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Small Business Ownership<br />
INTJs are probably one of the types most likely to own a small business. In a sample of 443<br />
people, it was found that 5.19% (23 total) were male INTJs and 4.88% (4 total) were female<br />
INTJs. 186 For both males and females, this placed them among the top four types most likely to<br />
own a small business, which is consistent with the fact that they are one of the four TJ leadership<br />
types. However, we have to be a bit cautious about these results, because a.) they were not<br />
statistically significant, unlike the results for the other TJ types, and b.) they were collected in 1997<br />
before everyone could be an internet entrepreneur. Actually, considering that INTJs are one of the<br />
most computer savvy types, it wouldn't surprise me to find that INTJ entrepreneurship has increased<br />
since then.<br />
Interviewing Issues<br />
Thorne and Gough (1991) did a study where non-type-savvy observers interviewed people of<br />
various types. The interviewers picked characteristics that described the person's comportment<br />
during the interview from a list. (Note that I did not include characteristics which are clearly not<br />
indicative of typical INTJ behavior, i.e. interviewers described male intuitives as having animated<br />
facial expressions.)<br />
• Male introverts seemed anxious, unsure of themselves and were perceived by interviewers<br />
as doubting their own abilities.<br />
• Female introverts were seen as calm but reticent.<br />
• Male intuitives were described as having poor posture and an unimpressive bearing, but<br />
possessing a large vocabulary.<br />
• Female intuitives were described as nervous, fidgety, clumsy, and awkward. Interviewers<br />
also noted that they were likely to ask questions during the interview.<br />
• Thinking males seemed poised and gave the impression of having a stable, optimistic view<br />
of the future. However, interviewers also thought that although the interviewees seemed<br />
cooperative on the surface, they were actually being evasive.<br />
• Thinking females were described as having poor posture, an unimpressive bearing, facial<br />
blemishes, terse and to the point speech, difficult to understand speech, and poor<br />
enunciation. (Owch.)<br />
This suggests a few areas for improvement, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, a lot of this stuff is in the<br />
interviewer’s head (are we really to believe that being a Thinking female causes facial blemishes?)<br />
and there’s not much you can do about it. Still, a few of these factors can be mitigated with proper<br />
planning. In short, sit up straight, act confident, and don’t fidget.<br />
One other thing of interest is that sometimes employers selectively hire people with their own<br />
personality type. If you can figure out your interviewer's personality type at the start of the<br />
interview, you can adapt yourself to speak their language. I recommend the type book The Art of<br />
SpeedReading People: How to Size People Up and Speak Their Language by Tieger and Barron-<br />
Tieger.<br />
186 Hammer in Myers, McCaulley, Quenk & Hammer, 1998
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