ENFJ Careers

ENFJs are truly interested in making the world a better place. In roles where they can see how their work is making a difference, ENFJs are energetic, collaborative, and happy to drive tasks forward. 

ENFJs are naturally facilitative. They love enabling their colleagues to get the best out of themselves. They enjoy helping others develop and learn new skills. ENFJs are ambitious on behalf of their team rather than themselves. Nothing fulfills them more than contributing to the growth of others. 

People with an ENFJ personality type are persuasive communicators, excellent networkers, and confident presenters. They are also highly perceptive and can read the emotions of others well. They value close, authentic relationships with their colleagues and work hard to maintain these. 

ENFJs do have a desire to be liked. This means conflict can be difficult for them. Happily, due to their collaborative and optimistic nature, most professional relationships are smooth sailing for ENFJs.

ENFJs enjoy being challenged and aren’t afraid of hard work. However, it’s important to them that whatever they are doing is making a positive impact. They like to solve problems in order to make improvements. They can be bored by repetitive work or tasks they feel are of low value. 

ENFJs are big-picture thinkers. They find it easy to inspire their colleagues around a central vision and build momentum for the journey ahead. This desire for forward movement can sometimes mean that ENFJs overlook facts when making decisions. Occasionally, they may leave more reticent colleagues behind.

Like many people with the Extroverted trait, ENFJs are enthused by the company of others. They find group brainstorming, task collaboration, and shared goals energizing. A large volume of independent work can feel isolating to an ENFJ. 

Like all of us, ENFJ personality types have intrinsic traits that influence their motivation for working in a certain way and within specific work environments. 

At F4S, we’ve identified 48 traits that influence motivation and energy levels. Understanding these traits can help you choose job roles, cultures, and workplace environments that will enable you to thrive. 

These preferences are intrinsic. But, we don’t always have the luxury of finding a workplace or way of working that exactly matches our needs. Coaching can help you build skills and resilience when you need to perform in a work environment less suited to your preferences. 

For example, our 8-week coaching program, ‘Attention to Detail’, can help ENFJs focus on the clear thinking required to drive their vision forward. This enables them to maximize their potential to positively effect change.

Working with an ENFJ will most likely be a positive and inspiring experience. An ENFJ’s charismatic nature and desire to make improvements can be extremely motivating for their colleagues. 

ENFJs also champion their teammates. They love nothing more than seeing them grow and succeed. This creates a supportive, collaborative atmosphere in which people can excel and do their best work. 

People with the ENFJ personality type are also great facilitators and networkers. They can be useful to seek out if you need to make a connection as they often have relationships with many different areas of the business. They can also help to build consensus between groups or individuals with differing viewpoints.

On occasion, the desire of ENFJs to effect change can feel unsettling for colleagues who prefer stability and the status quo. More data-driven colleagues can also find ENFJs’ preference for intuitive decision-making and blue-sky thinking frustrating if they ignore pertinent information.

Managers of ENFJs need to be careful how they offer feedback to ENFJs. Their desire to be liked can make them overly sensitive to even constructive criticism. Managers may also need to create clear boundaries for ENFJ subordinates. In their eagerness to lead, ENFJs may sometimes take decisions outside the scope of their authority.

To get the best from an ENFJ colleague, ensure they have work they believe in and can see creates an impact. Foster a team environment that allows for collaboration, creativity, and big-picture thinking.  Managers of ENFJs can play to their strengths by creating opportunities for them to present their ideas, develop or build the skills of others, and mentor more junior colleagues.

ENFJ personality types are happiest in careers where they are making a difference. Like all the personality types, ENFJs can be found in a range of careers and industries. 

However, they are likely to be most satisfied in jobs where they can collaborate with others to solve problems and effect positive change in the world. The ENFJ personality slots neatly into leadership roles. It also fits well with various humanitarian, social services, communication, education, and customer success roles.

Top ENFJ career choices include:

Sciences and health

• Psychologist
• Anthropologist
• Health educator
• Social worker
• Relationship counselor
• Personal trainer
• Occupational therapist
• Social scientist
• Climate change consultant
• Dietician
• Chiropractor
• Physical therapist
• Environmental scientist
• Recreational therapist

Creative arts

• Music or art therapist
• Production assistant
• Art director
• Photographer

Business

• Human resources manager
• Public relations specialist
• Equality, diversity, and inclusion lead
• Executive assistant
• Customer service representative
• Retail assistant
• Hospitality services associate
• Management consultant
• Office manager
• Communication lead
• Customer success manager
• Team facilitator
• Startup founder
• Business executive

Information technology

• Computer support specialist
• IT training manager

Education, philosophy, academia, and law

• Special education teacher
• Instructional coordinator
• Adult literacy teacher
• Language teacher
• Legal mediator
• Human rights lawyer

Miscellaneous

• Activist
• Charity campaigner
• Advocacy services agent
• Restaurant server or front-of-house
• Policy maker
• Humanitarian aid worker
• Career counselor

Like some other MBTI personality types, ENFJs can be sub-categorized into assertive or turbulent identities. These identities affect all of the four elements that make up an ENFJ personality type. 

