Occupational suitability and developing inclination

Occupational suitability is the match between a person’s features and the occupation’s demands. It can be divided into four levels. The first is unsuitability: health does not fit the chosen work or the special ability the occupation requires is entirely missing. Absolute suitability is required especially in jobs dangerous to human life (pilot, surgeon, power-system operator) and in artistic professions. The second is suitability: nothing prevents the work but there is no clear inclination either; the person can work well in the field. The third is a good fit: personal qualities and interest clearly match the demands and there are successes in practice. The fourth is passion: wholehearted devotion to the work, the highest level, standing out from peers. Suitability is not inborn; it forms during work. In many occupations a missing quality can be made up for by another: one machine operator succeeds by speed, another by caution. To develop inclination: list your strong and weak points, choose qualities to develop (honesty, responsibility, teamwork, discipline), make a daily routine, write about your activity in a diary every day, try new working methods and keep your self-assessment objective. Sometimes it is not the person but the working conditions or the tool that must change (for example, making control easier).