INFJ at Work

INFJs enjoy jobs and careers that tie in with their deeply held, humanitarian values. Dedicated and insightful into the human condition, INFJs excel in work that deals with bringing out the potential in others.

Driven by their ideals, INFJs demand perfection from themselves in their work. Their greatest reward is seeing these ideals turn into reality through their hard work. Typically organised and planned, INFJs proceed with their work intentionally and with a system in mind.

INFJs enjoy a work environment where they get to interact with like-minded individuals who want to see positive change in the world too. However, they work best alone, where they can make sense of their complex thoughts, put it down in writing and then execute it to completion.

INFJ at Work: INFJ Careers Suggestions

Before you get to the top career suggestions, it must be stressed that all personality types exist in all occupations.

Due to other factors involved such as interests, geography, salary and working hours, most individuals do not end up in occupations that ideally fit their personality.

However, if you are in a job or career that is not suitable for personalities of your type:

• You may have trouble communicating or agreeing with your co-workers.
• You may find communication issues arising in your work.
• What you deem to be important in a job may not be in sync with your colleagues; hence, the use of your personalities’ strengths during your work MAY NOT lead to promotion or reward.
• Because you do not feel your work is valued, you may experience stress, dissatisfaction, burnout and lack of productivity.

EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICE

INFJs see potential in the people they meet, and they enjoy bringing out this potential through education or social service. They desire to empower individuals to become the best they can be, and so any role that involves that will appeal to them. Also, INFJs are insightful about people’s needs and motivations, making them excellent counsellors. These are some careers that will appeal to them:

• Career counsellor
• Teacher
• Early Childhood Educator
• Special Needs Teacher
• Librarian
• Welfare Officer
• Developmental psychologist

CREATIVE ARTS, WRITING AND DESIGN

INFJs enjoy the creative arts. They appreciate the arts, music, dance, musicals, and literature and they may even be talented in it. They will enjoy a career that allows them to either display these talents or do it for a living. Some careers include:

• Artist
• Dramatist
• Author
• Media Planner
• Movie Producer
• Editor

RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY

As mentioned above, INFJs see potential in people and seek to bring out the best in them. A career in the religious service will appeal to INFJs as their role is to help people become better individuals through the deeper understanding of their faith. Their organised nature will ensure that they can adhere to certain spiritual disciplines as well. They will be attracted to the following roles:

• Priest
• Monk or Nun
• Pastor or Minister
• Church worker
• Missionary
• Religious Teacher

HEALTH CARE

The natural compassion of the INFJ will make them good health care workers as well. It will be ideal if they are also passionate to help people realise their potential through healthy living. The traditional roles of doctor and nurse may not be as ideal due to the need for the INFJ to pay close attention to the details of their patients all the time. The following roles may appeal to them more:

• Health care executive
• Massage therapist
• Mental health counsellor
• Holistic health practitioner
• Nutritionist

INFJ at Work: Ideal INFJ Career Environments

Even though you’re in the right job, it is the culture of the organisation that will ultimately determine your job satisfaction.

There are work environments that will support your professional development, and there are those that stress you out.

When you are applying or considering a new job, consider looking for organisations that are known to have:

HAVE A HUMANITARIAN VISION

INFJs enjoy being part of organisations that share the same values and beliefs as them. Whether it be a social, environmental or a spiritual cause, INFJs will perform at their best if they believe deeply in the organisational vision. Consider joining organisations which have a clear purpose and mission for you align yourself with; looking at the organisation’s mission statement over the internet should give you a clear enough picture of this.

HAVE A GOOD REPUTATION OF INTEGRITY

INFJs look for organisations that have a good reputation for integrity; both externally and internally. This means that the management delivers on what they promise to both customers and staff and does the ethically right thing when it comes to business decisions. Essentially, it is a business with a soul. Speaking to employees within the business will give you a good sense of the integrity of the company.

FOCUSES ON LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

INFJs see potential in others and themselves. They are therefore growth oriented. They like organisations that also see the importance of growth and development in their employees. INFJs see the need for continual learning and growth as they perform their jobs, if not they will feel stagnant and frustrated as a result. During your interview, ask about the learning opportunities in your role; an organisation that places special focus on this will be able to answer you readily.

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