Best Career Paths For ESFJ Personality Types

What does your personality say about the job you’ll have? It just makes sense that if you’re a people person, you’ll end up working with other people and be successful doing that. Why not take that obvious knowledge to the next level and try a personality test to determine who you are. Then, you can use that information to find a great career.

One of the most popular personality tests is called The Myers Briggs Type Indicator®. This personality inventory is based on the work of psychoanalyst Carl Jung.

Jung theorized that personality is made of cognitive function and that the order these functions appear, or their dominance in an individual, determines their personality type. In discovering this, he determined there are 16 different personality types. That’s right, just 16 different personality types.

What is an ESFJ?

One of those personality types is the ESFJ. If you’ve done the test and discovered this is your type, you need to look at the letters involved and discover what they mean.

• Extroverted

• Sensing

• Feeling

• Judging

While those words give you a little more insight into the ESFJ personality, that’s not quite enough to understand what it means and what your personality traits are:

• Extroverted people are basically what you’d expect. They’re people who enjoy spending time with others, engage well with people, and tend to be very good at looking at the big picture.

• Sensing means that these individuals are keenly aware of what is happening at the moment. They’re in touch with nuances and the feelings of others at that moment, but they aren’t great at predicting or figuring out what will happen in the future. They’re not even that interested in the long-range results.

• Feeling, as a function, is pretty important to them. While we touched on their sensing and feelings working together, it is also important because they are so concerned with others.

  They will take on the feelings and emotions of others, and they often work hard to improve the lots of other individuals. Sometimes over their situation.

• Judging is often misinterpreted and thought of as judgmental. This is not the case. The judging is more closely tied with the tertiary function, and in this case, it’s feeling.

  That means that the ESFJ individual is very concerned with others, and they judge how a situation will affect people outside of themselves. They’re judging situations, emotions, and actions and relating them to the outside world.

Strengths and Weaknesses of ESFJ Individuals

If you have an ESFJ personality, you’re typically seen as the caregiver of the group. You’re the person everyone turns to for help and advice, and you enjoy this position. You get a lot of joy out of seeing other people succeed.

Because you’re so attuned to others, you value honesty and people who stick to the rules. Without the truth and rules in place, the world around you would be chaos, and you couldn’t figure out how to help or even where you belong. While you put others first, you’re also deeply wounded when they cheat or lie.

Some strengths you’ll find in ESFJ individuals:

• Kind and generous

• Outgoing

• Organized and practical

• Dependable and loyal

• Conscientious

• Driven to help

Weaknesses that you’ll find in ESFJs include:

• Needy and approval-seeking

• Unwilling to change

• Sensitive to criticisms

• Intolerant (especially of rule breakers)

• Controlling

Top Careers for ESFJ Personality Types

1. Teacher

   Average Yearly Salary: $46,000

   As an ESFJ, your desire to help others succeed is what makes you a fantastic teacher – of anything. It doesn’t have to be a school teacher; you could be teaching a craft or a sport. These teachers are so good at pushing their students to succeed and relating to each one personally that they’re very successful and popular.

   The only time there can be a problem with ESFJ teachers is their unwillingness to be flexible and to change. Sometimes these things are required, and they’ll be difficult for this personality type. But then again, their need to toe the line and follow the rules is more often than not a key strength.

   Find Teacher jobs near me.

2. Social Worker

   Average Yearly Salary: $51,000

   Helping others is the name of the game for ESFJ personalities, and it’s what social workers do. This field isn’t designed for everyone, it takes a lot of compassion and selfless determination to be very effective, and that’s where this personality type shines.

   While helping is key for social workers, following the rules is also important. There are a lot of rules, laws, and regulations when dealing with public policy and politics. This is critical for social workers in most situations. Also, their rigid adherence to rules keeps their clients in line and helps them see that rules can be important.

   Find Social Worker jobs near me.

3. Nurse

   Average Yearly Salary: $59,000

   Again, nursing is another career where it’s all about helping others. Nurses get up close and personal with their patients and do what they can to improve their situation.

   It’s often a tireless job, and it doesn’t come with the praise or pay it should, but ESFJs are so deeply concerned with others that they often forget that they deserve to have these things.

   Another skill they bring to nursing is their ability to judge how something will affect others. They can see the results of one situation and then apply that to instances down the road, always learning what approach might have the best outcome from others’ reactions.

   Find Nurse jobs near me.

4. Healthcare Administrator

   Average Yearly Salary: $66,000

   ESFJs who want to help others but aren’t interested in practicing medicine can find that health care administration is for them. They are more focused on how rules can help than how they can be hands-on with individuals. These people can be in the same personality type but prefer a different approach, one that’s less intimate.

   Administrators of all types are good at understanding rules and seeing how they will play out in real life. This is a true skill, and it’s something that ESFJs are good at, which makes them excellent administrators.

