ENFJ vs. ENFP – Key Personality Type Differences

The Career Project is reader-supported. We may earn a commission on products purchased through links on this page. Learn more here.

The extraverted intuitive feelers ENFJ and ENFP are the fun-loving, popular creative individuals of the 16 personality types. They both hold a deep appreciation for the growth of other people and how to better understand and care for others’ needs.

But how can we tell them apart? Or better-yet, what if you aren’t sure if you are an ENFJ or ENFP? This article will compare and contrast the ENFP vs. ENFJ personality types.

Before we jump in, you should know this post is part of a series dedicated to answering the question: Am I a judging or perceiving personality type? Check out the main post on this topic here.

A High-Level View

ENFJs approach their relationships in a more mentor-sage like manner where they gently share suggestions for self-improvement and advice. This can make them appear older than they are.

ENFPs, on the other hand, appear younger than they are from their youthful enthusiasm and zest for life. Their creativity and energy allows them to work with multiple projects at once—and inspire their peers to join in on the fun!

Functions Stack: ENFJ vs. ENFP

The functional stack is a model that arranges the different cognitive functions according to preference for each personality type.

ENFJ:

  1. Extraverted Feeling (Fe)
  2. Introverted Intuition (Ni)
  3. Extraverted Sensing (Se)
  4. Introverted Thinking (Ti)

ENFP:

  1. Extraverted Intuition (Ne)
  2. Introverted Feeling (Fi)
  3. Extraverted Thinking (Te)
  4. Introverted Sensing (Si)

Helping vs. Brainstorming (Fe vs. Ne)

ENFJs live to help others and give back to their community. They possess high levels of empathy and people skills, which helps them navigate any situation with grace and finesse. Their primary function, extraverted feeling (Fe), allows them to consider everyone’s point of view and make a compromise to respect and honor each person’s feelings towards a solution. Their goal is to maintain harmony and keep the peace between groups.

ENFPs breathe ideas. They find ideas through their long conversations with friends, strangers on the street, acquaintances on the Internet—anywhere and everywhere. Their primary function, extraverted intuition (Ne), allows them to see all the possibilities for the future and ways to fulfill them. They often have a wide range of hobbies, and inspire others with their infectious energy wherever they decide to travel to next. This makes ENFPs highly individualistic and proud of their uniqueness.

Vision vs. Values (Ni vs. Fi)

ENFJs have auxiliary introverted intuition (Ni), which helps them see the bigger picture and propose a vision for what they want their ideal future to look like. This could mean starting a humanitarian effort, pursuing philanthropic missions, or simply becoming a kinder person.

ENFJs also possess an eerily accurate “gut feeling” about events and how they will pan out. For instance, they may be able to sense their partner losing interest or when a relationship is better left platonic—even when everything seems to be going well.

ENFPs have an extremely strong self-identity and highly value authenticity in themselves and others. They detest when someone is being “fake” to appeal to other people, and acquire their inner circle through years of deep connection.

ENFPs will constantly ask themselves what their values are and make decisions accordingly, along with their emotions. Their auxiliary introverted feeling (Fi) often shows up through their individualistic fashion sense, music taste, lifestyle, and choice of closest friends.

Experiencing vs. Doing (Se vs. Te)

ENFJs are spatially competent and have a keen sense of direction. They often have hobbies that capitalize on their hidden tertiary extraverted sensing (Se), such as hiking, camping, racing, and team sports. ENFJs often “blow off steam” with these activities and can be good friends with sensing-perceiving (SP) personality types. They are also fond of food and love to explore new cuisines to expand their palette. Many ENFJs also report enjoying gourmet cooking and baking.

ENFPs, as free-spirited and nonchalant as they appear, are actually methodological towards their work and value a sense of structure. This could mean a daily workout routine, planned meditation, or a series of journalling prompts to help organize their thoughts. Although they are feelers, they value facts and productivity and can be persuaded with clear reasoning. ENFPs also enjoy experimenting with ways to streamline their daily routine to function at their best.

Systems vs. Memories (Ti vs. Si)

ENFJs, although visibly caring and attentive towards others on the outside, have an internal logical framework they visit during times of stress. They may nit-pick details about a situation and get caught up on the small imperfections. ENFJs may also resort to activities that require logical thinking such as puzzles and trivia to stabilize their emotions and process their feelings to re-emerge into the world again in a calm, peaceful manner.

ENFPs have a soft spot for their memories and may go down nostalgia lane after a stressful event, such as a breakup, lay-off, or funeral. They have a tendency to spiral into thoughts of “better times” in the past and compare it to their current situation. ENFPs can also tame their anxiety by re-watching runs of their favorite childhood shows and listening to their beloved records and albums. In a nutshell, a stressed-out ENFP will get stuck in the past.

Career Differences: ENFJ vs. ENFP

Because ENFJs are naturally people-oriented and care about their growth, they are generally well-suited for positions in education, healthcare, and marketing. ENFJs could enjoy and excel in becoming a teacher, counselor, massage therapist, event planner, or fundraiser. (view more ENFJ careers here)

ENFPs prefer a more creative career path that allows them the flexibility to choose their own work style, which makes hybrid or freelance work a great choice. ENFPs could work well in the arts, marketing, and media sectors as a public relations (PR) specialist, travel agent, real estate agent, sales manager, actor, or editor. (view more ENFP careers here)

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Table of Contents

Share this post: