There’s no ideal way to work – just an ideal attitude to adapting.
The gig economy has led to more and more of us working short-term jobs, often remotely and/or with teams of strangers. Some choose to work this way, but for many, it is becoming a necessity. In fact, it's reckoned that freelancers will dominate the US workforce within the next decade. As things stand, around a third of free agents work this way because they have no other choice.
You’re an ENFJ, the well-known “Teacher” personality who fights for the good of your people. Whether it’s at work or in your personal life, you take the wheel when a problem needs to be resolved and have a strong moral compass that gets your passengers safely and successfully where they need to go.
Not only is leading others part of your natural talent, it’s also something that you truly love doing. Leadership roles add to your day-to-day happiness—so much so that for an ENFJ, it might be hard to imagine working a job that doesn’t embrace your natural knack for guiding others.
Innate preferences mean that some personality types are more likely than others to start their own business. Last week, we looked at NT (Rationals) and NF (Idealists), the types most likely to leap into entrepreneurship, and discovered the types of businesses in which they might excel.
If you believe what you read, then running your own business is an option reserved for just a few personalities. ENTPs (Steve Jobs), ENFPs (Arianna Huffington), ENTJs (Warren Buffet) and INTJs (Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg) are hailed as the “street smart” types most likely to do well out of entrepreneurship. The thread here is the bias towards Intuition over Sensing – a tendency to focus on the future and take risks.
When we think of entrepreneurs, what comes to mind? We tend to think of somebody who is friendly, fun to be around, quick thinking, brave, creative and a natural leader.
What I’m describing here are the ways in which ENTJs (the Commanders) and ENTPs (the Visionaries) are good at business. There are also a number of other personality types that spring to mind when we think about these energetic entrepreneurial types.
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” - Jorge Luis Borges
If you’re an NF type, like I am, then you’ve probably seen all the articles that recommend we pursue careers in health care, counseling, or other selfless, “people-helping” fields. That advice works out just great for some people.
But what if you’re an NF who wants to excel in business. Is it possible?
As an INFJ with a marketing degree and about four years’ worth of business experience, I’ve struggled with this question a lot.
ENFPs are true free spirits. It's no secret that they loathe the cubicle life, hate dressing for success, and value intrinsic rewards over financial pay-offs. Freewheeling ENFPs want to do what they love, and the careers that are recommended for them - actor, public relations professional, photographer, drugs counselor - are sufficiently non-conformist to appeal to their independent, unconventional nature.
But .... aren't these suggestions just a little boring?
A range of 3 to 7. That’s what you’ll find when searching online for how many times an individual changes careers within their working life. While this range is just an approximation due to the ambiguous parameters used to define career change, it’s pretty clear that, at some point or another, everyone will most likely ask the question, “Am I in the wrong career?”
Ambition isn't a problem for most INFPs - it's anxiety. A highly sensitive, compassionate and emotional creature, you have a low tolerance for conflict and a strong need to please. As such, going to work can feel like walking on eggshells. You don't want to say or do the wrong thing so you might not say much of anything - and this paralysis can have a detrimental effect on your career.
Career fears can read like a list of deadly sins for the ambitious INFP. Here are the seven common job worries you might face, and what you can do about them.
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