Within the constraints of their overall type, assertive identities tend to be less perceptive but let go of worries more easily. Turbulent identities tend to be extremely sensitive to the needs of others. They can become overwhelmed worrying about things outside their control.

These two sub-categories bring a little more nuance to elements of the ENFJ personality type. For example, all ENFJs are self-confident. However, ENFJ-T types are typically less so than their ENFJ-A counterparts. This makes them more humble in their aspirations and leadership style. 

ENFJ-As are bolder than ENFJ-Ts and more comfortable acting independently. ENFJ-Ts are more likely to seek the opinion of others. This can help them form more meaningful and collaborative relationships than ENFJ-As. ENFJ-Ts are also more empathetic. This compassion for others adds depth to their relationships.

However, their empathetic nature can mean that ENFJ-Ts are more emotional than ENFJ-As. ENFJ-As tend to react more calmly to situations. ENFJ-Ts can also become burdened or overwhelmed by the emotions of others. They are more prone to stress and anxiety than ENFJ-As.

Given these nuances, let’s look at how some of the careers we mentioned above might suit the two identity sub-categories:

ENFJ-A careers:

• Dietician
• Psychologist
• Social scientist
• Climate change consultant
• Human rights lawyer
• Chiropractor
• Management consultant
• Art director
• Startup founder

ENFJ-T careers:

• Charity campaigner
• Music or art therapist
• Special education teacher
• Relationship counselor
• Adult literacy teacher
• Humanitarian aid worker
• Customer success manager

ENFJs thrive on developing others and bringing people together to achieve common goals. Warm yet determined as leaders, they also bring energy and integrity to their team roles.

There are high-paying career options for ENFJs across multiple industries. In science and healthcare, good options include psychologist (average base pay: US$94,162) and occupational therapist (average base pay: US$93,305) roles.

The compassionate nature of ENFJs and their desire to make a difference can also lead to some higher-paying roles. The average base salary for a human rights lawyer is US$121,440, and for senior environmental scientists, it’s US$99,952.

Other highly-paid options include:

• Senior management consultant (average base pay: US$120,178)
• Chiropractor (average base pay: US$158,539)
• Art director (average base pay: US$129,157)

At F4S, we don’t think about strengths and weaknesses the same way as the MBTI test does. We believe that strengths and weaknesses are often situation-dependent. We prefer to look at what motivates you vs. what drains your energy. These elements might overlap with what Myers-Briggs describes as strengths and weaknesses, but not always.

For example, perhaps (like many ENFJs) you have a real strength in generating bold ideas. You find significant purpose in developing and championing your colleagues. 

However, working within a conservative, hierarchical organization your ideas are constantly rebuffed. Plus, there’s no budget or appetite for change or skill development. Over time, you become disheartened by the lack of opportunity to make a real difference. You can't use your strengths to drive positive change.

Equally, perhaps there is something you love doing, that motivates and energizes you, but you’re not very skilled at it yet. It might not be considered an innate ‘strength’, but you’re way more likely to enjoy your career choice if you can find a job with some elements of that activity.

That said, here are some ENFJ ‘strengths and weaknesses’ as listed by MBTI:

Would you like to learn more about MBTI? Help uncover the unique talents of MBTI using our evidenced-based motivational work assessment. F4S is conducting research to build upon the existing understanding of MBTI personality theory. Take our survey.

ENFJ strengths

• Compassionate
• Charismatic
• Energetic
• Altruistic
• Supportive
• Resourceful

ENFJ weaknesses

• Unrealistic
• Lacking resilience
• Relentless
• Patronizing

Our Myers-Briggs personality type offers insight into our likely preferences for how we work and what type of careers we might enjoy. However, it’s important to note that any personality type can be successful across all industries and job roles. 

Our preferences may mean certain types of work and work environments are more challenging to us. But, if you’re highly motivated to pursue a particular career path, there’s no reason you can’t excel.

Motivation is personal and complicated. There can be both internal and external drivers for motivation. Increased self-awareness helps you identify the internal traits that drive your preferences for how, where, and when you work. 

At F4S, we recommend starting with our free self-assessment to unlock insights about where your talents lie. This can help you understand how you can best harness your preferences to create a satisfying and successful career.

