People with an INFP personality possess unique personality assets, such as empathy and great communication skills. Discover how an INFP’s strengths help them thrive at work — and learn which careers to pursue and which to avoid.
9 mins read
Our work takes up a third of our lives. Therefore, it is crucial to be satisfied with our careers. But how do we achieve this?
Matching your job with your personality is a prerequisite of a contended life. There are several means at your disposal to determine your personality, the career you enjoy, and how to work well within your specific personality type. BrainManager can guide you on this path.
The first such tool is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. It categorizes people as one of 16 personality types.
Today, we’ll focus on the INFP personality type. Learn about INFPs’ traits and, most importantly, the best jobs to pursue based on the type’s strengths.
All personality types exhibit strengths and weaknesses that affect their personal and work life. Understanding these will help you identify a healthy versus toxic work environment.
Here are some things that INFPs will offer and expect from their careers:
Having learned the strengths of people with an INFP personality in the workforce, let’s jump to jobs that match their traits.
Thanks to their strong imagination and endless creative talent, INFPs excel in jobs in the arts field and often become famous artists. Their empathetic nature and ability to connect with others means they can create art that touches people (something Enneagram 4 also aspires to do). Additionally, most arts jobs are freelance or independent contractors, which fits nicely in the INFP’s preference to work autonomously.
Examples of jobs in the arts field that INFPs can pursue include:
Because the Mediator has excellent communication skills and is skilled at making connections, they are well-suited for careers within commercial media and communications, such as:
A job in education can be quite fulfilling for the Helper as it involves improving young lives. Being a teacher requires patience, compassion, and understanding, all qualities this personality possesses. Additionally, their creative juices will help them develop ways to keep learning exciting and impactful things. INFPs will encourage students to think outside the box and grow into their best selves.
You can become a special education teacher for a deeper reward and connection. This job typically involves working in small groups or one-on-one with those who need help and support, thus fulfilling the Helper’s introversion preference.
Small class sizes at the university can also suit the introverted personality. As a university professor, you can pursue research interests, design courses, and engage with students authentically.
Today’s businesses are diverse and focus a lot on technology. While the Helper tends to avoid high-stress jobs or customer-facing roles, several areas within a company require creative and big-picture thinking.
INFPs value independence and flexibility, and being an entrepreneur allows them to set goals, projects, and schedules. This personality can also turn their ideas into reality and channel their creativity into creating a unique product.
Within a business, INFPs can pursue a career in human resources where they can help job seekers find fulfilling jobs. Plus, many HR jobs involve creative thinking, problem-solving, and creating a positive work environment. This fits perfectly into the INFP’s desire to ensure everyone’s happiness and success.
The Healer is known for their empathetic and compassionate traits. They are also excellent listeners, open-minded, and non-judgmental. Therefore, they are like fish in the water in helping professions.
Examples of jobs in the healthcare field that play to their strengths include physical therapist, occupational therapist, psychiatrist, dietician, nutritionist, and speech-language pathologist.
An INFP’s empathetic, sensitive, and compassionate nature also extends to animals. These traits make them ideal for vet work.
Social work is also excellent for The Mediator thanks to their compassion and excellent interpersonal and listening skills. This personality is also open-minded and non-judgmental, and this job allows them to help others and positively impact the world.
Here are some ideas of great jobs in the helping professions for INFPs:
You can develop skills to succeed in different occupations regardless of your personality. Still, there are certain fields an INFP might want to avoid because they are inconsistent with their personality.
The Healer should stay away from competitive jobs that are solely results-driven. Such jobs are very consumerist and create little to no positive impact on people’s lives.
It would also be wise to avoid data-driven and repetitive roles that don’t support your creative needs. Most INFPs won’t thrive in an overly structured or high-stress environment or where there’s pressure to conform to a particular way of thinking.
With that in mind, here are some careers the Healer would be well advised to avoid:
Keep in mind that we are all unique, and other factors influence which careers are the best for us as individuals. For example, actor Keanu Reeves shows many characteristics of being an INFP, and look how successful his performing career has been.
If any of these professions strike a chord with you, go for it! If something really matters to you, you will be able to do what it takes to develop your strengths and overcome your weaknesses!
The Myers-Briggs system assigns personalities based on four key traits that describe how an individual learns, responds, and behaves.
Do you think you might be an INFP? Take our 16 personality test to be sure these are the skills and personality traits you possess and can showcase to make yourself attractive to potential employers.
For the INFP, the key traits are:
While these are the key traits of an INFP, they don’t capture the whole essence of this personality type. This is where the archetypes of the “Mediator” or “Healer” come in to give further characteristics.
INFPs are known as the Mediator or Healer because of their:
You can read more about these and other Healers’ characteristics in our article on INFPs.
As with any personality type, INFPs sit on a broad spectrum that ranges from assertive to turbulent. The scale represents an individual’s confidence in their abilities and how they react to things.
Assertive identities tend to be more positive and confident in what they offer the world. They’re happy to make decisions independently and are motivated to reach their goals. On the other hand, their empathetic nature can make them overlook or ignore problems or hostile working environments.
Turbulent identities tend to be more sensitive to the needs and feelings of others. This tendency increases their emotional intelligence and empathy, making them better listeners and team players than their INFP-A counterparts.
But they are also less sure about their abilities and contributions, which can lead to much self-criticism. They struggle with confidence in the workplace, thus needing a lot of validation from others.
On the bright side, if INFP-Ts learn to treat themselves with kindness as they do others, their need for perfection can encourage them to strive for excellence. Exceptional achievements are a sure result of such an attitude.
Neither of the two INFP subcategories is better than the other (just like extroverts are not better than introverts). Each group has unique traits that can lead to a successful career. So, there is no need to try to be someone you’re not. But you should also be aware that INFP-As and INFT
What’s important is to fully understand who you are and learn how to leverage your traits in the workplace. The best way to achieve this is to use the leading theory on the relationship between personalities and careers — Holland’s theory of occupational choice.
If you are unsure which of Holland’s types you might be, take BrainManager’s Career Aptitude Test and find out. The result will complement your MBTI score and deepen your understanding of your career preferences and where in your core they might lie.
Knowing your weaknesses is also helpful in a job search. Such awareness will help you avoid specific jobs and indicate areas for improvement to ensure success.
Here are some potential INFP weaknesses in the workplace:
Whether you came across this article looking to make a career change or are a fresh graduate trying to navigate the job market, we hope it helped you find a job that aligns with your nature as an INFP.
Finding a career that matches your personality is vital for achieving career satisfaction and success. The more you understand your profile, the better career choices you can make. There are many personality tests, and all you need to do is leverage their different approaches.
As the first step to avoid job dissatisfaction, frustration, and feeling unfulfilled, we recommend you utilize Holland’s work on career preferences.
Hopefully, this article has provided some potential career paths you, as an INFP, might want to pursue.
Understanding the relationship between your personality and career can help you find a job you genuinely enjoy and tell yourself: “I can’t believe I’m being paid to do this!”
Content Writer
Published 20 May 2025