ESTP Personality Type, Strengths & Weaknesses

What are the personality traits, strengths and weaknesses, ideal career paths of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) type, the Extroverted Sensing Thinking Perceiver, ESTP personality type? Also, listing famous celebrities and fictional characters.

ESTP-Personality-Type

The ESTP personality is outgoing, naturally friendly and social, and they love to be the centre of attention. They are positively energetic, very observant, and in tune with their five senses and external stimuli. They live for the moment and seek adventure.

Despite their social and happy demeanour, they do have some strong analytical and logical thinking ability. This makes an interesting mix of personality strengths, giving them a somewhat split personality. ESTPs tend to be very well dressed, immaculate in appearance and likely to be fashion conscious. However, they don’t take themselves too seriously, and they can often dress casually.

ESTP Personality Type Careers

Career wise, they like jobs that require dealing with people, also something that satisfies their desire for sensory input and adventure. Travelling and exploration is likely to be a passion, they’re also likely to start their own business, work freelance or pursue some entrepreneurial endeavour. Working for the emergency services would likely be a good career direction for many ESTPs. Career examples: engineer, air traffic controller, paramedic, sales, actor, mechanic, and firefighter.

ESTP Personality Functions

  • Dominant – Sensing (Se)
  • Auxiliary – Thinking (Ti)
  • Tertiary – Feeling (Fe)
  • Inferior – Intuition (Ni)
ESTP Personality Type.

ESTP Personality Type Strengths

Practical & Logical

ESTPs have strong practical and logical thinking skills. They are very good at working on practical and physical tasks. Their auxiliary introverted thinking (Ti) allows them to dig deep into complicated problems that require logic.

Assertive

Extroverts tend to be assertive. Assertive people tend to have an easier time in the work place, and perhaps in life in general, due to their assertiveness commanding attention. They are also more likely to get pay rises when asked for.

Social & Positive

This again comes from their extroverted nature. Extroverts are higher in positive emotions, which naturally makes them more social, friendly and generally happier.

Straight Talking

They are very much to the point, ESTPs will be direct and honest with their opinions. They will also be able to see things more clearly, allowing them to make plans or complete tasks more directly.

ESTP Personality Type Weaknesses

Reward Seeking

An ESTP personality can be prone to being susceptible to seeking short-term fixes and instant gratification. This is because extroversion is correlated to being high in reward sensitivity.

Rebellious & Erratic

They can have difficulty with authority, rules and time scales. They like a certain amount of freedom and flexibility. This is combined with some impulsivity. Some may find this type unreliable, undisciplined, and they may dislike their unpredictability.

Harsh

The downside of being straight talking is that the ESTP can be a little harsh or too honest, depending on the situation. Those who value compassion and sensitivity will likely find them cold and uncaring.

Narrow Thinking

Because they focus so much on the current moment and the details, the ESTP personality will often overlook the big picture. They may struggle to make and see certain connections and patterns. This is due to their intuitive ability being under developed.

ESTP Celebrities & Fictional Characters