To get detailed insights about your personality, you can take a free personality test at the end of this article. The test uses the latest advancements in artificial intelligence to give you deep insights into your personality.
This comprehensive personality guide will provide you with detailed information about the ESTJ personality and the careers that suit this personality type. Once you take our free AI-powered personality test, you will discover deeper insights into your personality and find out which career is perfect for you.
Why You Need to Know Your Personality Type
Firstly, it’s important to understand that personality typing is not designed to pigeonhole a person or to say that one personality is better than another. Each personality has its characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses. An empowering personal development tool, personality typing will help you to:
- Understand your thoughts, feelings, and motivations
- Identify your strengths and weaknesses
- Make smarter education and career choices
- Be confident in a job interview
- Become more productive at work
- Maintain happy and healthy relationships
Introduction to Personality Typology

Based on Carl Jung’s psychological typology, Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Briggs created the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), The MBTI identifies 16 different personalities and it’s one of the most popular methods of personality typing today.
To explain how people differ in the way they use their cognitive functions/preferences, Myers and Briggs use the following preferences.
- Introversion (I) or Extraversion (E). Where you draw your energy from. Do you draw your energy from your internal world or the external world?
- Sensing (S) or Intuition (N). How you receive information. Do you prefer to use your senses to receive information from your surroundings, or intuition to interpret and add your meaning?
- Thinking (T) or Feeling (F). How you make decisions. Do you take a logical approach, or prefer to look at people and circumstances before deciding?
- Judging (J) or Perceiving (P): How you interact with the outside world. Do you prefer to have things decided and organized or like to remain open to new information and options?
The letters that are assigned to each of the above preferences make up a four-letter code for each of the 16 personality types. This simple coding system shows you how each of the four preferences interact, and which one you tend to use first.
How you use these preferences can change over time and some of these preferences may be used more often than others.
For example, the ESTJ personality uses the following preferences in this order: extraversion, sensing, thinking, and judging.
Personality Profile of the ESTJ
ESTJs are extroverts, so they draw energy from the external world, and they like to be around lots of people.
Extroverts are easy to spot as they are friendly, cheerful, talkative, and energetic. Wherever there is a party, an extrovert will be there making everyone laugh with their jokes and stories. Despite their constant cheerfulness and light-heartedness, ESTJs are deeply committed to their closest relationships.
Personality Profile of the ESTJ

