Among the 16 MBTI personality types, ENFPs are some of the most spirited and organized. Their careers usually involve creativity, teamwork, problem-solving, and communication. After all, they are not nicknamed “Campaigners” or “Champions” for no reason.
However, not all members of the ENFP personality type are exactly alike. The recent distinction between the MBTI personalities’ turbulent or assertive approaches to stress and challenges reveals two subvariants of the ENFP personality type.
The MBTI is primarily a guide to self-discovery. However, it can also help you make career-related decisions and find the best careers for your ENFP personality type. Understanding the difference between an assertive and turbulent ENFP gives you much more clarity on where you will excel.
For an assertive ENFP, the assertive counterpart of the turbulent ENFP personality, the professional journey is marked by confidence and clarity.
This article explores the best ENFP-A careers and how the assertive ENFP personality type may resonate with particular job aspects.
Let’s find out which!
Best Assertive ENFP Careers and Jobs
The best careers for ENFPs leverage their creative nature and inborn interpersonal skills. They love to have fun while working and wish to create a change in the world.
Therefore, there is an overlap between the ideal career paths for both variants of the ENFP personality type.
However, the ENFP-As prefer specific aspects of ENFP jobs due to their distinctive assertive traits and unique talents and skills. The careers fit for their turbulent counterparts might not be ideal for this kind of Campaigner.
Assertive ENFPs tend not to overthink things and ooze confidence wherever they go. As such, they are natural leaders.
These are the five jobs that play to the assertive ENFP strengths:
- Entrepreneur
- Marketing Manager
- Creative Director
- Public Relations Specialist
- Psychologist/Life Coach
Entrepreneurship: Assertive ENFPs Thrive in Leadership Positions
Entrepreneurship plays to ENFP strengths, like creativity and people skills. Yet, being an entrepreneur might not appeal as much to ENFP-Ts as it does to the assertive variant.
What assertive ENFPs bring to the role
ENFP-As are natural leaders who see the big picture and are guided by visionary ideas. They have strong people skills and a focus on innovative solutions. They are also resilient and ready for some risk-taking, which helps them overcome challenges without second-guessing themselves.
Research reveals that such a profile characterizes people who thrive in a leadership position.
What appeals to assertive ENFPs
Entrepreneurship has few restrictions, and ENFPs thrive on creative freedom. They always have plenty of new ideas, and being entrepreneurs allows them to explore and implement creative ideas.
Potential challenges
Assertive ENFPs may overlook the finer details or routine work, focusing too heavily on big-picture ideas and developing creative solutions. This could hinder follow-through on necessary but mundane tasks.
Marketing Management: Assertive ENFPs Strategize for Success
Marketing management could be one of the best ENFP careers for both variants. ENFPs thrive as marketing managers because they need to solve problems with creativity in a socially rich work environment. However, assertive ENFPs may particularly enjoy taking on a leadership role in campaigns and confidently driving innovative strategies.
What assertive ENFPs bring to the role
The assertive variant of the ENFP personality type has enthusiasm, emotional intelligence, and assertiveness, which make them persuasive communicators. They excel at strategizing, brainstorming creative new ideas, and energizing teams.
What appeals to assertive ENFPs
In this profession, an assertive ENFP gets a team with whom they can collaborate and exchange ideas. The prospect of achieving impactful results also makes marketing management one of the best careers for this personality type.
Potential challenges
As natural leaders, they inspire teams with enthusiasm. However, an assertive ENFP may struggle with strict schedules and repetitive work sometimes needed in marketing management. They might prefer roles that allow for creative thinking and exploration of new ideas.
Creative Director: An Environment for an ENFP to Employ Creative Freedom
Creative direction suits both ENFP variants, as the role requires developing creative solutions and a big-picture vision. Still, an assertive ENFP easily assumes a leadership position in the team, confidently executing creative ideas.
What assertive ENFPs bring to the role
Assertive ENFPs are natural leaders who are unafraid to propose innovative solutions and employ bold new ideas to solve problems. They motivate people with enthusiasm and support them in creating the best reality possible.
What appeals to assertive ENFPs
Anything creative is an assertive ENFP’s cup of tea. A fast-paced, ideas-driven job environment where they have the freedom to direct a vision makes creative directing one of the best ENFP-A careers.
Potential challenges
An assertive ENFP is very confident in their innovative solutions and ideas. While generally positive, it can sometimes lead them to dismiss feedback or alternative approaches, creating potential challenges in collaborative environments.
