20 of March, 2025

The Myers-Briggs indicator can help to gain a better understanding of the individuals that make up a company. While there is some debate about its usefulness, an increasing number of organizations are utilizing it.

Want to learn more about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the personalities represented within your company? Here’s everything you need to know! You can also utilize this for your staff selection processes.

What is the Myers-Briggs indicator

This measurement method, officially known as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, was created and developed by the mother-daughter duo, Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myer.

The test is based on Carl Jung’s theory of archetypes with the aim of making it more accessible to a broader audience.

World War II played a key role in Briggs’ desire to create a personality test. Her goal was to build a better post-war world by gaining a better understanding of people.

In the beginning, Myers and Briggs began to use this evaluation with family and friends. Both women spent 20 years developing and refining this index, resulting in the publication of the first evaluation in 1962.

When to use the Myers-Briggs indicator

The Myers-Briggs indicator can be used in various situations such as:

In job interviews to understand the personalities of potential hires.
When you want to encourage individual and group self-awareness, as well as each individual’s personal development.
To evaluate character trends among company members and their impact on teams.

How it works

Like other personality tests, the Myers-Briggs indicator is a test in which you choose between two responses. It includes a series of questions about likes and dislikes, as well as preferences.

This test consists of a total of 88 questions (or 93 in its U.S. version), formulated in terms of preferences. The goal is to determine which options we are most comfortable with in different hypothetical situations.

To design and send it easily, you can use personnel management tools like those provided by Sesame HR.

In other words, there are no right or wrong answers, nor are there any that are better or worse. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was based on Carl G. Jung’s theory of psychological types, according to which the general attitude is based on three dichotomies to which Myers added a fourth. These are:

Extroversion (E) – Introversion (I)

The Myers-Briggs indicator evaluates introversion and extroversion a bit differently than other tests. It distinguishes between:

Extroverted individuals: those who enjoy socializing with others and taking action. These people tend to be more flexible and spontaneous.
Introverts, on the other hand, prefer time alone. They spend more time thinking and favor deeper relationships with fewer people. These individuals often prefer rules and structure.

Sensing (S) – Intuition(N)

This category of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator examines how people gather information and make judgements about the world around them. It distinguishes between:

People who prefer sensing and tend to focus on tangible information. These individuals enjoy practical experiences and focus on the situation at hand.
Those driven by intuition look for patterns in facts and often think about possibilities.

Thinking (T) – Feeling (F)

Reason versus emotion. The key traits of each of these factors in the Myers-Briggs indicator are:

Thinkers are those who tend to base decisions on objective data and logical analysis. These are practical individuals when it comes to making decisions, as they are not guided by emotions.
On the contrary, more emotional individuals will not only think about what matters to them but also about decisions that might affect those around them.

Judging (J) – Perceiving (P)

Lastly, the Myers-Briggs indicator analyzes how each individual experiences their life and their interactions with others.

Those who lead with judgement often have a preference for rules and structure.
On the other hand, perceivers tend to be more flexible and enjoy the spontaneity that can arise in their lives.

Test results

Once the exam is completed, an evaluation is provided with each individual report, along with an action guide to use the Myers-Briggs indicator. Depending on the results, there are 16 different types of personalities, depending on how these factors combine.

Advantages of using the Myers-Briggs indicator

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is one of the most commonly used tests in the world by Human Resources departments because of the countless benefits it offers.

Still not sure why you should use this test? Some advantages of the Myers-Briggs indicator include:

It aids self-awareness.
Allows identification of behavioral tendencies.
Provides information on how to handle and deal with stressful situations more effectively.
Facilitates the identification of certain leadership traits.
Reveals personal values.
Supports and facilitates integration of people with diverse personality types.
Assists in team development by understanding the types of personalities comprising the team, thus identifying strengths and weaknesses, and improving communication and collaboration among them.
Fosters conflict resolution, by helping to understand differences in how individuals perceive and process information, which can be useful for resolving conflicts and improving conflict management.
Improves leadership development by understanding the types of personalities available, the strengths and weaknesses of each, thereby enhancing leadership skills.
All of these contribute to an overall improvement in job performance, by enabling implementation of coaching and personal development, establishing training and development plans within the entity that help them evolve.

Now that you know what the Myers-Briggs indicator is, it’s time to put it into action easily. What are you waiting for? Learn more about it in the Sesame HR guides. We’re your go-to HR software!

Professional with over 20 years of extensive experience in various areas of Human Resources (Recruitment, Training, Occupational Risk Prevention, and Personnel Management). Experience in the Management Department: Broad understanding of the company and HR.

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cristinamartin

HR Content Specialist

What is the Myers-Briggs indicator and what is it used for in job interviews