   Find Health Care Administrator jobs near me.

5. Party Planner/Event Coordinator

   Average Yearly Salary: $44,000

   Helping people doesn’t always have to be about dire or critical times in their lives. It can be about celebrations, too. Party planners and event coordinators love to focus on the fun and bringing something special to each event. They see what their clients want and know how to deliver. In fact, you can expect them to be the ones to go above and beyond to make sure your special day is truly one to remember.

   You’ll also find that these personality types don’t just set things up; they’re likely to be there through the entire event, putting out fires and making sure everything goes smoothly.

   Find Party Planner/Event Coordinator jobs near me.

6. Life Coach

   Average Yearly Salary: $38,105

   It’s almost as if the entire life coach profession was designed to give ESFJs a career that fits their personalities. They become dependable and practical people who can help you make the right decisions. Their ability to understand people and help them gives them unique insight into their underlying problems.

   Whereas counselors need to be distanced from their patients, life coaches can internalize the struggle, and connecting on an empathetic level can bring the added insight that an individual needs.

   Find Life Coach jobs near me.

7. Customer Service Representative

   Average Yearly Salary: $29,000

   When you’re driven to help others, then that’s what you want to do. That’s all customer service representatives are tasked with, day in and day out. Sure, the customers might not like the help they’re given sometimes, but the customer service representative does what they can.

   This isn’t an easy job, and it takes a special personality to deal with people when they’re unhappy or dissatisfied. That personality type is the ESFJ. ESFJs want to help, they feel the pain of others, and they truly understand what the desired resolution is.

   The thing is, they also play by the rules, and they know the rules. This means that if they can help, they will. If they can’t, then they will guide customers to the next best solution.

   Find Customer Service Representative jobs near me.

8. Minister or Religious Counsel

   Average Yearly Salary: $39,000

   Anyone who is drawn to work as a religious leader needs to have the ability to put others first. That is if they want to be an effective religious leader and truly promote their beliefs and messages. This is not easy for some, but for those who are driven to help, then they’ll find this road easier.

   The desire to play within the rules can also be a benefit as many religions have traditions and rules that they follow. This ability to lead by example is often a great asset and can endear followers to your guidance.

   Find Minister or Religious Counsel jobs near me.

9. Physical Therapist

   Average Yearly Salary: $69,000

   Another job for ESFJs who want to help others while working in the medical field is physical therapy. This profession lets you work with people through injury or illness to see them recover and resume most, if not all, of their regular activities. You could even take this job into athletics and work with athletes to improve their skills.

   Find Physical Therapist jobs near me.

10. Funeral Director

    Average Yearly Salary: $41,000

    The world needs funeral directors, and those who can empathize and help others through their grief are in high demand. Having that innate ESFJ ability to understand what someone wants or needs is critical for this profession.

    Often, you’re dealing with individuals who are so mired in grief that they can’t think clearly. This is where your desire to truly help comes into play and can ease their suffering in their worst times.

    This is not a job for many personality types because it is so serious and emotionally heavy, but the ESFJ won’t internalize those feelings; they’ll focus on what needs to happen to improve the situation.

    Find Funeral Director jobs near me.

Careers ESFJ Personalities Should Avoid

If you’re an ESFJ, these careers might not line up with your personality very well. They can leave you feeling uneasy, criticized, and like you’re not making enough of a difference in the lives of others.

1. Software Developer

   While some software and technology certainly help people, the software developer is often removed from the outcome. They sit in an office and work with technology, never getting to experience the benefits. This will quickly wear on an ESFJ, and they will feel that their talents are wasted, and they’re not making enough of a difference.

2. Economist

   Economists are all about the numbers and theoretical implications of financial trends. If that sounds horrible to you, you might be an ESFJ. Everything about this job is something an ESFJ would shy away from. It’s too theoretical, not beneficial enough to individuals, and it’s a solitary profession.

3. Farmer

   Farmers are essential to society, but they often work alone or in small groups, and their hours rarely allow for much human interaction. They do help in many ways, but once again, they’re not able to see their efforts on the tables of others.

   And while the rules can matter, they need to be very flexible as things can change on a farm in a heartbeat.

4. Auditor

   Checking the numbers and looking for inconsistencies is what auditors spend most of their days doing. When they do find inconsistencies, it’s not typically a good thing for the individuals involved.

   It will help the banks and other organizations they’re auditing for, but that might not fulfill their need to assist. Auditors also often work alone, but when they’re tasked with working with others, they can be seen as an enemy or someone to be wary of.

5. Factory Line Worker

   Most factory line workers do the same job, over and over. They’re not out in the world connecting with individuals and helping them out, even if what they’re making has significant benefits.

   It’s like the software developer; doing a job that makes a difference simply isn’t enough for the ESFJ, who needs to be part of the end result. They thrive on results and smiles.

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.