The rarest of the Myers-Briggs personality types, the INFJ is a creative nurturer with a drive to help others realise their potential. They have a strong sense of personal integrity and tend to be individuals who are dedicated and creative with a real talent for helping others with original solutions to personal challenges.
INFJ Personality:
INFJ stands for introversion, intuition, feeling, and judging. This personality type gets their energy from spending time on their own and will usually focus on ideas and concepts rather than details and facts. They make decisions based on their values and feelings and prefer to be organised and planned rather than spontaneous. They tend to be compassionate, idealistic, and sensitive, and are often nicknamed ‘the counsellor’. They are guided by a set of deeply considered personal values and often imagine a happier, more perfect future for all. The harsh realities of the present may often discourage them, but they will often remain persistent and motivated to take positive action. They have an intrinsic drive to do whatever they can to improve the world and make it a better place. They often want a meaningful life and crave deeper connections with other people, valuing authentic connections with the people who they trust.
The INFJ personality type has a unique ability to intuit the motivations and emotions of others. Often, they know how somebody else is feeling before the person themselves does. They trust their insights when it comes to others and are confident in their ability to read other people. While sensitive, they are also very reserved and tend to be private people who are selective about sharing their innermost feelings and thoughts.
At work, the INFJ will thrive best in a career where they can be helpful. They are reliable when it comes to envisioning, planning, and carrying out complex projects for humanitarian causes and bettering the human condition. They will gain the most satisfaction from their work when they can turn their ideas into reality and create constructive change for others. They are typically organised and prefer to conduct work that allows them to complete projects in an orderly manner.
Best Careers for INFJ:
At work, the INFJ will often prefer an environment that allows them to work independently. They will usually prefer a quieter environment that allows them the opportunity to fully develop their ideas and thoughts. Ideally, they will work in an environment that is industrious, harmonious, and focused on humanitarianism or making the world a better place in some way. They tend to work best with co-workers who are also committed to making positive changes in the world.
The Best Jobs for INFJ:
For the INFJ, the main driver when choosing a career that is an ideal fit for them is to find work that is consistent with their ideals and values. INFJ personality types can often be found working in industries or roles where they can use their skills and values to help others such as education, healthcare, and counselling. Many INFJs also have a creative streak and will value work that allows them to use this. Some of the top career choices for the INFJ include:
· Social Services and Counselling:
The INFJ is typically a great listener, and this personality type will think deeply and insightfully when it comes to personal problems. Their high intuition when it comes to other people and the patience that they possess when it comes to navigating tricky emotional situations makes them a good fit for a role in social services or counselling. They are often compassionate and dedicated to getting the best results for their clients. INFJs tend to thrive in roles such as counsellor, clinical psychologist, or social worker.
· Healthcare:
Healthcare is another ideal industry for the INFJ personality type. Healthcare careers allow the INFJ to combine their deep level of care and concern for the welfare of others with their intellectual capabilities. INFJs will often also enjoy the sciences and enjoy these roles where they are able to combine both scientific knowledge and helping others. Some healthcare careers that might be ideal choices for the INFJ personality type include psychiatrist, massage therapist, nutritionist, family doctor, medical researcher, occupational therapist, and public health educator.
· Business and Law:
The INFJ personality type may also often be drawn to a career where they can bring a human touch to the world of business. This personality type is often an ideal fit for career roles within business that focus on helping others including training and HR. In the law field, they may be drawn to humanitarian professions where they can use their skills and values to help others. Some business and legal careers for INFJs to consider include corporate trainer, HR manager, human rights lawyer, environmental lawyer, and legal mediator.
· Science:
The INFJ personality type will often enjoy the intellectual challenge of working in a scientific career. They will often be found working in science careers that are in line with their values, including options such as environmental science, food science, social science, and genealogist.
· Arts and Language:
The INFJ personality type will often enjoy the expressive quality of language. In addition, they often possess the high levels of concentration and focus that is required to work as an excellent writer or editor. The expressive nature of the arts and the ability to use the arts for the better may also appeal to the INFJ personality type. Some ideal arts and languages career roles for this personality type to consider include writer, translator, librarian, graphic designer, interior designer, and animator.
· Education:
While teaching in front of a classroom is often better suited to extraverted personality types and may be overwhelming for the INFJ, there are other, more one-to-one career types in the field of education that may be better suited to the INFJ, who will often enjoy helping others grow and develop. Educational careers that involve working with individuals or smaller groups such as special education teachers or school counsellors are often ideal choices for the INFJ.
INFJ Personality Careers to Avoid:
The INFJ’s need to make the world a better place and help others means that there are some roles that will leave this personality type feeling dissatisfied, unfulfilled, and even sad and angry. Some occupations require behaviours and thinking that do not come very naturally to the INFJ. If you are this Myers-Briggs personality type, some of the main careers to avoid include:
· Sales:
The INFJ personality type tends to struggle the most in roles in the modern corporate world, particularly when it comes to sales. Due to their sensitive personality and a high degree of empathy, the INFJ can often find that they are too compassionate to be competitive and they are unlikely to enjoy persuading others to purchase a product or service. In addition, they may also be prevented from getting ahead in a sales role due to their selfless nature, which can easily be taken advantage of.
· Finance:
The INFJ personality is not interested in working with data and details. They will often find finances and money to be very uninspiring and money management is not always one of their best skills, meaning that a career in finance is unlikely to be the best fit for them. However, the INFJ will pay attention to financial details if they relate to a cause that they are passionate about and has a large positive impact on others.
· Military:
People who serve in the military are trained to follow orders without question, and there are strict rules and a rigid schedule to follow. This makes it an unsuitable type of role for the INFJ personality type since INFJs tend to place a lot of high value on individual purpose, creativity, and intuition. It would be very difficult for an INFJ to get comfortable with being restricted to certain rules and obeying commands without question.
· Politics:
Working in politics often means that you are constantly in the public eye. This makes it a difficult career choice for the INFJ, who would struggle to be approachable all the time. And, socialising is a large part of a career in politics, with politicians and other professionals required to interact with many different people, which would quickly become overwhelming for the introverted and reserved INFJ.
· Customer Service:
While the INFJ may enjoy the side of a customer service role that allows them to help others, this type of work is unlikely to provide them with enough satisfaction and fulfilment. Working in customer service does not often allow the INFJ to get to the deeper issues that they want to explore and will also usually require interacting with many different people and personalities throughout the day, which will quickly become exhausting for the INFJ. This personality type is likely to be dissatisfied with customer service, as they want to contribute something meaningful to people’s lives rather than fix superficial problems.
The rarest Myers-Briggs personality type is best suited to a career where they can make a real difference in the lives of others.
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