Objective: To analyze the relationship between self-perception of creativity, shyness, and employability of the individual. Methodological procedures: A quantitative research was conducted with 152 respondents through exploratory factor analysis to develop a unified scale of perceived individual creativity and regression analysis to assess the effects of perceived individual creativity and timidity on employability. Results: Shyness is negatively related to creativity self-perceived. Although more creative individuals are less afraid of becoming unemployed and have more hope of repositioning themselves professionally, there is no evidence of the relationship between employability, creativity, and shyness regarding the previous experience of unemployment. Therefore, this article contributes to understanding how the effects of conditions intrinsic to the individual – specifically, creativity and shyness – can affect their insertion in the labor market. Limitations: The research considered only individuals residing in some regions of Brazil with a level of education above or equal to higher education. Even though creativity may have a different relevance from one sector to the other, the profession was not controlled. Practical implications: This study elucidates how different factors underlying perceived individual creativity have distinct effects on professional insertion. In addition, the article offers a synthetic assessment scale to measure the self-perception of creativity. Theoretical implications: A validated scale of individual creativity was proposed. In addition, this study contributes to the interpretation of specific personality characteristics – like shyness – and individual skills – such as individual creativity as a factor to be considered in studies on human resources and employability. Originality: The study proposes a scale for the perception of individual creativity and separately analyzes the factors that constitute the individual creativity perceived concerning shyness and employability.