ENTP

About ENTP

ENTPs are generally enthusiastic, flexible, creative, conceptual, and clever. They tend to focus on their external environment and they accurately assess situations and people. They are often quite talkative, outgoing, and entertaining. Their interest in creating and having fun often influences their ability to fit in at social gatherings. The ENTP typically has a keen imagination that generates many ideas. They also rely on their intuition and tend to focus on the future. ENTPs are generally interested in intellectual or philosophical concepts and enjoy arguing or debating. They also tend to be impulsive, spontaneous, and comfortable with change. Their strong desire for things that are new often influences them to move between various careers and have many different interests.

The ENTP is perceptive to their surroundings and is able to identify new possibilities. They typically generate a vast number of original ideas and are continually looking for fresh opportunities. They internally evaluate their ideas and are able to simultaneously examine multiple options. They will then use a logical and rational approach to decide which possibilities to pursue. It is often important for them to spend sufficient time on their own to facilitate this reflection and assessment. The ENTP also tends to apply their creativity to identify solutions to problems and handle difficult situations. They often use a proactive approach to deal with challenges and are able to identify the outcome or implication of a decision. ENTPs are often fast-paced workers that have the ability to multi-task. They tend to enthusiastically generate ideas and initiate projects of interest. They are often unconcerned with the specifics and may avoid detail-orientated tasks.

The ENTP generally works tirelessly on projects that they enjoy but may struggle to complete uninteresting jobs. They tend to focus their energy on the initial stages of a project and may neglect the remaining tasks. They tend to desire a challenge and require a lot of variety in their work. They are easily bored with routine and often find procedures and policies to be restricting. They may have trouble realistically evaluating the time required to transfer their ideas to reality and should ensure that they give themselves enough time to meet their deadlines. ENTP’s are often able to motivate people and create a vision for others to follow. However, they should be cautious that their focus on the task does not cause them to neglect the needs of the people involved.

ENTP and School

Learning

The ENTP student will often…

• Require challenging or difficult material that stimulates their mind
• Desire opportunities to evaluate case studies or critically analyze information
• Effectively learn through debating and discussing topics
• Prefer intelligent, competent, and creative instructors
• Generate their own ideas through working alone
• Desire to study with others in a group setting
• Complete unassigned reading on serious topics

Writing

ENTPs tend to clearly articulate complicated information in a well thought out manner. Their writing often reflects their propensity for ideas and big picture thinking. They typically enjoy topics that involve controversy or problem solving and tend to omit personal elements in their writing. They often excel at being able to effectively discuss their opinions but should be cautious that their underlying tone does not appear too harsh or aggressive. The ENTP may prefer creating a program or presentation on a topic as opposed to writing an actual document. When working on a team writing project, they may struggle with adhering to the leader’s instructions or may create a writing plan that others feel is too complicated. ENTPs may find it helpful to discuss their thoughts and ideas with an outside source throughout the duration of a writing project.

In the writing process, the ENTP will often…

• Prefer originality over traditional formats and methods
• Need to limit the number of topics they consider
• Easily connect the patterns that exist in their gathered information
• Focus on the big picture and possibilities
• Include diagrams, tables, and other visual cues
• Incorporate witty humor but should be cautious not to offend the reader
• Benefit from returning to the original draft to incorporate necessary detail and clarify complicated concepts

Procrastination

The ENTP’s pursuit of numerous ideas and projects can result in leaving some tasks unfinished or producing inadequate work. It is often difficult for them to create closure because they are pulled in many different directions and captivated by a variety of interests. These factors combine to make it difficult for the ENTP to focus their attention on any one area. They often do not pay attention to the amount of work that builds up and feel overwhelmed when they realize what they are required to complete. ENTPs may also not take proper care of their bodies and become exhausted and feel unable to physically complete their tasks. ENTPs will generally continue to procrastinate as long as possible and often work right up until the deadline. They typically do not see a need to modify their behavior because they are able to still complete their work and receive an acceptable outcome. They only recognize a need to change when their procrastination significantly affects their lives. It is important for the ENTP to learn how to evaluate the possibilities they identify and establish a list of what is important. It can also be beneficial for them to identify and examine the long-term impact of their choices.

ENTP and Career Exploration

An ENTP tends to find career satisfaction with careers that have the following characteristics:

• Supports innovative thinking and new ways to complete tasks
• Involves diverse and challenging tasks
• Requires creative problem solving
• Provides an opportunity to interact with a variety of individuals
• Supports changing systems and processes to promote efficiency
• Involves few restrictions or rules and promotes freedom and spontaneity
• Fosters a fun, exciting, and action-orientated environment
• Provides a chance to enhance their individual power
• Assesses performance based on knowledge, capabilities, and ingenuity

When exploring career options, an ENTP will often…

• Set many long-term ideals and benefit from creating a plan to meet these goals
• Creatively develop their own careers
• Gather information through their interaction with others
• Objectively examine the long-term implication of their choice
• Logically evaluate their career options but should also consider their values
• Struggle with making a decision and benefit from setting a deadline

Careers to Consider

The following is a list of suggested occupations that fit the qualities of an ENTP or are careers that other ENTPs have found to be satisfying. Use this list as a starting point for further investigation but do not limit your options to only this list.

