ESFJ Careers: Best Jobs For Your Personality

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Isabel Briggs Meyers and Katharine Briggs created the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test. They designed it so people could make more sense of C. G. Jung’s psychological types and use them in everyday life. The MBTI identifies particular strengths and weaknesses of 16 different personalities, and it’s a beneficial tool when it comes to career choice. If your Myers-Briggs test results show that you have the ESFJ personality type, you score high on Extraversion, Sensing, Feeling and Judging. In this article, you can learn more about the ESFJ personality type and the career options that are a good fit for someone with these traits. 

What is an ESFJ personality?

Individuals with an ESFJ personality want to feel appreciated and know they helped a situation. 

The ESFJ personality is characterized by these traits: 

  • E for extroverted (Introversion vs. Extraversion)
  • S for sensing (Sensing vs. Intuition)
  • F for feeling (Thinking vs. Feeling)
  • J for judging (Judging vs. Perceiving)

People with an ESFJ personality tend to have more energy after spending time with others. They pay attention to details and facts rather than ideas and theories. They tend to make decisions based on their values and feelings. An ESFJ is usually organized and likes to plan instead of being flexible or spontaneous. An ESFJ personality type would be most successful in a career that involves a lot of social interaction.

The best careers for an ESFJ personality

The ESFJ loves to socialize and thrives on making plans and staying organized. Having those qualities gives them a broad range of jobs where they can enjoy their work and be successful. The best position for an ESFJ is one where they are around other people all the time and can work with facts. The ESFJ will also want to pay attention to details, keep their work organized and make decisions quickly based on feelings. 

The following jobs are excellent choices for an ESFJ: 

Elementary school teacher

An ESFJ would excel at being a teacher. Teachers have to communicate with students, parents and colleagues and be sociable throughout their entire workday. People with the ESFJ personality type are natural social butterflies and would appreciate this environment. Teachers also have to do a lot of planning, which is something an ESFJ prefers to do. Out of all the personality types, ESFJ is the most likely to enjoy teaching or mentoring.

Police officer

Police officers deal with a lot of processes and information so excellent organization skills are a must, making this a great career for an ESFJ. ESFJs like to help others, and as a police officer, you must always be willing to help. A police officer has to socialize frequently, so an ESFJ would regularly use their communication skills in this field.

Physical therapist

ESFJs are compassionate people and could easily empathize with patients as a physical therapist. Working in physical therapy would satisfy an ESFJ’s need for order and to be in control. An ESFJ physical therapist would be doing a lot of planning, talking and listening with patients.

HR manager

A human resources manager will typically plan, direct and coordinate the administrative functions of an organization. An ESFJ in this role would be using their interpersonal skills, leadership skills, speaking skills and organizational skills every day. As an HR manager, an ESFJ works to improve an organization.

Cosmetologist

A cosmetologist’s primary duty is to impress and please their clients. As a cosmetologist, an ESFJ would continuously be aiming to make clients happy by cutting or styling their hair, shaping their eyebrows, applying makeup and more. In this field of work, the ESFJ would rely on their listening skills, interpersonal skills and organizational skills.

Funeral director

A job in funeral services and the mortuary science field will consist of dealing with deceased bodies, handling the paperwork for the deceased’s family and providing emotional support to the bereaved. Funeral service workers need excellent communication skills, as they speak with many different people. An ESFJ would be exceptional in this field because they can socialize, show compassion and manage their time with ease.

Mental health counselor

An ESFJ would make an outstanding mental health counselor because they want to help people and make them happy. As a successful counselor, the ESFJ will have to show compassion and have strong organizational skills, strong interpersonal and persuasive speaking skills and superb listening skills.

Careers that are not suitable for an ESFJ personality

Not only are the MBTI results helpful in choosing the right career, but they also can identify jobs that may not be suitable for a personality type. While the ESFJ has a lot of job options that do fit their personality, there are some jobs that an ESFJ may not want.

Some of the careers that ESFJs should avoid are:

Software developer

Software developers create computer applications that people can easily understand and use. This job requires a person to spend quite a bit of time alone, which an ESFJ would see as a negative aspect. A software developer typically isn’t appreciated or thanked for the work they have done, and that can lead an ESFJ to feel unmotivated and unhappy.

Actor

An actor gets to play a variety of different roles at any given time. An ESFJ cares a lot about how other people see them, so allowing the public to see you as something else might not be a positive experience for an ESFJ. Also, a big part of acting is receiving criticism, both positive and negative, and that is something an ESFJ usually doesn’t like.

Freelancer

A freelancer is someone who typically provides a work service for an individual or a company.  An ESFJ would not like the life and career of a freelancer because it usually involves working alone. Freelancing also lacks a stable schedule, and there is very minimal planning at times. A person with the ESFJ personality type would be very uncomfortable working without any order.

When looking for a job, ESFJs should look for clear structure, security and the chance to be of service to others. The best work environment for an ESFJ is one that’s free from uncertainty or conflict, has a structured and friendly atmosphere and has clear expectations.