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INFJ Careers - Best Jobs and Career Growth Advice

What traits accompany INFJs at work, and what are their ideal career opportunities?

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An INFJ thrives in harmonious environments with co-workers who also dedicate themselves to humanitarian causes. The perfect INFJ career empowers them to explore their creativity autonomously in a structured environment. INFJs require conditions where they can work towards a vision that accords with their ideals. To that effect, they tend to explore meaningful work in the non-profit sphere, often assuming leadership roles where they immerse themselves in a little of everything – marketing, writing proposals, hiring, directing the creative process, and pitching ideas.

INFJ Career Opportunities to Seek Out

An ideal INFJ career is one that will have the following characteristics. Here they will really be able to flourish and grow their career.
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Purpose-driven

Advocates gravitate towards purposeful work. Their desire to connect and support make careers in healthcare particularly rewarding for this personality type. They likely excel in various professions but usually shine their brightest in roles that encourage ambitious creativity and personal growth.

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Accommodative

INFJ personality types often seek behind-the-scenes or non-competitive opportunities that may lead to frustration when the environment remains stagnant. For this reason, they tend to explore entrepreneurial ventures or leadership roles.

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Self-Actualized

In their dedication to continually develop, Advocates tend to consider their personal needs as the driving force behind their performance. Despite their caring nature, they rarely sacrifice their well-being for any career. Prioritizing their needs means they can resume a fully responsive and supportive role.

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Intellectual Orientation

Artistic roles that require a high degree of intellectual involvement naturally attracts the INFJ personality type. They commonly hold unconventional and creative interests with a refined taste for quality art.

INFJ Career Elements to Avoid

INFJ careers that require the INFJ to work outside their preferences often appear unappealing and not sustainable. Avoiding these qualities in the workplace gives an INFJ a better chance at fostering a successful career.
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Overly Repetitive

As a highly goal-oriented personality type, an INFJ may lose motivation in tedious roles. They prefer positions with varied responsibilities that require them to embrace their expressive qualities.

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Merciless

Environments that promote cutthroat criticism can leave those with the INFJ personality type extremely irritable and unfulfilled. With a mindful approach, they typically rely on constructive feedback to guide them through their creative tasks.

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Stern Power Exertion

Despite an INFJ's need for organization, strict rules and methodical procedures may destroy their morale. INFJ personalities perform best in environments more collaborative and flexible.

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Nitpicking

Advocates value an open-minded leadership team who willingly acknowledges their ideas. Therefore, INFJ personality types may grow frustrated when they feel unheard while having to endure someone in an authoritative role breathing down their neck.

Managing an INFJ at work

Best way to manage and work with an INFJ

As diligent as they are, INFJs prefer to carry out tasks that align with their values. They crave participation and regular encouragement. They have a natural tendency to work independently, and as a result, they often resist formal hierarchy in the workplace.

INFJs deeply value genuine engagement. But despite less-than-ideal workplace challenges, they can draw on their inner resilience to create a tolerable environment for themselves. An ideal INFJ career workplace, will include respecting the ownership of ideas and creations, developing a personal connection with them, and expressing sincere appreciation for their contributions.

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An autonomous managerial approach tends to compliment INFJ personalities best.

While the INFJ type prefers written communication, they may enjoy verbal participation. To help INFJs prepare, request meetings in advance and define the topic. Similarly, they can execute tasks easier when presented with clear and detailed written instructions. Ideally, INFJs seek managers who can provide regular constructive feedback while considering their vulnerable morale. They may feel overwhelmed in fast-paced, competitive, and loud environments.

Constructive Criticism

When giving feedback, consider dialing down the energy to provide space for an INFJ to develop their response.

As introverts, INFJ personalities seize the opportunity to work in solitude. But remember, this does not mean they are shy. People with the INFJ personality type will likely exert more confidence and be outspoken in smaller settings. Advocates perform their best in a supportive environment where they feel safe to report on issues of ethics.

  • INFJs appreciate sincerity and expect acknowledgement of ownership
  • INFJs perform best at a slow pace with clear guidance and mindful feedback.
  • INFJs tend to feel safe in smaller groups and when they can act on integrity.

Working with INFJ Colleagues

Best way to work with INFJs as your colleagues

As creative problem-solvers, INFJ personality types naturally foster human potential in innovative ways. Being highly observant of talents, they naturally encourage team members to bring their expertise to the table. They value collaborative efforts, considering the diverse views of others and developing strategies to merge a vision.

In their peaceful approach, conflict-driven teams may alienate INFJ personality types. But their radar can easily pick up on the motives of others and essentially act to defuse tension. Similarly, INFJs seek transparency and tend to reflect quietly on ideas to provide a clear purpose.

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Respecting an INFJ's need for alone time will likely help them recharge and return fresh and recharged as capable colleagues.

Occasionally, INFJs prioritize supporting colleagues above their performance. For this reason, they may be prone to burnout due to carrying the weight of their slacking co-workers. While an INFJ's inborn empathy for others is among their most valued strengths, it can attract those that will take advantage of their willingness to assist. For this reason, an optimal INFJ career requires boundaries in the workplace, and their co-workers should respect their effort to restore balance.

  • INFJs seek social concord and strategically respond to form a unity.
  • An INFJ's charm can make them popular in the workplace, but they need to retreat to regain strength.
  • INFJs may risk less dedicated and empathetic co-workers exploiting them, and need to assert limits.

Data: Careers reported by INFJs

Survey data on INFJ career choices

What are most and least popular INFJ career choices?

Figure 1: Survey data of which careers INFJs currently work in

career choices

What this chart shows

This chart shows the percent of INFJs who work in each industry sector compared to all types. This highlights which careers have an above-average and below-average proportion of INFJ types working in them.

Notes:
  • 1. n=27985
  • 2. Population: all
  • 3. This data shows self-report data to the question "what is your primary career?". Results do not necessarily imply these are the most or least suitable career choices, just the most and least frequently selected by people with INFJ personality type.
  • 4. Live dataset last updated:
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Ellie Simmonds, MSc

University of Bath, Psychology

Ellie Simmonds, MSc in Psychology from University of Bath. Ellie is an associate lecturer on psychometric assessments and has extensive knowledge of the 16-type model.