ESFP
Extroverted, Sensing, Feeling, Perceiving
As an ESFP, career satisfaction means doing work that:
Popular Occupations for ESFPs
In listing occupations that are popular among ESFPs, it is important to note that there are successful people of all types in all occupations. However, the following are careers ESFPs may find particularly satisfying and some of the reasons why. This is by no means a comprehensive listing but is included to suggest possibilities you may not have previously considered. Although all of these occupations offer the potential for career satisfaction, the future demand for some careers is anticipated to be greater than for others. Based upon our research, for occupations that are italicized in the lists below are forecast to enjoy the fastest rate of growth over the next several years.
EDUCATION/ SOCIAL SERVICE
ESFPs often find careers in education satisfying, especially when working with young children. Elementary and pre-elementary grades sometimes are less formal and structured and offer plenty of opportunities for spontaneous learning experiences. ESFPs enjoy teaching basic skills and helping children get along with one another, a major emphasis in the early grades. They enjoy the activity, energy level, and variety of learning found in elementary school settings. ESFPs, usually active and physically skillful themselves, often enjoy athletics and athletic coaching. Playing sports, learning teamwork, and being active outdoors are enjoyable activities for ESFPs. They are enthusiastic, encouraging, and supportive coaches and teachers.
HEALTH CARE
Health care and social work provide ESFPs with the opportunity to help others. These careers require the acquisition and then repeated use of skills. Most ESFPs enjoy working directly with other people and thrive on a varied and fast-paced workday. Emergency room nursing requires quick thinking and the ability to calm frightened people during a crisis. Many ESFPs love animals and enjoy working with them either in a medical setting or as trainers. The field of social work allows ESFPs to meet and work with many different people, helping them identify resources available to them. They establish rapport easily and find satisfaction from helping make life easier for someone else.
ENTERTAINMENT/“ ACTION”
ESFPs enjoy entertaining others, in a formal capacity or informally with friends. They often have a strong sense of aesthetics and a good eye for the fresh and beautiful. Some ESFPs enjoy performance of their art; others simply want to be among other artists in the exciting and ever-changing world of entertainment. ESFPs enjoy travel and make good travel agents because they listen well to what their customers want in a vacation and work hard to find the right match. They are adept at juggling several projects at once, or elements of a project, and often find career satisfaction in special event coordination.
BUSINESS/ SALES
Manufacturer’s service representative ESFPs do not generally enjoy the world of business, especially the corporate world. But those jobs that involve a high degree of interaction with others, and where there is a less structured schedule, can be enjoyable to ESFPs. They often enjoy real estate sales because they spend much of their time out of the office, working directly with a variety of people, showing all kinds of homes. They often enjoy public relations, fund-raising, and mediation, where they are able to use their naturally persuasive nature. These careers let them use their interpersonal skills and their ability to gather information. Many ESFPs are drawn to retail careers, especially when they are able to use their eye for fashion and flair for the dramatic.
SERVICE
SCIENCE
The service industry attracts ESFPs primarily because of the interpersonal contact and the ability to use acquired skills. ESFPs are often warm and friendly and have the ability to make others feel relaxed and at home. They enjoy the atmosphere present in many restaurants and clubs and are sociable and generous hosts. Their present-moment orientation makes them fun to be around, and it is said that the party often follows the ESFP
Your work-related strengths may include:
Using your strengths is easy. The secret to success for an ESFP is learning to:
Think about the future implications, not take things too personally, and follow through on commitments.
- Lets me learn from hands-on experience, where I look for solutions to problems from gathering all the facts at my disposal and by using common sense
- Lets me get personally involved in the tasks at hand, working directly with clients or customers, out in the field rather than away from the action
- Lets me work with lots of other people in an active and social environment, with variety, fun, and spontaneity
- Requires skillful handling of people and conflicts, the ability to ease tensions to help groups work more cooperatively, and the ability to motivate others
- Lets me juggle multiple projects or activities, especially those that utilize my aesthetic taste and sense of design
- Lets me interact throughout the workday with other easygoing and social people who share my enthusiasm, energy, and realistic point of view
- Lets me work on projects that are of immediate utility and take into account the needs of people around me
- Is done in a friendly and relaxed environment, without hidden political agendas
- Rewards my hard work and good intentions, and where I feel appreciated for my contributions
- Lets me have fun, enjoy everyday surprises, and where there is a minimum of bureaucracy, rules, or restrictions
Popular Occupations for ESFPs
In listing occupations that are popular among ESFPs, it is important to note that there are successful people of all types in all occupations. However, the following are careers ESFPs may find particularly satisfying and some of the reasons why. This is by no means a comprehensive listing but is included to suggest possibilities you may not have previously considered. Although all of these occupations offer the potential for career satisfaction, the future demand for some careers is anticipated to be greater than for others. Based upon our research, for occupations that are italicized in the lists below are forecast to enjoy the fastest rate of growth over the next several years.
EDUCATION/ SOCIAL SERVICE
- Teacher: early childhood and elementary
- Child care provider
- Teacher: art, drama, music
- Teacher: physically, visually impaired
- Athletic coach
- Home health social worker
- Substance abuse counselor
- Child welfare counselor
- Marine biologist
- Developer of educational software
- Teacher: special education
ESFPs often find careers in education satisfying, especially when working with young children. Elementary and pre-elementary grades sometimes are less formal and structured and offer plenty of opportunities for spontaneous learning experiences. ESFPs enjoy teaching basic skills and helping children get along with one another, a major emphasis in the early grades. They enjoy the activity, energy level, and variety of learning found in elementary school settings. ESFPs, usually active and physically skillful themselves, often enjoy athletics and athletic coaching. Playing sports, learning teamwork, and being active outdoors are enjoyable activities for ESFPs. They are enthusiastic, encouraging, and supportive coaches and teachers.