Public Relations Specialist: A Career Path to Put ENFP People Skills to Practice
Both ENFP personality types might find public relations a good fit due to its emphasis on relationships, creative problem-solving, and the social aspect of the career. However, an assertive ENFP may handle PR’s high-pressure and fast-paced nature more effectively. In contrast, ENFP-Ts might prefer the human resources profession instead.
What assertive ENFPs bring to the role
This variant of the ENFP personality type can confidently handle public-facing roles and manage brand communication. They also form relationships quickly and have excellent networking skills.
What appeals to assertive ENFPs
Assertive ENFPs love the opportunities to create positive perceptions and maintain connections. Their problem-solving skills and ENFP strengths are employed in the crisis management part of the job, making this an appealing work environment for these natural leaders.
Potential challenges
Although assertive ENFPs thrive in roles that involve a social aspect and creative problem-solving, they may find it challenging to account for all the details involved in leading a team through public crises.
Psychotherapist/Life Coach: An Assertive ENFP Brings Inspiration and Motivation to Clients
One of the suiting ENFP careers is that of a psychotherapist or life coach. These careers involve inspiring people and fostering personal growth, making them a good fit for empathetic ENFP personality types. Still, the resilient nature of the assertive ENFP variant makes it potentially the best career path for those who want a job that helps people.
What assertive ENFPs bring to the role
ENFP-As infuse confidence and motivation into their clients, helping them reach goals through practical steps. Their assertive approach to thinking and emoting empowers their clients to realize their unique talents. An assertive ENFP is great at setting boundaries, which helps them avoid therapist burnout. Burnout is a common threat to helping professions, according to research.
What appeals to assertive ENFPs
Assertive ENFPs love career paths and work environments with few restrictions, which provide creative freedom in creating an action plan. Life coaching and psychotherapy allow them to arrange their work hours to avoid strict schedules and mundane tasks.
Potential challenges
Assertive ENFPs are natural leaders, but they are sometimes impatient. They prefer inspiring people toward big-picture results and solutions, but they expect to see results right away, which is rarely the case in life coaching and psychotherapy.
Who Are Assertive ENFPs in the Workplace
Assertive ENFPs bring an energetic and self-assured approach to their job environment. This kind of Campaigner thrives on jobs where they can create innovative solutions and inspire their team.
Approach to Work
ENFP-As tend to take initiative and remain optimistic, even in high-pressure situations. Therefore, an assertive ENFP is the ideal person for a dynamic environment requiring adaptability and resilience. They will give a job everything they’ve got and ensure they deliver results.
Skills They Bring
An assertive ENFP offers a set of skills that ensure a project is a success:
- ENFP leaders don’t overanalyze risks, ensuring swift decision-making.
- They have strong teamwork and communication abilities, fostering collaboration across the team.
- An assertive ENFP is highly resilient to setbacks, maintaining energy and enthusiasm to focus on an innovative solution.
Preferences
The best assertive ENFP careers offer the freedom to explore new ideas and avoid mundane tasks that stifle creativity.
ENFP-As prefer to work with an inspiring team and get to know every person to their core. They have a genuine interest in people and a strong sense of belonging to the group they are a part of.
Tips for the Assertive ENFP Professionals
Do you recognize yourself among the assertive variant of the ENFP personality type? If that is the case, these are tips tailored for you personally to excel in any job:
- Leverage your personality types’ skills and confidence. Use your poise to demonstrate that you are the perfect person to lead the team or deliver innovative ideas that can be implemented.
- Avoid complacency. While there’s nothing wrong with being self-assured, staying open to constructive criticism can help refine skills.
- Prioritize balance. As an assertive ENFP, you might tend to overcommit. Avoid overextending energy and develop a self-care routine.
- Use networking intentionally. Your ability to build meaningful professional relationships while keeping goals in focus is admirable. Use it to meet people of interest and grow your positive impact in your community and the world.
Find the Ideal Career Path for your ENFP-A Personality Type
Myers-Briggs personality types are more than a career-finding tool. However, suppose you are at the point of your life where you explore the ideal career (whether picking a college or deciding to change careers). In that case, the MBTI test results can help.
Now that you know which ENFP-A careers are out there and how you fit them as a person, you can search for a career that will deliver the creative environment and an inspiring team you need to thrive.
Take the first step with our career assessment tools to dive into careers suited to your personality and values and gain an even deeper understanding of where to search for your next project or job.