Career	Career
Politician	Political Manager
Political Analyst	Social Scientist
Systems Designer	Computer Analyst
Special Projects Developer	Design Manager
Photographer	Advertising Director
Marketing Researcher	Marketing Personnel
Sales Agent Strategic Planner	Public Relations Specialist
Management Consultant	Venture Capitalist
Entrepreneur	Investment Broker
Credit Investigator	Mortgage Broker
Research Worker	Physician: Psychiatry
Engineer	Real Estate Agent
Real Estate Developer	Restaurant/Bar Owner
Inventor	Journalist
Actor	Literary Agent
Construction Laborer

Job Search

During their job search, an ENTP will often…

• Benefit from following an established plan
• Identify company’s potential needs and position themselves accordingly
• Need to examine the realities of a job in addition to the possibilities
• Network with a large number of individuals
• Benefit from patiently conducting their job search
• Evaluate multiple job prospects at once
• Need to make decisions throughout their job search

During an interview, an ENTP will often…

• Confidently discuss their skills and abilities
• Convey their enthusiastic attitude
• Present ideas and possibilities that will benefit the company
• Benefit from ensuring that they listen and not assume what will be said
• Need to be able to discuss their current contributions for the organization

ENTP and Work

At work, the ENTP will often…

• Focus on the big picture or future possibilities
• Continually identify, evaluate, and use new ideas
• Creatively devise new processes to complete tasks
• Function well in a disorganized and unstructured work environment
• Generate excitement and support for their ideas and visions
• Excel at learning new techniques, skills, or information
• Remain optimistic in spite of rejection
• Desire freedom and autonomy to complete their tasks and take risks
• Be aware of the underlying needs or intentions of others
• Easily adapt to change and remain flexible
• Creatively solve problems
• Prefer working with competent coworkers that remain independent

At work, the ENTP should be aware that they may…

• Benefit from creating a plan that supports their overall vision
• Become easily distracted while working on a project
• Struggle with meeting deadlines and fulfilling their commitments
• Need to realistically evaluate their ability to complete projects before committing to them
• Ignore the policies, procedures, and hierarchical structure within an organization
• Benefit from delegating detail-orientated tasks
• Struggle to complete uninteresting tasks
• Need to identify their present realities and consider important facts and details
• Be overly confident in their abilities and create unrealistic expectations
• Benefit from developing their time management skills
• Become critical, harsh, argumentative, or unable to focus their attention when feeling unappreciated

Teamwork

On a team, the ENTP will often…

• Generate and clarify numerous ideas
• Contribute their analytical skills
• Work to overcome obstacles
• Challenge team members to excel and work beyond their specified roles
• Provide fun, humor, and energy
• Use logic instead of emotions to deal with interpersonal issues

On a team, the ENTP should be aware that they may…

• Become impatient with individuals they perceive to be incompetent or inflexible
• Feel irritated with team members who are unwilling to consider new ideas, focus on the insignificant, and lack enthusiasm
• Frustrate team members by presenting too many ideas, keeping their ideas at a theoretical level, and striving to be the main focus
• Gain greater support for an idea by providing a more detailed explanation
• Need to be cautious of the high expectations they place on others
• Need to be more decisive when working with others who desire closure

Leadership

As a leader, the ENTP will often…

• Generate unique ideas and present a broad visionary picture
• Need to include the necessary details for a project
• Motivate others by their strong work habits and commitment to projects of interest
• Expect others to reflect their work pace and should be cautious not to be unrealistic
• Promote independence among team members
• Need to intentionally identify and appreciate individual contributions
• Need to create structure to allow others to feel secure

ENTP and Life

Communication

The ENTP will often…

• Effectively convey their thoughts and persuasively promote their ideas
• Provide logical explanations to describe problems or difficult concepts
• Question others and inquire into how things work
• Desire to hear interesting and captivating ideas
• Excel at public speaking or presentations
• Enjoy debating issues and discussing ideas
• Easily provide constructive feedback

The ENTP should be aware that they may need to…

• Ensure they provide genuine comments and positive feedback
• Remain open to discussing the practicalities and realities of a situation or idea
• Incorporate more detail into their explanations
• Be cautious not to finish peoples sentences
• Tailor their intensity to prevent appearing too blunt, aggressive, or argumentative

Decision Making

When it comes to decision making, the ENTP will often…

• Identify possibilities and logically evaluate their options
• Prefer to spend a lot of time in the exploration stage
• Need to consider the personal element to an issue and the corresponding details
• Use a predefined list of criteria to facilitate their choice
• Put off making a decision

Playing

The ENTP is often interested in being active and may have trouble slowing down and relaxing. At times, their desire for play can interfere with their focus on completing tasks. ENTPs are typically interested in the next new thing and often have the latest ‘toy.’ As a post-secondary student, they often participate in sporting events, and campus or social groups. As a roommate, they may experience frustration with people that are viewed as too stringent or are constantly in their space. ENTP students also report that their dating typically occurs in a group setting and is often focused around some type of activity

Stress

An ENTP will often experience stress when…

• Relentlessly trying to solve a problem
• Confined by rules, procedures, or processes
• Feeling unreasonably judged by others
• Required to make a decision before they are ready
• Disrespected or deemed incompetent
• Focusing on their personal problems
• Consumed with too many specifics and details
• Projects are perceived to be boring or uninteresting

When they are affected by stress, an ENTP will often…

• Overdo their pursuits and excessively eat, sleep, or exercise
• Increase their work intensity but reduce their effectiveness
• Experience ongoing feelings of anxiety and worry
• Remove themselves from situations and avoid others
• Excessively generate ideas without any implementation plan
• With significant stress, feel consumed with the details and become unable to think of new possibilities

An ENTP can reduce stress by…

• Delegating tasks and establishing a list of priorities
• Calming their thoughts through time alone
• Maintaining a healthy lifestyle through appropriate eating, sleeping, and physical exercise
• Refocusing their energy to address their challenges
• Establishing a clearer understanding of their values
• Completing all elements of a project