HEALTH CARE
- Emergency room nurse
- Social worker
- Dog trainer
- Medical assistant
- Dental assistant and hygienist
- Licensed practical nurse (LPN)
- Physical therapist
- Primary care physician
- Home health aide
- Massage therapist
- Dietitian/ nutritionist
- Optician/ optometrist
- Emergency medical technician (EMT)
- Exercise physiologist
- Pharmacy technician
- Radiological technician
- Respiratory therapist
- Veterinarian/ veterinary technician
- Occupational therapist
- Personal fitness trainer
- Home care worker for the elderly
- Hospice worker
- Emergency room physician
- Podiatrist
- Speech and language pathologist
- Pediatrician
- Vocational rehabilitation counselor
- Art therapist
- Chiropractor
- Registered nurse
- Nursing instructor
- Cardiology technologist
- Transplant coordinator
Health care and social work provide ESFPs with the opportunity to help others. These careers require the acquisition and then repeated use of skills. Most ESFPs enjoy working directly with other people and thrive on a varied and fast-paced workday. Emergency room nursing requires quick thinking and the ability to calm frightened people during a crisis. Many ESFPs love animals and enjoy working with them either in a medical setting or as trainers. The field of social work allows ESFPs to meet and work with many different people, helping them identify resources available to them. They establish rapport easily and find satisfaction from helping make life easier for someone else.
ENTERTAINMENT/“ ACTION”
- Travel agent/ tour operator
- Photographer
- Film producer
- Musician
- Performer: dancer, comedian
- Promoter
- Special events coordinator
- Painter/ illustrator/ sculptor
- Costume/ wardrobe specialist
- News anchor
- Character actor
- Park naturalist
- Flight instructor
- Commercial helicopter pilot
- Entertainment and sports agent
- Forester
- Television camera operator
- Cartoonist and animator
- Insurance fraud investigator
- Fire investigator
- Police officer
- Wilderness adventure leader
- Radio/ television announcer
- Sketch artist
- Farmer
- Carpenter
ESFPs enjoy entertaining others, in a formal capacity or informally with friends. They often have a strong sense of aesthetics and a good eye for the fresh and beautiful. Some ESFPs enjoy performance of their art; others simply want to be among other artists in the exciting and ever-changing world of entertainment. ESFPs enjoy travel and make good travel agents because they listen well to what their customers want in a vacation and work hard to find the right match. They are adept at juggling several projects at once, or elements of a project, and often find career satisfaction in special event coordination.
BUSINESS/ SALES
- Retail merchandiser/ planner
- Public relations specialist
- Fund-raiser
- Labor relations mediator
- Receptionist
- Merchandise planner
- Diversity manager: human resources
- Team trainer
- Travel sales/ broker Insurance agent/ broker: health or life
- Real estate agent
- Sports equipment sales/ marketing
- Retail sales/ management
- Home health care sales
Manufacturer’s service representative ESFPs do not generally enjoy the world of business, especially the corporate world. But those jobs that involve a high degree of interaction with others, and where there is a less structured schedule, can be enjoyable to ESFPs. They often enjoy real estate sales because they spend much of their time out of the office, working directly with a variety of people, showing all kinds of homes. They often enjoy public relations, fund-raising, and mediation, where they are able to use their naturally persuasive nature. These careers let them use their interpersonal skills and their ability to gather information. Many ESFPs are drawn to retail careers, especially when they are able to use their eye for fashion and flair for the dramatic.
SERVICE
- Flight attendant
- Secretary/ receptionist
- Waiter/ waitress
- Host/ hostess
- Floral designer
- Police/ corrections officer (specialty in remedial training, rehabilitation, counseling)
- Landscape architect
- Chef and head cook
- Interior designer
- Recreational therapist
- Aerobics instructor
- Gamekeeper
- Landscaper and grounds manager
- Exhibit builder
- Eco-tourism specialist
- Professional photographer
- Merchandise displayer
- Silversmith
SCIENCE
- Environmental scientist
- Social conservationist
- Zoologist
- Marine biologist
- Geologist
The service industry attracts ESFPs primarily because of the interpersonal contact and the ability to use acquired skills. ESFPs are often warm and friendly and have the ability to make others feel relaxed and at home. They enjoy the atmosphere present in many restaurants and clubs and are sociable and generous hosts. Their present-moment orientation makes them fun to be around, and it is said that the party often follows the ESFP
Your work-related strengths may include:
- Lots of energy and enjoyment of being active on the job
- Ability to adapt well to change and shift gears quickly
- Sensitivity to people’s needs and desire to help them in real ways
- Caring nature; you’re a cooperative team player
- Ability to make work fun and exciting
- Practicality and great common sense
- Loyalty to the people and organizations you care about
- Process-oriented approach; you create a lively and fun atmosphere at work
- Flexibility and willingness to take calculated risks and try new approaches
- Desire to cooperate, pitch in, and help people in real and concrete ways
- Ability to clearly assess current resources and conditions and immediately see what needs to be done
- Difficulty working alone, especially for extended periods of time
- Tendency to accept things at face value and miss deeper implications
- Dislike of advance preparation; you have trouble organizing your time
- Difficulty seeing opportunities and options that don’t exist at the moment
- Tendency to take criticism and negative feedback very personally
- Trouble making decisions Impulsiveness and tendency to be easily tempted or distracted
- Dislike of excessive rules and structured bureaucracy
- Difficulty making logical decisions if they conflict with personal feelings
- Resistance to setting long-term goals and difficulty meeting deadlines
- Difficulty disciplining self or others
Using your strengths is easy. The secret to success for an ESFP is learning to:
Think about the future implications, not take things too personally, and follow through on commitments.