is the best fit for the company or team. This is a job for outgoing, energetic, and positive people, just as DISC I-styles. They can be empathetic listeners and passionate about their jobs which makes a great impression on candidates.
DISC I style people are often skilled at settling conflicts and finding working solutions for burning problems. This is due to their creativity and people-oriented nature. These skills make them an ideal choice for human resources.
7. Customer service representative (customer service agent)
Influence-type personalities are great candidates for customer service jobs as they are passionate and sociable people and can become a reliable source for customers. They can effectively establish and fuel client relationships thus elevating a brand.
They can successfully bridge clients and developers and remove communication barriers. Communicating with clients may take up much of the time of a customer service agent, and that’s what I-types are enjoying the most.
More DISC I personality type careers
The above list of the DISC personality type careers is not complete by far. Many other jobs might be a good fit for I styles. They thrive in dynamic environments due to their adaptive and flexible traits, which makes them a good fit for software companies or any other innovative workplaces and industries.
Here are some more ideas:
- Public speaker
- Teacher
- YouTuber, social media influencer
- Copywriter
- Journalist
- Actor, performer
- Coach
These jobs all require great persuasive and social skills, involve working with people, and they are quite creative, not repetitive.
What is the best DISC I Personality Type Career, anyway?
Your DISC profile, in a large way, explains how you respond to certain situations. As I mentioned earlier, no one DISC type is any better than the other, and there is a spectrum on the scale with mixed DISC personality styles. Similarly, two individuals with the exactly same DISC personality profile certainly have very different skills and experiences.
Therefore, it wouldn’t be fair to say that there is a single best DISC I personality type career that fits all Influence styles.
If you are looking for careers, I suggest you take a couple of different personality assessments besides the DISC test to get a picture of yourself as an individual, your skills, and your personality traits.
I took 12 different personality tests, shared my results honestly, and summarized all tests including how many questions are included, how much time it takes to complete them, what are the key dimensions, and how solid science is behind the tests. I suggest you begin with that.
DISC I Personality Type Careers: FAQ
1. What strengths do DISC I personalities bring to the table?
DISC I type personalities can energize people and conversations with their positive, social, and passionate characteristics. They often possess great communication skills and become the center of attention. These skills make them great candidates for delivering presentations, negotiating deals, and closing sales. They can easily build and fuel relationships and bridge different industries, departments, or people. Also, their persuasive skills help them influence others to close deals or steer conversations and development.
2. What are the potential challenges for DISC I personalities in the workplace?
Influence-type people often seek out collaboration and stimulation instead of doing solo work, repetitive tasks, predictable routines, or getting organized and focused on details. While it’s usually a strength, there are certain situations (and workplaces) where sitting on one’s butt is advisable. If an I type finds themselves in leadership roles, they may avoid conflict at all costs so as not to damage their cultivated relationships. They may also handle criticism hard, overcommit to please their peers or be too optimistic in certain situations.
3. What should DISC I type persons look for in a work environment?
I types may look for a highly collaborative and positive environment where they can thrive. As they love being around people, building relationships, and working on creative projects, doing coding, analytics, or any other solo work or repetitive tasks might not be a good fit for them. They likely tolerate dynamic and changing environments as long as they can enjoy and leverage their interpersonal and creative skills. In addition, some flexibility in working hours and task completion, as well as an appreciation of their work might benefit them.
4. What are some examples of famous I-style personality types?
Probably the most well-known influence personalities are Bill Clinton, Tony Robbins, Oprah Winfrey, and Gary Vaynerchuk. They successfully made their way up in politics, media, coaching, sales, and entrepreneurship.
Cover image by Hunters Race on Unsplash
