If you’re a Campaigner (ENFP), you might think you know which careers are the best – or worst – for your personality type. But if you’ve written off certain jobs because you don’t think they’re a fit for your personality, it might just be time to think again.
Campaigners are sociable, outgoing, friendly, empathetic, and curious, with a heartfelt desire to help and be there for other people. Most lists of the “best careers for Campaigners” feature jobs that play to these strengths in obvious ways. Common recommendations include careers in counseling, teaching, and the nonprofit sector – and it’s absolutely true that Campaigners’ gifts can shine in these fields.
But here’s a secret: real Campaigners all over the world are thriving in jobs that might not seem like a match for their personality type. At 16Personalities, we believe in keeping an open mind and looking beyond the obvious options. In that spirit, here are some career ideas that might seem like an unlikely fit for Campaigners – but can actually be awesome for this personality type.
These ideas are inspired by our Thoughts and Stories section, where real people with different personality types submit insights and anecdotes from their own lives.
Career Idea #1: Farmer or Landscaper
Why It Seems Like an Unlikely Match
Campaigners tend to be stereotyped as dreamers rather than doers. As a result, they might overlook career ideas that involve working with their hands. Also, agriculture and landscaping require patience, consistency, and attention to detail – and most people with this personality type just don’t see themselves as particularly patient, consistent, or detail-oriented.
Why It’s Actually Awesome
Campaigners can benefit from jobs that break them out of their own heads and connect them with the tangible world. Getting outside and working with the earth can be grounding (if you’ll pardon the pun) and fulfilling for this type. Here’s why: the process of caring for plants and helping them grow resonates with Campaigners’ incredible empathy, providing them with a profound feeling of attunement with nature and the cosmos. And the responsibility of caring for living things can give Campaigners the motivation that they need to build new skills, including consistency and attention to detail.
Takeaway
Figuring out the best career for your personality type isn’t just about finding a job that plays to your current strengths and weaknesses. It’s also about finding a professional path that motivates you to grow and expand.
Career Idea #2: Lawyer
Why It Seems Like an Unlikely Match
We tend to think of law as a combative, conflict-driven profession – a job with daily responsibilities that involve arguing with someone else in a courtroom. And if there’s one thing that most Campaigners hate, it’s conflict. As a result, it’s easy to assume that Campaigners’ laid-back, friendly manner would make it all but impossible for them to succeed as lawyers.
Why It’s Actually Awesome
Campaigners may not be aggressive, but they’re passionate, especially when it comes to helping others. This passion can give them all the motivation that they need to apply themselves in areas of law that directly benefit people, such as environmental, civil rights, or family law. It’s a misconception that most lawyers spend their days arguing in court, and in many legal settings, Campaigners’ commitment to fairness and desire to seek win-win outcomes can be far more effective than a cutthroat approach. As lawyers, Campaigners will probably have to slog through far more paperwork than they’d prefer – but the conviction that they feel about helping their clients (and the world at large) can make the drudgery more than worth it.
Takeaway
As a Campaigner, you may find that connecting with the deeper purpose of your work (such as helping others) gives you the resolve you need to tackle less fulfilling tasks such as paperwork.
Take our Job Preferences Test for more insight into the types of careers that suit your unique interests and passions.
Career Idea #3: Web Design
Why It Seems Like an Unlikely Match
Campaigners are social creatures, which means that they tend to overlook job opportunities in technology. Sure, many companies in this sector feature open floor plans and collaborative workspaces, but most people still think of tech as the Thinking Introvert’s domain. Campaigners may assume that tech careers are solitary, lacking the opportunities for the human interactions that lift their spirits. In addition, it’s easy to assume that their big-picture thinking style wouldn’t lend itself to the nitty-gritty of working with code – let alone debugging it.
Why It’s Actually Awesome
Whether they’re designing a website or an app, Campaigners’ empathy gives them incredible insight into their users. People with this personality type have an intuitive sense of what people need and want, and this can allow them to design digital experiences that are not just useful but also incredibly engaging and innovative. It’s true that Campaigners crave social fulfillment in their work, but they can create these connections by finding ways to collaborate with colleagues or interact with users.
Takeaway
Don’t rule out career options that involve lots of independent work. Instead, use your creativity and open-mindedness to get the social engagement that you need – for example, by teaming up on a project with coworkers or getting feedback from customers.
Conclusions
As a Campaigner, you probably have a good sense of your greatest strengths. You know that you’re sociable, curious, and creative, and you might have a pretty clear idea of what careers play to your abilities. But don’t limit yourself to a short list of “best careers for Campaigners.”
Whether or not any of the three jobs above are right for you, we hope that this article has inspired you to think outside the box and focus on job paths that inspire and excite you – even if they’re not an obvious fit for your personality type.
So, Campaigners, how does your dream job line up with your personality traits? Tell us in the comments below!
Further Reading
- How to Investigate Career Compatibility for Your Personality Type: Exercises
- Joyful Jobs: Diplomat Personality Types and Career Compatibility (Part I)
- Finding Your Life Purpose If You’re a Diplomat
- Is There an Ideal Career for My Personality Type?
- Read in-depth insights and advice on your academic path and career and professional growth in the Campaigner Premium Profile.
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