The ESFP Myers-Briggs personality type is often a natural entertainer with a strong ability to engage with and charm the people around them. Energetic, fun-loving, and spontaneous, they take pleasure in food, nature, animals, clothing, and other people in particular.

ESFP Personality:

ESFP stands for extraverted, sensing, feeling, and perceiving. This personality type gets their energy from spending time with other people. They prefer to focus on details and facts rather than concepts and ideas but use their feelings and values when making decisions. They prefer to be flexible and spontaneous rather than organised and planned. Due to their energetic and playful nature, they are sometimes nicknamed ‘the performer’.

Typically, ESFP individuals are talkative, warm, and social. They have an enthusiasm for life that is contagious and enjoy being in the centre of the action. They have a sense of humour that is playful and open and love helping other people have a good time.

The ESFP personality type tends to live in the moment. They enjoy everything that life has to offer and tend to be very in tune with their senses, often taking pleasure in all the smells, sounds, sights, and textures around them. They enjoy keeping busy and are often people who have a lot of hobbies and activities going on with a wide circle of friends. They hate nothing more than missing out on fun but can easily become overextended when there are lots of things to do due to their spontaneous nature.

While they are known for being fun-loving, the ESFP personality type can also be very down-to-earth and practical. They’re very grounded in reality and acutely aware of the details and facts in their environment, particularly when it comes to other people. They tend to be extremely observant of the needs of others and quick to respond if assistance is needed. They take pleasure in helping other people, especially in a tangible and practical way.

Best Careers for ESFP:

The ESFP personality type tends to prefer workplace roles where they can be hands-on and at the centre of the action. They prefer a sociable and active work environment where they are free to have some fun and be spontaneous. They will get on best with co-workers who are enthusiastic, friendly, and laid-back.

The ESFP will often choose a career path that allows them to help others since they are realistic, pragmatic, and in tune with other people’s needs. They will especially thrive in a work environment where they will be able to see real results from the efforts that they have put in. They tend to be highly skilled at solving people-centred and practical problems.

This personality type often has an artistic streak and will typically be in tune with their senses. This often means that they are drawn to career options where they can engage their five senses through music, food, art, or textiles. They will usually prefer an aesthetically pleasing work environment and a career where they’re not confined to one place.

The ideal work environment for the ESFP is one that is flexible and not too concerned with excessive bureaucracy or strict rules. They prefer to work in an environment where they can address situations as they arise, as they will generally focus on the present moment’s demands. They prefer work that has immediate results and will generally shy away from long-term projects.

Best Jobs for ESFP:

Compassionate and practical, this personality type will do well in a work environment that is creative and engaging. They are often friendly and prefer a flexible work environment where they can enjoy learning and developing skills alongside others. They will thrive in a career where they can use their strong social and creative skills to solve immediate problems, such as:

·      Teacher:

The ESFP personality type will often thrive in a teaching role due to the performative and engaging nature of the job. A good teacher needs to have the ability to create an immersive and interesting classroom where their passion for their subject and compassion for their students is clear, something that the ESFP can often do quite naturally.

·      Public Relations Manager:

As a personality type that enjoys finding action-based solutions to problems, the ESFP may be well-suited to a role as a public relations manager, where they can put their strong social and interpersonal skills along with their creativity to use on a regular basis.

·      Physiotherapist:

Typically, the ESFP will work best when they are able to work directly with other people. Since this personality type also has a high degree of empathy and a desire for helping others in a practical way, this can make them an ideal fit for the role of a physiotherapist, where they can work to create manageable and achievable goals to help their patients get healthier.

·      Social Worker:

The best social workers are caring, friendly, and warm people who love to serve their communities. Working as a social worker can be one of the most rewarding and fulfilling career options for the ESFP personality type since the role provides them with a productive environment where they can put this empathy to use working alongside and supporting a range of different people.

·      Dental Hygienist:

The ESFP personality type is often quite detail-oriented, which makes them an ideal fit for a role as a dental hygienist. In this role, they are able to focus on their tasks and come up with practical and tangible solutions to solve problems for their employer or patients. In addition, the warm, compassionate nature of the ESFP along with their strong social skills also makes it easy for them to put patients at ease and create a friendly and warm environment for them.

·      Entrepreneur:

The ESFP personality type is typically outgoing and driven, making them an ideal fit for somebody who wants to start their own business. Working as an entrepreneur may also be appealing to the ESFP who wants the opportunity to be as flexible and as creative as they would like in the workplace. With an excellent focus and great social skills, they can easily drive business growth, reach, engage with customers, and create a strong community in any business field.

·      Marketing Manager:

The ESFP personality type can often be a great fit for a role as a marketing manager due to their flexibility and responsiveness. They will also typically have a high degree of realism and pragmatism, which can be extremely effective when coming up with successful strategies for marketing campaigns.

·      Chef:

Working as a chef can be an ideal career path to satisfy the performer and artist side of the ESFP personality type. In the kitchen, the ESFP can put their creativity, extraversion, and their social nature to work. In addition, many ESFP personality types are natural leaders, which makes them an ideal fit for the position of head chef.

ESFP Personality Careers to Avoid:

While any personality type, including the ESFP, can succeed in a wide range of career types, some jobs are just not the best fit for the exciting, vibrant personality that these individuals will often have. These jobs are likely to be stressful and unsatisfying for the ESFP, and are best avoided:

·      Accounting:

A role that requires professionals to deal with figures and data that need to be broken down and analysed, accounting is not likely to be a good fit for the spontaneous, people-oriented ESFP. This personality type is likely to find work as an accountant monotonous and boring, and the need to follow and stick to set procedures can easily become frustrating or even stressful.

·      Human Resources:

While the ESFP personality type is likely to enjoy the interaction with other people that comes with a job in human resources, most of this career is made up of planning and doing routine work, which is unlikely to appeal to the ESFP. Sitting behind a desk, interviewing applicants, updating company policies and other routine tasks will quickly become boring and overwhelming.

·      Economist:

The ESFP personality type prefers to work in a role where they can see tangible results that can be quickly acquired. This, alongside their dislike for working on long-term projects, means that the role of an economist is unlikely to be one that this personality type will find themselves drawn to. Many ESFP individuals will not enjoy making forecasts and projections, due to their preference for instant results. Routine tasks such as writing articles for academic journals is not something the ESFP would choose to do.

·      Admin Assistant:

Most ESFPs would not be interested in applying for a job where they need to work in the office from 9-5, making the role of an admin assistant out of the question. In addition, the routine and often monotonous tasks that are involved in this role such as planning schedules, doing paperwork, replying to emails, and answering phone calls are likely to quickly bore the ESFP.

The vibrant and sociable ESFP will prefer to work somewhere where they can be in the centre of the action. They are often drawn to fast-paced jobs where they can see quick results for the work that they put in.