ISFP stands for Introverted Sensing Feeling Perceiving. In the U.S., ISFPs make up an estimated 10% of men and 8% of women. Overall, about 9% of the general population are ISFPs, making it the fourth most common Myers-Briggs personality type. ISFPs are, for the most part, sensitive and unassuming, preferring to help in the background instead of taking center stage. And yet so many famous musicians, artists, are ISFPs. Is that a contradiction? No. [Most public performers admit they are quite shy off-stage.]
Think about this: You are the kind of person who finds distinct pleasure in activities that engage your senses like food, art, or music. You are tolerant and flexible, frequently willing to accommodate others. You find yourself drawn to activities like painting, dance, crafts, or sculpting. If all of these sound familiar, it’s quite likely you’re an ISFP or at least have ISFP tendencies.
At work: ISFPs need to have a career that is more than a job. The middle of the road is not likely to be a place where they will be fulfilled and happy. They need to have a career that is consistent with their strong core of inner values. They are creative.
Some famous ISFPs include: Jimi Hendrix, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Prince, Cher, David Bowie, Brad Pitt, Britney Spears, and Mozart.
Looking for the best schools for this personality type? We’ve surveyed thousands of programs and ranked them in our personality-type college rankings. Check out the ranking of the 25 best schools for ISFPs here.
Interviewee 1:
Age: 50
Gender: M
Location: San Jose, CA
Job Title: Work in the music business
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your educational history?
A: I attended N.Y.U., intending to be a working musician. Earned a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts. Played in their college orchestra. Jazz band.
Q: What is your current position at work?
A: I work in the marketing department at an online music provider, one of the biggest.
Q: Do you feel like your education was a good fit for your personality?
A: At NYU, sure. My dream was to play in the N.Y. Philharmonic but that never panned out. Now, I help others achieve their dreams. To some, it might seem like my head is in the clouds, but that’s just me concentrating and the people I work with understand.
Q: Do you feel like your current role at work is a good fit for your personality?
A: What drives me are my interests, and most times that means things that center around something with at least a possible practical impact on the tangible world, such as music. My work now is very cool. I do what used to be called A&R work. I scour the internet, You Tube, for new artists, who I then meet, promote, market. All these years in the arts, I know that I need time alone and don’t like being looked at, supervised, at work. I do work with others but hate being interrupted while involved in a project.
Q: What are strengths in work and school that you’ve gained from your personality?
A: The practical side of me spends time trying to figure out how things work, or how I can made things better. And that refers to my musical background when trying to figure out how to compose a piece. I’m big on storing emotional impressions and then expressing them in my music.
Q: What are weaknesses in work and school that you’ve felt due to your personality?
A: Whatever weaknesses I had in school or that I might now have in work, I’ve worked through. I couldn’t work in a highly structured organization, so I don’t. I need my independence, so my current employer allows for that, as long as I produce.
Interviewee 2:
Age: 24
Gender: F
Location: Jacksonville, Fla
Job Title: Sell crafts, jewelry
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your educational history?
A: I went to the U. of Jacksonville, liberal arts.
Q: What is your current position at work?
A: I have never been able to keep a job for more than a few months, so I decided to create my own job. I design jewelry and sell them at shows. My husband is the bread winner (for now) in our family, so I can stay home and work and also take care of our newborn. I pretty much feel lost inside when I’ve tried working outside of the home under someone else’s orders and deadlines. I made and sold candles for a few months. I’ve been making jewelry off and making a few bucks here and there from that.
Q: Do you feel like your education was a good fit for your personality?
A: That’s hard for me to say. I was never really sure what I wanted to do with my life, except to find something where I could express my emotions and feelings, and still make money. That’s the hard part. I have a loving home life, which helps.
Q: Do you feel like your current role at work is a good fit for your personality?
A: Yes. The issue is making money at what I’m doing. I like the freedom I have to create art. Right now in my life, given my marriage and young son, it’s perfect for me. I do get frustrated when I go to crafts shows and see all the great things others make that I can’t because it takes tools that I can’t afford.
Q: What are strengths in work and school that you’ve gained from your personality?
A: Going with my gut instinct works for me. I’m maybe not the best person to give life advice, but I would share this: if you are following a career path that is not making you happy and if that means you are untrue to yourself, rethink what you’re doing.
Q: What are weaknesses in work and school that you’ve felt due to your personality?
A: In school, I had a problem with core, required courses like math and science. Liberal arts courses I aced. Now, a few years post college, making a living, raising a child and having a strong marriage, I find, is always a work in progress and since I can be “dreamy,” I have to work at being more structured. Particularly when it comes to raising my son. Is it a weakness that I need to express myself in art? Some people might think so. Not me. Not my husband, God bless him.
Interviewee #3:
Age: 38
Gender: M
Location: New Jersey
Job Title: musician, own my own record label
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your educational history?
A: I am from a small town in Pennsylvania. Small high school. Good liberal arts college, an elite school.
Q: What is your current position at work?
A: I am a session jazz guitarist and own my own CD label. I’ve put out 16 CDs of myself solo, in duos, and in bands.
Q: Do you feel like your education was a good fit for your personality?
A: I played in bands and performed in concerts starting in high school (garage bands), right through college to now. At my college I learned enough to know that I never could work for someone else. And by taking business courses, I have been able to stay above water while funding my own record company, small as it is.
Q: Do you feel like your current role at work is a good fit for your personality?
A: Would you like a short answer? Yes. I am one of the fortunate ones. I’ve been able to make a living as a performer, a session player and on the side I lecture and even give guitar lessons. I have a home in New Jersey where I have my own recording studio.
Q: What are strengths in work and school that you’ve gained from your personality?
A: My absolute determination to make a living at what I love doing. As I got older I was able to meet and play alongside some of the best New York City players. You might say I’m a loner because I do my own thing, no one tells me when to release a CD, or record one. I do it when I feel like it. I even have a semi-best seller at the moment on jazz radio, which is a surprise and a pleasant one. I’ve played in Europe and South America, places where a small town kid like me never would have dreamed of when I started as a teenager in my mother’s garage.
Q: What are weaknesses in work and school that you’ve felt due to your personality?
A: I doubt if I could work for someone at this point in my life. I also think I couldn’t be in a music ensemble where I didn’t have a strong say in the music we play and compose; I’m a lone wolf that way. I’m a perfectionist, which helps and hinders what I do, which is play music and make records.