by Rie Parker
Personality tests can be excellent resources for career development. And with insights into 16 different personality types, Myers-Briggs is a favorite. Today, we’re discussing one type in particular—ENFP (Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Prospecting). If you’re an ENFP, knowing which career paths are best suited for your personality type can be helpful. Continue reading to learn about some of the best ENFP careers to consider today!
What’s an ENFP like?
ENFPs are frequently described as:
- Outgoing, open-minded, and enthusiastic
- Rooted in personal connections
- Creative, curious, and adventurous
- Perceptive and good-natured
- And excellent communicators
Also known as “The Campaigner,” they’re usually charismatic individuals with a strong desire for growth and success—for themselves and those around them. They’re also inherently empathetic, making genuine connections with their ability to understand others quickly.
ENFPs love encouraging others and are great at finding solutions and thinking outside the box. Generally speaking, they’re adaptable, outgoing, and very imaginative. They love to pursue new creative hobbies, encounter new ideas, and share their excitement with those around them.
But there are actually two types of ENFP: ENFP-A and ENFP-T. And the extra letter can make a huge difference in personality—from levels of confidence and detail-orientation, to emotional and cultural intelligence.
ENFP-Assertive
ENFP-As can be more extroverted and socially dominant. They’re natural entrepreneurs with an ability to see potential and come up with innovative solutions.
They also possess higher levels of confidence at work and can focus on upcoming tasks without dwelling on past mistakes. This allows them to make decisions quickly and with conviction. ENFP-As are also dynamic—enjoying work on their own or with a team of others.
ENFP-Turbulent
While ENFP-Ts also tend to be extroverted, they’re a bit less so than ENFP-As. They’re far more introspective, with a higher appreciation for one-on-one social settings and deep conversations. But this difference also makes them more insightful and thoughtful problem-solvers.
ENFP-Ts are still charismatic leaders and comfortable being in charge, but their approach to decision-making typically relies on more deliberation and consideration of others. This is also partly due to their higher level of emotional intelligence and emphasis on empathy and support.
Whether you’re leading an ENFP, looking to hire one, or happen to be an ENFP yourself, it’s important to understand which career paths maximize these qualities and which ones don’t.
Here are six of the best careers to channel this energetic, outgoing, service-oriented personality! Plus, some insight into strengths, weaknesses, and three careers ENFPs should avoid.
9 of the Best Careers for ENFP Personality Types
The best career path for an ENFP personality type should involve creativity, connection, and room for growth.
ENFPs thrive in roles that emphasize communication and collaboration—where they can work closely with others and bounce ideas off one another. They also love flexibility that gives them the freedom to express themselves creatively and be imaginative.
Most importantly though, ENFPs need an environment where they’re encouraged to pursue challenges, explore new ideas, and share their enthusiasm and creativity with those around them.
Here are some roles that meet those requirements:
Graphic Designer
ENFPs excel in fields like the visual arts, where they can use their intuition and imagination to develop new ideas.
Graphic designers are creative people who love the opportunity to explore new ideas. ENFPs thrive as graphic designers because they can use their creativity and problem-solving skills in a variety of different areas like branding, art direction, or motion graphics.
This role is especially great for ENFPs when they’re given creative freedom and authority to use their imagination to the fullest and create without limits.
Copywriter
This is another role where ENFPs will have the creative freedom to thrive. Copywriting allows ENFPs to use their imagination as well as their communication skills, and it’s a great creative option for ENFPs who are more verbal than visual.
There’s also plenty of flexibility, as copywriters can work on pieces varying in tone, topic, and target audience. When working in this creative role, no two days are exactly the same, and that perfectly suits the curious and open-minded personality of ENFPs.
Human Resources
ENFPs are approachable, empathetic, and excellent communicators, and they love working with people. They know how to connect with people and have a strong desire to help others, making many ENFPs drawn to human resources.
The human resources industry also offers many challenges. These challenges keep ENFPs engaged, allowing them to use their creativity and innovative problem-solving skills consistently.
Market/Data Analyst
ENFPs make great data analysts because of their intuition, creativity, and people skills. They take complex data and concepts and turn them into a story that makes sense and is easy to understand.
ENFPs are also great at thinking outside the box and developing creative solutions. So once everyone understands what the data is saying, ENFPs will be ready with an innovative solution.
Therapist or Counselor
ENFPs truly want others to be healthy, happy, and successful—and they find fulfillment by helping them get there.
Being both perceptive and empathetic, they’re great at understanding where people are coming from and helping them find their own path. These traits often make them wonderful therapists, counselors, or even life coaches. It’s a role where they can help others, solve problems, and connect on a deeper level.
Sales Manager
ENFPs are genuinely passionate about helping others. That makes working as a sales manager an excellent career choice.