However, sometimes there are also strong external motivating factors. For example, a lucrative pay packet, comprehensive benefits, or the ability to work from a specific location. 

External motivations may result in you working in an environment that jars with your intrinsic motivation. Personal development programs and coaching can help you rachet up the skills needed to excel when working in ways less suited to your preferences.

So, if there is something you’re excited about trying, you should definitely explore it even if your MBTI result suggests you might be better suited to something else.

ENFJs thrive within an energetic, collaborative team environment. They feel fulfilled when supporting their colleagues to be their best. ENFJs enjoy generating bold ideas and are energized by taking action. They are focused on the big picture and can forget to gather all the information in their eagerness to move forward. Spontaneity and change feel exciting to ENFJs. They may become bored by more routine tasks or process-driven teams.

Given this, some career paths typically have work environments or approaches that may be more challenging for ENFJs. Remember, this list is just a guideline of job types you might not enjoy or find draining, it doesn’t mean you won’t excel at them.

The following career paths may be less suited to ENFJ personality types:

• Computer programmer
• Librarian
• Accountant
• Data governance specialist
• Financial analyst
• Pathologist
• Electrician
• Chemical engineer
• Database administrator
• Medical records manager
• Software engineer

As we mentioned above, here at F4S, we’re fascinated by what motivates people. When considering leadership, it’s important to reflect on these three particular traits:

• Whether you enjoy power and control
• How much you value belonging
• How much you’re motivated by achievement. 

If you enjoy power and control, you will likely thrive in a leadership role. If belonging is important to you, then a leadership position may feel isolating. 

For a person with ENFJ personality traits, collaboration is important. They are interested in power as a tool for getting things done. They aren’t interested in exerting control over others. ENFJs gravitate toward leadership positions. Leadership positions enable them to effect change, inspire others, and develop their subordinates. ENFJ leaders get a huge sense of fulfillment from contributing to the growth and success of their team members.

ENFJs value belonging. But they don’t want the fear of rocking the boat to curtail their ambitions. To ensure this doesn’t happen, they cultivate strong and positive professional relationships. ENFJs have high levels of integrity, are empathetic, and care about the feelings of others. This makes them authentic and value-driven leaders.

People with the ENFJ personality type strive to create a work culture that balances achievement with well-being. They place a high value on community and engagement. Employee development and growth are high on the agenda. 

Work environments that lean into this type of culture likely offer very satisfying leadership opportunities for ENFJs. More traditional or strictly hierarchical businesses may prove more challenging for ENFJ leaders to work within.

As managers, ENFJs lead by example. They are always on hand to make timely decisions, offer support and encouragement, and create an inspiring vision for the future. 

ENFJs are so excited by the potential of people that they can occasionally place too much responsibility on an employee who may not be ready for it. However, their perceptive nature usually means they recognize this early and can course-correct.

If you’re interested in getting the most from your team through delivering transformational feedback, try our eight-week development program ‘Multiply Your Impact’. This program is personalized to work with your innate preferences helping you to lead with greater impact irrespective of personality type.

We’ve already touched on the fact that ENFJs love collaborating with others. Their sense of purpose and fulfillment is underpinned by helping their colleagues grow and develop. They love celebrating their teammates’ successes.

ENFJ people have high levels of emotional intelligence. This makes them attuned to team dynamics. This ability to understand what individuals need helps them to smooth out any conflict within a team. It also facilitates high levels of productivity and performance.

ENFJs can also be great in customer-facing roles. They can work well in sales and marketing teams as long as the approach is one with a win-win scenario. It must be about fulfilling customer needs rather than solely turning a profit.

A challenge for ENFJs is ensuring that their big-picture thinking is balanced with enough detail to influence more fact-driven colleagues. Without that supporting information, ENFJs may be less persuasive to some, which will leave them disappointed. 

ENFJs are also extremely empathetic. They need to make sure they don’t shoulder all the burdens of their teammates. ENFJs want the best for others. They will try to solve problems wherever they arise in the team. Usually, their optimistic nature provides them with enough resilience to cope. On occasion, they can be prone to burnout.

If you’re an ENFJ, ensuring you take the time to prioritize your well-being will enable you to support others effectively and get the best from your teammates.

From Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist minister, and civil rights movement leader, to the American talk show host and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey, ENFJs are known for their passion, energy, and dedication to making a difference.

Here are some famous ENFJs:

Editor’s note: Do you recognize yourself in any of these famous people? Are you secretly nodding along, going, “I always thought I was just like Oprah?” Whether you are or you aren’t, don’t worry! This list is meant to be fairly light-hearted. It is based on traits and behaviors observed in our favorite celebs rather than in-depth research. After all, it’s unlikely anyone actually put Martin Luther King Jr. through an MBTI test!