Speak of the Devil

I mentioned how I used to be an ENFJ in my last post. Ironically, Snickollet posted this fun little Myers-Briggs personality test on her blog yesterday. I thought I would retake it and see if I've changed over the years.

Guess I haven't changed as much as I originally thought. Although, my Intuitive and Sensing scores are pretty close. Here is what the site has to say about my personality type:

ENFJs are externally focused, introspective, altruistic, positive and have excellent people skills. They place utmost importance on helping others grow. They are warm and have a natural desire to be supportive and encouraging. Being charismatic and posessing excellent language skills, they do well in leadership roles. ENFJs strive to enhance the lives of their human brethren.

I totally agree with this. Before I decided to go into advertising, I was a psychology major. I was especially interested in criminal psychology and possibly working for the FBI to put together profiles (must be from watching too much X-Files through the years *wink*). The only thing that deterred me from staying in psych was the schooling. If I wanted my own practice or if I wanted to work for the FBI, I would easily need my PhD, which required med school and years of intense study. I knew I wanted to have a life and a family and didn't want to wait 10 years or more to do it. So, I took a business class as part of my core curriculum and fell in love with marketing. That brings me to where I am today.

I love what I do for a living, even though it wasn't my first choice. And I think I'm pretty good at it. I get to use both sides of my brain everyday - I get to be creative but I also have to be able to analyze and compute statistics to develop media plans. In buying media, I get to meet a ton of interesting people everyday, which appeals to my extroverted side. Since I am the senior media buyer for my company, I am the only one holding down the fort in our "media department" so that feeds into my leadership capability. While I'm not helping people in an altruistic way, I do get a sense of pride from helping our clients meet their goals. It always makes me feel good to know I helped a company save money or time.

I was interested in learning more about my personality type and I found this profile and this page, which explained how ENFJs react in various relationships and as parents. Some insightful points:

ENFJs put a lot of effort and enthusiasm into their relationships. To some extent, the ENFJ defines themself by the closeness and authenticity of their personal relationships, and are therefore highly invested in the business of relationships. They want responding affirmation from their relationships, although they have a problem asking for it. When a situation calls for it, the ENFJ will become very sharp and critical. After having made their point, they will return to their natural, warm selves. They may have a tendency to smother their loved ones, but are generally highly valued for their genuine warmth and caring natures.

Since relationships are central to the ENFJ's life, they will be very hands on and involved with their intimate relationships. They may be in the habit of constantly asking their partner how they're doing, what they're feeling, etc. This behavior may be a bit smothering, but it also supports a strong awareness of the health (or illness) of the relationship.

Although the ENFJ will probably not ask for it, they need to be given sweet words and loving affirmation. Since they are so externally focused on serving people, they do not always pay attention to their own needs.

A problem area for ENFJs in relationships is their very serious dislike of conflict. ENFJs will prefer to brush issues under the rug rather than confront them head-on, if there is likely to be a conflict. They are also likely to "give in" easily in conflict situations, just to end the conflict. The ENFJ needs to realize that the world will not end if there is a disagreement, and that dealing with things immediately initiates closure. Ignoring issues will not make them go away.

ENFJs take their parenting role very seriously. They consider the task of passing on values and goals to their children as paramount, and will strive to consistently be a good role model to their children. The ENFJ considers it their responsibility to make sure that their children turn out well. This characteristic, combined with the ENFJ's definite values and ideas about the way things should be, usually results in the ENFJ parent being rather strict, and having high expectations for the behavior of their children. On the other hand, the ENFJ is also warm and affectionate with their children, and very supportive and affirming. The ENFJ can also be counted on to take care of day-to-day necessities for their children.

It's amazing what you can learn about yourself. I'm interested to learn what my blog friends' personality types are. Do you agree with your description?

I have to make my DH take this now to see how different/alike we are. (Is that too smothering?) Be back later for an update.

ETA: He is an ENTJ but was almost equally split between extroverted and introverted. His profile sounded like his picture could be posted next to the definition. I could see where he and I are different and where we clash, as well as how we bring out the best in each other. This was fun!