ESFP Personality

Your Type and Your Career

 ESFP

playful
tolerant
sympathetic

Understanding your preferences as an ESFP personality will make it easier to identify what is likely to feel ‘right’ for you at work and help you when you are planning a career change.

The best employment options for you will allow you to use your natural strengths and limit your exposure to tasks and situations that will drain you.

Here are some suggestions about what is likely to suit you in terms of personal strengths at work, preferred environment and your leadership style. There is also an indication of possible areas of weakness you should watch out for when you are assessing career change ideas.

Your strengths at work

  • Friendly and outgoing
  • Spontaneous
  • Excellent communicator
  • Create a fun atmosphere
  • Good at handling a variety of different things at once
  • Like action and making things happen
  • Join in to whatever is going on
  • Sound, practical ability with people
  • Realistic and down-to-earth
  • Thrive on the buzz of a busy environment
  • Focus on the task in hand
  • Cope well with sudden changes

Want to know how understanding your personality can help you choose the right career?

Read more…

Your preferred work environment


  • Lively, busy atmosphere
  • Contains people who are easy-going and adaptable
  • People orientated
  • Opportunities to work directly with people – colleagues and/or clients
  • Allows people to learn from hands on experience
  • Hard work is warmly appreciated
  • Minimal bureaucracy and restrictions
  • Tasks and projects have clear practical benefit
  • Offers an interesting variety of work to be juggled

Your leadership style

  • Inspire affection and loyalty from others in your team
  • Lead by creating goodwill amongst team members
  • Cope well with crises
  • Work to build bridges between opposing sides
  • Focus on getting things done in the here and now
  • Great group facilitator
  • Get results through collaboration

Weaknesses your should watch out for

  • Can be impulsive and easily distracted
  • May need to work on improving time management
  • May put too much emphasis on people values
  • May need to learn to look before you leap
  • Not likely to work effectively on your own
  • Can spend too long on relationship building and neglect task in hand
  • Tendency to start things but not finish them
  • Sometimes show lack of self discipline

These points should help you identify if a job or an area of work is worth considering. But remember that there are successful people of ALL types in ALL jobs. Particular types may find certain areas of work especially satisfying and others more challenging.

Use your understanding of your own ESFP personality preferences to help you explore and develop your career ideas, not to limit them.

Not sure if this is you?

Then take a look at the other similar types, where only one of the preferences is different. You may find that they are a more comfortable ‘fit’.

ESFJESTPENFPISFP

Interested in personality?

If you are interested in how your personality affects your career change click here to read how your approaches to job search can be influenced by the type of person you are.

About the author

Amy Thomas

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