6 Best Jobs for ENFJ Women and Men

Do you know someone who is enthusiastic, is affirming, is upbeat, gets along with everyone, has natural leadership skills, and communicates eloquently? Most likely, this person has an ENFJ (Extroverted, iNtuition, Feeling, Judging) personality type. ENFJs are known to be warm and caring, and they thrive to provide guidance to others. They are focused on people, rather than things, ideas, or machines, so they are not too objective or logical and prefer to base their decisions on how they feel about a certain person or situation. They are charismatic, are excellent communicators, and can easily influence or manipulate others, making them suitable for leadership positions and even sales jobs. They are highly motivated to bring out and develop the potential of others and are creative and imaginative in finding methods to help people or communities grow. However, if their ideas are met with resistance, they can become depressed, bitter, or wounded. They also try to avoid conflict and criticism, and tend to hold a grudge when met with negativity by another person.

When searching for the perfect career for ENFJ personality types, you should also know what types of work to avoid. ENFJs can thrive in multiple professions, but if they stick too long to a job that doesn’t suit their personality well, they can end up stressed, drained, and frustrated.

What are the Work Stressors of ENFJ Personality Types

• Some people might see ENFJs as superficial and that all that optimism and motivation is all talk. This can make ENFJs feel hurt and shot down when they were only trying to do the best for everyone in the team.
• Since ENFJs have a natural tendency to lead others towards achieving goals, other Extraverted-Judgers might feel threatened or intimidated by them, especially if the ENFJ person is a subordinate.
• They find it difficult to set limits and can end up being overwhelmed by having to be available for everyone’s personal demands. This can make them resentful and angry at themselves and others.
• When confronted with conflict, they tend to withdraw inwards and do their best to avoid confrontation.
• If they are pressured to adopt a view they disagree with, they will most likely turn to introverted thinking.
• They dislike competitive environments.
• They work hard to achieve cooperation and harmony in the team and are very particular about being affirmed or recognized for their contributions. This can lead to taking over more tasks than they can handle and avoiding delegating.

What Careers to Avoid for ENFJ Personality Types

Now that you know what types of stressors can affect ENFJs at work, it is time to look into certain careers where they will most likely encounter those stressors or where they will most probably not fully thrive and gain happiness and fulfillment.

1. Military Service

The armed forces are trained to follow orders and obey strict protocols and the chain of command. Those with ENFJ personalities will find it hard to just follow an order, especially if it is something they don’t agree with. Also, ENFJs lean more towards developing people and communities, not destroying and waging war against them.

2. Law Enforcement

Similar to a career in military service, law enforcement needs tactical, analytical, and objective planning and implementation. Investigating crime scenes and making arrests will most probably be highly stressful for ENFJ men and women who are naturally empathetic.

3. Accounting or Auditing

Working with numbers and making budgets are okay with most ENFJs, but they most likely won’t enjoy doing the paperwork and sitting at a desk punching in and computing digits the whole day. They won’t be able to interact that much with people, the tasks can be monotonous and repetitive, and they won’t be able to demonstrate their leadership skills or use much of their creativity.

4. System Technology

This profession requires someone who is technologically savvy, sensible, practical, and analytical in order to efficiently troubleshoot any problems in the system. ENFJs, on the other hand, are emotional thinkers. Plus, facing computers the whole day could be torture for them.

5. Mechanical Engineering

Same as the reasons mentioned in the aforementioned career, a mechanical engineer needs rational thinking and enjoys working with machines. ENFJ personality types live to be connected with people, so any job that involves working with machines, electronic devices, and systems day in and day out could be draining.

6. Core Business

You would think that since ENFJs are natural born leaders they would be perfect to manage a business and people. In some ways, this is true. However, CEOs and managers sometimes have to make difficult decisions that involve sacrificing the workforce for the benefit of the company and this may not sit well with ENFJs. Imagine how difficult it will be for them to decide who to let go of in times of retrenchment when deep inside they want to protect the livelihood and welfare of employees.

Of course, there are always exceptions to the rules. Some ENFJs might actually do well in these types of careers if they know how to manage the stress and challenges they could face in such lines of work.

What ENFJ Personality Types Should Look for in a Career

After identifying what to avoid, ENFJ women and men should now know what to look for when searching for the best career options.

• It is meaningful and has value.
• It allows people to be self directed and have control over their projects.
• It lets you make decisions and do actions that are in line with your personal values.
• It involves work that moves at an exciting and rapid pace and includes a variety of tasks.
• It gives you the opportunity to meet and work with a variety of people.
• It encourages creativity, imagination, innovation, and progression.
• It provides a warm and harmonious work environment where you are free to be caring, sociable, and expressive of your thoughts and feelings.
• It allows you to provide guidance and direction to others so you can act out on your natural mentoring skills.
• It is a disciplined and structured work environment.

Take note that these aren’t the only aspects to consider. Career goals and personal priorities must also be weighed in.