The ESTJ personality is one of the most common personalities like the ISTJ and the ISFJ, and about 12% of the US population have this personality type.
ESTJs are also called “The Director”, “The Supervisor”, and “The Persuader” because these types of people are organized, methodical, stable, and dependable, and they have excellent people skills. They like to follow established traditions, rules, and laws.
Logic is important to them, so they have no interest in abstract ideas or theories but prefer concrete facts and objective information. Living an ethical life is important to ESTJs. They highly value honesty, fairness, truth, and justice, and they can be critical of others who don’t uphold the same values as they do.
ESTJs are very charismatic people whose enthusiasm for life is contagious. Whether it’s a social event or meeting, an ESTJ will take control and ensure that everything runs smoothly from start to finish.
100% dedicated goal-setters, ESTJs know what they want in life, and they accomplish their goals. However, they need to be careful when their eyes are firmly fixed on their prize because they can miss out on opportunities that are outside of their original plan.
ESTJs have perfectionistic nature, you can rely on them to produce exceptional results. They tend to set unrealistically high expectations for themselves, which can make it difficult for others to meet their expectations.
While they are good at making fast and decisive choices, ESTJs tend to make snap judgments before considering all the information first. If someone challenges them on this, they can be harsh or dismissive, and they don’t tolerate negativity.
Director/Supervisor types believe their way is the best way so they can come across as rigid, unyielding, and stubborn. However, ESTJs are not just interested in being the best, but they motivate others to be their best too.
Cognitive functions
Sensing
ESTJs use their senses to receive information, so they take in a lot of information from their surroundings. They are highly observant and will often pick up on the little details that other people miss.
While they are primarily focused on the present, ESTJs have an amazing ability to retain vivid memories from the past and retain a large amount of knowledge, which helps them to plan more effectively for the future.
Thinking
The thinking preference is very important for ESTJs as they rely on their sharp, logical, analytical mind to make the right decisions and remember important events.
Their decision-making will be based on objective data rather than personal feelings, so they are good mediators. They like to consider all the facts before they decide on a course of action and prefer to look for rational explanations for events.
Judging
ESTJs use their judging function to help them interact with the external world and make decisions. Stability and order are of prime importance to them, so their careful judgments help them live the orderly life they desire.
When things are out of control, ESTJs can get anxious, but when their life is well-organized, things are settled, and they have closure in their relationships, they are at ease with the world.
They maintain their highly prized ordered life by avoiding hasty decision-making and rushing before a deadline. They stay calm, stick to a schedule, make a list, and once their work is completed, they can relax.
In the workplace
ESTJs are happiest when they are working in a large team in a structured, ordered environment. While they work well on their own, they are great team players. They are optimistic, hardworking, conscientious, and efficient people who get their work done on time.
In a workplace leadership position, ESTJs flourish. Their intelligence, managerial abilities, and social skills build a cohesive team. To complete a project, an ESTJ will follow a detailed plan, implement easy-to-follow procedures, and provide clear deadlines so the team knows exactly what is expected of them.
As ESTJs like to follow established traditions and rules, they show respect for authority and are comfortable taking orders from their superiors. They are also very good at persuading others to follow rules and guidelines with minimal opposition.
ESTJs don’t get stressed often, but when circumstances change suddenly or their authority is challenged, they can become controlling or even aggressive. They can get impatient with colleagues who take too long to make decisions. If they take on too much responsibility, ESTJs can experience burnout.
ESTJs need to remember that being organized is admirable, but they need to relax now and then. Goal achievement is important, but considering peoples’ individual needs is important too, and assertiveness, not aggression is a smarter way to motivate others.
In relationships
ESTJs are outgoing and positive, and they like to have an active social life. They love being the center of attention, so others may think they are selfish and shallow people who are only concerned about their popularity.
While they desire to have a good time when they are relaxing, ESTJs will also encourage others to focus on the good things in life. They are also caring and loyal to their friends and family.
Despite their sociable nature, ESTJ people are still task-orientated, so they can ignore the ideas or feelings of others when they are on a quest to achieve their goals. They can also have trouble adapting to new things.
Another misconception people can have about ESTJs is that because they are happy and confident, nothing bothers them. However, ESTJs tend to repress their feelings and avoid talking about problems or negative things.
ESTJs need to know that having effective communication skills and talking about their feelings and problems with people they can trust is essential for their overall wellbeing.
Strengths

- Sociable
- Friendly
- Enthusiastic
- Approachable
- Talkative
- Positive
- Exciting
- Funny
- Loyal
- Confident
- Logical
- Practical
- Realistic
- Rational
- Objective
- Organized
- Hardworking
- Ethical
- Productive
- Perfectionistic
- Dependable
- Reliable
- Committed
- Responsible
- Efficient
- Decisive
- Disciplined
- Determined
- Excellent leadership skills
Weaknesses
- Can be insensitive
- Inflexible
- Not very adaptable
- Not good at expressing feelings
- Argumentative
- Bossy
- Arrogant
- Impatient
- Overly perfectionistic
- Not very creative
Careers That Are Perfect for ESTJs

ESTJs have a particular skill set that makes them perfect candidates for careers that allow them to work in a clearly defined role, make important decisions, and ensure that policies, procedures, and laws are followed correctly. They will excel in office management, law enforcement, the military, the legal system, manufacturing, and education.
ESTJs will put their analytical skills to good use in IT, engineering, banking, and finance. These industries provide ample opportunities for ESTJs to process large amounts of detailed information, improve existing systems, and offer practical solutions to problems.
As ESTJs enjoy working with others to reach a common goal, they will also succeed in careers like sales and marketing, hospitality, and sports.
Popular careers for ESTJs
- Office manager
- Business manager
- Factory supervisor
- Construction manager
- Marketing manager
- Retail manager
- Sales manager
- Bank teller
- Credit officer
- Banker
- Computer programmer
- Computer analyst
- School administrator
- Military officer
- Police officer
- Detective
- Judge
- Lawyer
- Finance officer
- Financial analyst
- Real estate agent
- Hotel manager
- Travel guide
- Librarian
- Athletics coach
- Sport scout
- Referee
Conclusion
ESTJs will prove to be valuable employees wherever they work. Their passion for people, life, and top-quality work standards make any work environment a great place to be.
Whatever they set their mind to, ESTJs are very successful, which inspires and motivates others to chase after their dreams too.
If you think you have ESTJ characteristics, take our free personality test that is powered by smart artificial intelligence, and you will learn new things about your personality type and find the perfect career for you.
Diana Jane Heath

Based in Sydney, Diana has worked as a freelance writer for over 5 years. She is passionate about writing and helping people reach their full potential and to live a more successful life.