Best ESFJ Careers & Jobs – Which To Pick or Avoid & Why

The ESFJ is the second most common personality type identified by the Myer Briggs Type Identifier, of MBTI. The ESFJ personality type, also called the Consul, has extroverted, sensing, feeling, and judging characteristics. They enjoy maintaining strong relationships and are naturally outgoing.

Additionally, their willingness to help others and strong interpersonal skills make them very appealing employees. In this article, we will explore the ESFJ jobs and career matches.

Read in to find what the Consul’s strengths and weaknesses are, and how to maximize your potential as an ESFJ employee or ESFJ leader.

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The Most Compatible Jobs and Career Matches for ESFJs Also Know as a Consul

Nurse

ESFJs with an interest in healthcare should consider a career in nursing. ESFJs enjoy playing by the rules, which makes them great in healthcare.

Nurses must keep track of records, follow strict procedures, observe and record medical history, and understand symptoms and treatments. Also, the ESFJ’s caring nature and kindness contribute to great bedside manners.

Office Manager

ESFJs crave to create harmony in their workplace, so managing may be a clear career choice for Consuls. Some of the tasks included in management include arranging meetings, monitoring productivity, managing revenue and budgets, as well as communicating with stakeholders and customers. All of these require strong organizational and interpersonal skills.

Child Care Provider

ESFJs have a long attention span and are attentive individuals. Additionally, their caring nature makes them calming figures to children. The ESFJ can use their communication skills to speak with children, parents, and other caregivers.

This role also expects providers to work within strict guidelines, frameworks, and maintain a strong understanding of learning curriculums.

Real Estate Agent

This career path focuses on assisting clients to purchase homes, as well as sell and rent properties. Home buying can be stressful, which is why estate agents must be friendly, knowledgeable, and trustworthy.

The ESFJ’s kindness and understanding of others’ feelings come into good use in this job.

Jobs and Careers Paths ESFJ Should Definitely Avoid

ESFJs can be successful in any occupation, but they may not thrive as well doing particular work. The following is a short list of career paths that may not be the best fit for the ESFJ.

Software Developer
Attorney
Editor
Farmer
Economist
Chemist

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Consul Core Strengths and Weaknesses in a Working Environment

As with all personality types, ESFJs have their own unique skills and underdeveloped abilities.

The ESFJ strengths profile consists of strong interpersonal skills and compassion, as well as a plethora of other traits.

ESFJ Strengths They Should Boost

Consuls have strong practical skills and are excellent at managing day-to-day and routine tasks at work. They enjoy working with others and ensure everyone around them feels comfortable.

Additionally, they are very loyal individuals, as Consuls value stability and security in their relationships and during their work. They enjoy playing a key role in maintaining security in their community, and they can always be relied upon for a vast amount of tasks.

ESFJs are sensitive individuals and they can understand the thoughts and feelings of those around them. To ensure stability, Consuls will seek to avoid confrontation and hurting others’ feelings. They are careful with their words and seek to comfort those around them.

Being a team player and creating win-win situations is another key strength of ESFJs. ESFJs fit into teams easily and are generally quite well-liked. They are social and enjoy participating in team events.

Consuls desire to belong to their team and community, and they have no issues with small talk and can easily read social cues, which helps them play an active role in their workplace.

ESFJ Weaknesses and the Possible Implications

ESFJs care deeply about their own social status. In fact, they may be so preoccupied with their status and influence that it may interfere with finding an ESFJ romantic match or furthering relationships in and outside work.

This obsession with status may also limit their creativity and open-mindedness. This type is also inflexible and reluctant to change or innovate. They are unwilling to step out of their comfort zone or take risks, sometimes simply because of a fear of being different.

They may instead choose to push their beliefs on others to get these views to be more mainstream. Consuls can also be viewed as needy by some. They need to feel appreciated and listened to function their best. If their efforts are ignored, they may start looking for compliments.

And if they are criticised for their behavior, they may become defensive and hurt without standing up for themselves. While selflessness may be viewed as beneficial by some, it may be a flaw for ESFJs. They may neglect their own needs during projects. They may try to establish their values and make decisions based on the needs of others instead of their own needs.

