Chances are that you are many things all at once. You are good at multiple tasks. You love and enjoy many different pursuits. It would be difficult for you to make a list of all those things you do well, though it’s a fun project to undertake.

For a multifaceted person such as you, how do you decide what really is your “thing”? What truly defines you?

What’s your signature style?

I have tried to make it easy for you by creating some simple categories. In over twelve years of working with students, adults, teachers, and people in general—looking at them through the lens of many psychometric tools, listening to them talk about what excites them, watching their eyes light up or lose the flash at the mention of certain careers—I have come to distinguish three core drivers that seem to cover the gamut of motivations and passions that drive human endeavour (beyond more basic drivers like hunger and poverty, of course).

I love to be creative.

Okay, this is not as vague as it sounds. Some of us are born that way. We want to create. Within this pool of creative people, there are many variants—many types of creativity and many media through which people express their ideas. However, one thing is common to them all. They simply cannot do what has been done before—well, at least not more than two, three, perhaps ten times. They’ve got to move on—or add their own touch.

In a dozen years of my working with students, adults, teachers, and people, I have come to distinguish three types of creative people: Artists, Aesthetes, and Idea Generators.

I want to work with people.

These are people who thrive on human connection—some in small groups and one-to-one, some in large groups and parties. They are at their best when building friends and networks. Great relationships are some of their greatest treasures. They communicate well, and they are loved by many people. They enjoy getting to know others and are fascinated by stories of human interest.

Over the course of my work in career guidance, I have come to distinguish two types of people skills: Team Playing and Mentoring. Along with these, I will sneak in the inverse of these skills because it kind of belongs to this category—playing independent—that is, people who are great at working with their own ideas and motivations.

I love problem-solving.

They are much more than puzzle junkies and math geniuses (though those belong somewhere in here, too). These are the people who love solving—sometimes through analysis, sometimes through discussion, and sometimes through pure common sense. Got a problem? Tell me about it. You don’t tell them that you simply want them to listen, though. Their heads or hands or both are usually already in high action the moment you utter the word “problem.”

I have distinguished three strains of solvers: Analytical, Social-Philosophical, and Practical.

Signature styles

A signature style is a bit like a fashion statement—this is who I am. This is Me. I do this naturally, without trying too hard. I love to do this. I don’t know why. It’s just the way I am.

A signature style is not limiting. It does not mean that this is all I do or that I am bad at other things. It simply means that when I do this, my natural intelligence takes over; I don’t have to watch myself too closely and somehow know what to do. As I use this style in my work and life, my skill and effectiveness in this grow. And as I build a life that keeps me more and more in my signature style zone, I enjoy myself and the best of me again and again.

Over the years, I have found that most people have two and some have three signature styles. For some, these stand above all other styles with compelling authority, and for some they are supported by many complementary styles. It helps to focus on the top two or top three styles and choose work that best leverages these.

Excerpted with permission from Jobs 2.0: The Ultimate Guide to AI-Proof Your Career, Richa Dwivedi, Hachette India.