INFP Career Profile - The Noble Personality Type

The INFP personality type is the Noble Idealist. About 4 percent of people (in the U.S.) are INFPs. Being an INFP means that you have the personality profile

(I)ntroverted
I(N)tuitive
(F)eeling
(P)erceiving

You (I)ntrovert your attention and focus on your inner world and you actually love your time alone. You are energized through reflection on information, ideas, concepts, etc.

By your i(N)tuition you have your own take on people relationships, theories and future possibilities. You also like to have a plan ahead of time, while not in detail; putting that off until later.

(F)eeling means you are always looking to base your decisions on person-centered values and concerns because you want to create and keep the harmony. Some may think you have a good "gut sense" about people.

You exhibit your (P)erceiving through adaptability and flexibility. You desire and have quite an openness to new information and knowledge.

Is This Your Personality Type?

Are you a noble INFP? Have you ever had employee screening or career tests and taken a "personality type" test or other tests for employees? If not and you want to know what your myers briggs personality type is, here's a free place to start.

The INFP may find it particularly difficult to find a satisfying occupation or a fitting job description and job opportunities to match them. Here are some thoughts.

7 Recommended Job Parameters for the INFP Employee

INFPs find work more satisfying where you have these parameters included in your job.

1. New ideas are highly valued and given plenty of time to develop, so that you can create something unique, and put your special mark on it

2. A skill is required in which you feel competent, or one in which you can become competent

3. Short-term projects
4. There is a balance of both structure and flexibility
5. Your contribution clearly helps others
6. An organization that recognizes your needs and your competencies
7. A high enough salary to comfortably live without the "worry" of having enough

These parameters are based on the INFP personality's natural abilities and interests. Go here for 5 job hunting tips.

Some Natural Abilities of INFPs

Natural abilities that INFPs use to achieve job satisfaction, and which define your natural strengths, are like the following. You would be more effective in jobs that incorporate these abilities (listed in alphabetical order).

INFPs Love to Express Inspiration

INFPs are invigorated by the freedom to look for inner inspiration to express a practical, realistic and helpful result. You often take on the role of a harmonizer or a "Big-Picture Maker".

You find satisfaction in and are motivated by realizing the connections between concepts, ideas, events, etc. First, you envision in your mind what it may look like when done. You may ask for clear details about expectations, making sure you think you can meet them, while also being drawn to solving puzzling problems. Once you own a task, you put your whole self into it, and work in the details and rework it, as long as your energy will allow and you can see the connection and patterns.

You INFPs enjoy working independently on your own project, but in an environment with other people around, or even in a small team. The INFP is particularly sensitive in that you are

1. often drawn to simple needs that could easily be met and immediately benefit from your help,
2. often applying some of your creative improvising, and
3. your are most productive when working with congenial others.
4. You are an excellent reader of other people’s emotions and wants, and
5. like very much to help “behind the scenes” to make and keep harmony.

You want your presence to be of encouragement and support to coworkers.

3 Interest Areas of INFPs

In another article I explain six areas of interest and those compatible to the INFP personality usually involve Investigative, Social and Realistic (or ISR). The combination of the three interests can be expressed as "looking for creative ways to practically help others". Your Investigative interests are expressed in your independence, curiosity and desire to learn. Social interests are expressed in your cooperativeness, generosity and service to others. Your Realistic interests are expressed in your thrift, persistence, practicality, traditional values and common sense.

You INFPs thrive on your ideas and the connections you see, and find it most satisfying when any effort you expend tangibly impacts humanity for the good – in some way "perfect" the human state of being.

Caution!

You INFPs are warm and accepting and employ some fun in your interactions, freely expressing your thoughts with those you know, yet your seeming openness tends to leave others feeling they know you better than they do. You are generally a private person, though you will share openly with family and a couple of close friends you deeply trusts.

What's worse is you will exhibit a pattern of anxiety symptoms particular to the INFP personality. Your balanced approach of being flexible and accepting can get knocked out of balance when confronted with a violation of your values. Your response when this happens may be that of fear of lost values which you defend with excessive negativity or criticism.

This isn't too bad if you can manage to get relief from these stressors and get back into balance, however, if relief is not found, it gets worse! When you INFPs ignore your positive intuition you go extreme. You overreact with imagined insults. Out of character you may also aggressively criticise and judge others as incompetent and maybe even take precipitous actions. By that point (if not before) you INFPs must take drastic measures to get back into balance. You must go get some support from others to validate your feelings, while avoiding those who try to reason them away.

Keeping Balanced

The heart of the INFP constantly seeks to sort things out into a better, more ideal situation. So, you long to keep your deeply inward feelings and confidence ideally balanced, but this is, ironically, a particularly huge challenge for your type. You INFPs admit to some difficulty when in constant contact with people, as you must contantly guard your emotions against overexpossure to the sad and negative, as this can quickly drain your inner energy.

New ideas, discovered for yourself, are your motivation. So much so, that you INFPs become unenthusiastic when this is largely absent from your life. Your mind wants to constantly look for how things and people are connected to a bigger picture. You INFPs have insights most of the rest of us do not have! The trick is to manage your constant insights and search for the big picture through the provision of an environment that gives what does not come naturally to you -- a scheduled routine to your daily life.

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