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How do I Work with an ESFJ? (A Consul in a Team)

ESFJs should be recognized and praised for their quality work, as well as given plenty of opportunities to socialize at work. They enjoy putting their people skills to work by organizing processes, so allow them to take control over such workplace elements, provide a structured and organized environment for the ESFJ.

Give them a chance to complete their projects so they can feel satisfied. The ideal workplace for this type is one that allows for socialization, attention to detail, and allows the ESFJ to work practically with others.

The team which surrounds an ESFJ should be energetic, motivated, and action-oriented. A Consul’s work should be aligned with their values, and they should be surrounded by supportive individuals. Expectations should be clear and the workplace should be friendly, structured, and free from conflict and unpredictability.

ESFJ as a Leader/Manager

The ESFJ-A and ESFJ-T differences are displayed in their slightly different leadership styles. The Assertive Consul, or ESFJ-A, is more confident when it comes to leading or managing others.

They are less likely to have regrets and are more optimistic leaders when compared to the ESFJ-T. However, most ESFJs are encouraging, charismatic, and hard-working as leaders. Their leadership style most commonly aligns with the servant style.

This is so because they usually put their team’s needs above their own, preferring to think of others before considering their own desires. During a crisis, ESFJs help and support those around them instead of trying to maximize their own safety and satisfaction.

The Consul’s strong desire to maintain harmony and limit clashes may result in them struggling to stay objective. It can be difficult for them to identify a line between keeping everyone happy and achieving the company’s goals.

While Consuls will be good at short-term planning and goal setting as leaders, they may not be as skilled when it comes to long-term commitments and creating long-term strategic moves that may benefit the brand years in advance.

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Peculiar ESFJ Career Stats

The ESFJ is the second most common MBTI type, making up 12% of the overall population, 17% of women, and 8% of men. Because ESFJs are so common, fitting into the workplace and finding a suitable job will likely be easier than doing so as a rarer personality type.

ESFJs should look for a few specific job descriptions to see if the job is a good fit for them. Ensure that you can maintain a good work/life balance and that even at work, you can socialize.

The most common career paths for ESFJs include education, health care, and religious work. This type consistently ranks as one of the most satisfied and fulfilled groups of individuals.

When considering work, always consider if the workplace provides definite structure, security, and gives you the opportunity to serve those around you. If the career matches these requirements, it is likely a good fit for the Consul.

ESFJ Career F.A.Q

Who suits ESFJ?

The most compatible personality type for ESFJs is ISFP. That’s because of the fact that ESFJs are empathetic individuals who enjoy taking care of other people’s feelings and require the same from their loved ones. Therefore, they’re mostly compatible with personality types that are characterized by empathy and feeling (F) traits.

Other than this, ISFPs and ESFJs also share the sensing (S) trait, which means that they process information in the same pattern. In fact, both ESFJs and ISFPs prefer to live in the present moment and base their decisions on facts rather than speculation about the future. As a result, ISFPs suit ESFJs and are considered the best matches for them.

What career should an ESFJ do?

ESFJs enjoy working in teams and guiding people with the needed assistance. Considering their great interpersonal skills and eye for detail, some of the most suitable careers for ESFJs can be as a nurse, child care provider, real estate agent, or office manager.

Even though these jobs are based on completely different career paths, each of them requires great interpersonal skills and a desire to help others. Therefore, ESFJs can perform well and feel satisfied in either of these careers.

Are ESFJ popular?

Yes, ESFJs tend to be very popular individuals among their peers because of their personality traits such as extroversion, sensing, feeling, and judging. In fact, ESFJs have amazing interpersonal skills.

As a result, people enjoy communicating with them and asking them for help or advice. Since ESJFs care about people too, they never hesitate to give out advice. And this, in turn, makes them very popular in the circle of their friends, in their family, or among their co-workers.

A Summary of the Key Aspects of ESFJ Careers

Consuls are some of the most practical and caring individuals out there. They have strong interpersonal and administrative skills, and are especially known for creating harmonious and friendly environments for their community.

They are dedicated, especially when it comes to personal development. Their kindness and practicality may be seen as a liability in certain situations. In certain moments, Consuls will need to work to be more authoritative and develop some of their weaker traits.

However, this does not mean ESFJs cannot be leaders. Instead, they simply have their own unique leadership approach which may need to change in specific scenarios.