The Campaigner understands what motivates people and easily creates relationships with team members and clients. Combined with their charisma and people skills, they thrive in a leadership role like this.
Teacher
Highly extroverted individuals—like ENFPs—have high levels of social motivation and thrive on building relationships. This can be applied successfully toward many careers, including teaching.
ENFPs are strong communicators and are highly creative. This gives them the skills to build rapport with their students and create lesson plans. They can effectively design curriculums that engage and motivate students in any age group.
Social Worker
The Campaigner is naturally inclined to pursue roles that require them to advocate for others. This makes a career in social work an excellent choice for ENFPs.
Along with their communication skills, ENFPs can relate to many individuals, making them a good fit for many social services careers. They can connect with people in ways others can’t, making them all more able to advocate for others.
Personal Trainer
Because of their motivational capabilities, ENFPs also make great personal trainers. They thrive by building rapport and working with a diverse clientele.
Along with the social aspect, ENFPs enjoy a dynamic working environment that looks different day-to-day. ENFPs thrive in this kind of hands-on, frequently changing work environment as personal trainers.
3 Careers for ENFPs to Avoid
ENFP’s usually prefer not to think in terms of “black and white,” so they should avoid careers with structured, closed-minded environments.
In areas that do not value flexibility or creative thinking, they could feel stifled or uninspired. This is especially true for roles that limit collaboration and relationship building. And because ENFPs also love to grow and explore new ideas, they also should avoid jobs that require them to focus on one thing for extended periods.
Here are four careers ENFPs should avoid:
Chemical Engineer
While chemistry can pique the interest of an ENFP and satisfy their need to learn, it can also be isolating for someone so extroverted. Even with new and exciting discoveries, ENFPs will struggle with the lack of partnership.
Also, as with many scientific careers, there can be limitations to creative expression. Science relies on rules, methodology, and logic, leaving less room for creativity.
Public School Teacher
This one may come as a surprise, because ENFPs love to help others grow. And who encourages people to learn and grow more than a teacher? The issue isn’t a matter of teaching, however. It’s how they have to teach.
Public schools have a lot of rules and regulations—and typically for good reason. Unfortunately for ENFPs, micromanagement is a major pet peeve. The limited scope of creativity and strict approach to testing, teaching methods, and curriculum can make this a frustrating career option for this personality type.
Law Enforcement
Although ENFPs would be able to work with others and regularly change their environment, their empathy would be a roadblock in this profession. People in this field must be able to separate their personal feelings and biases from the law. ENFPs would struggle with the objective thought process—which goes back to their aversion to thinking in terms of black and white.
ENFP Strengths and Weaknesses
For a quick overview of “The Campaigner” at work, here are some strengths and weaknesses of the ENFP personality type.
ENFP Strengths
Creativity and innovation: ENFPs love to come up with new, fresh ideas. And they’re especially talented at applying this creative thinking to solve problems with innovative solutions. They see issues as puzzles and are comfortable using new methods and approaches to find the missing piece.
Intuition and perception: They’re able to pick up on subtle queues, understand behavioral motivations, and generally have a way of understanding things that aren’t explicitly stated. And in the workplace, they can use these skills to find clever solutions and navigate professional partnerships. More importantly, as they encounter new obstacles or challenges, they’re able to implement any knowledge they gained moving forward.
Motivation: ENFPs are always seeking new experiences and trying to learn new things. They want to grow as much as they possibly can, and they eagerly pursue ways to achieve this. They truly want to be their best selves!
Leadership and other people skills: As we’ve discussed, ENFPs are great with people. They feel at ease in social situations and have a knack for connecting with a wide variety of people. ENFPs are also very enthusiastic and competent communicators, making them great partners and leaders.
ENFP Weaknesses
Structure: ENFPs love to push the boundaries and be as creative as possible. They do not perform as well when they feel restricted to a single idea or process. To thrive, they need flexibility and room to pursue their creativity.
Perfectionism: This is particularly true for ENFP-T individuals. Because they’re a bit more critical of themselves, they’re also more critical of their work. This causes them to get caught up in the details almost to a fault, which in turn causes them to struggle with time management.
Distractions: Their love for new ideas, hobbies, and people can make it easy for ENFPs to become distracted or get off track. They’re constantly looking for something new and different and may want to abandon existing projects if they get bored or become disengaged.
The Campaigner at Work
In the workplace, ENFPs can improve communication, create innovative business strategies, and develop innovative solutions. They see endless possibilities for their teams, are committed to helping everyone reach their full potential, and know how to energize themselves and those around them.
For help finding a career ENFPs can thrive in, check out our job board!
If you’re not an ENFP, check out our posts about these personality types:
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