How to attract and assess Advocate (INFJ) candidates during the hiring process

Empathic, insightful, and determined, INFJs (also called “Advocates”) are a great addition to any workplace. Their unique qualities contribute to a positive and harmonious environment, fostering collaboration amongst teammates.

However, these sensitive souls might struggle with conflict or the challenges of a fast-paced or dynamic workplace. This misalignment can cause them to feel overwhelmed, stressed, or unable to utilize their strengths. This may result in low morale, poor performance, and increased attrition. 

The best way to prevent this is to understand your INFJ inside and out. Read on to learn about their personality traits, strengths, and weaknesses. Plus, discover what you can do to attract more Advocates to your workplace.

INFJ candidates: Key strengths, limitations, and personality traits

Derived from Carl Jung’s 16 personality types theory, INFJs are called Advocates because of their passion for advocating for causes they believe in and commitment to making a positive impact on the world. Advocates need roles that closely align with their values and principles. They often find themselves in healthcare, supportive, or humanitarian roles.

INFJ strengths

• Empathic and compassionate: INFJs have a high level of empathy and compassion. They’re attuned to the emotions of others and can easily connect to those around them. 

• Determined: You can count on an INFJ to see a task through to the end. They’re committed and determined – and will persevere despite challenges.  

• Driven by their values: INFJs have a strong sense of integrity and are driven by their core values. They strive to make ethical decisions and tend to choose jobs that closely align with their values.

• Natural mediators: An Advocate’s natural empathy makes it easy for them to see multiple perspectives and mediate disagreements. 

INFJ weaknesses

• Perfectionism: Advocates have extremely high standards. This sometimes leads to perfectionism. While wanting to submit high-quality work is a great goal, their need for perfectionism can sometimes hinder their progress towards task completion.  

• Choice paralysis: An Advocate’s introversion combined with their perfectionism means they carefully consider all outcomes before making a decision. This can lead to choice paralysis – where the Advocate feels too overwhelmed with options to make a decision quickly. While their determinism will lead them to persevere, their choice paralysis can temporarily hinder progress.

• Conflict aversion: Conflict is natural in the workplace. However, INFJs’ peace-loving nature means they really dislike being involved in conflict. They may become distressed when faced with personal confrontation and will go to great lengths to avoid it.  

• Difficulty saying no: INFJs can find it hard to say no or set boundaries. Although wanting to be helpful is a positive trait, it can result in them overextending themselves and struggling to keep up with tasks. 

Personality traits

INFJs’ core personality traits are introversion, intuitiveness, feeling, and judging.  

• Introverted. INFJs need time to recuperate after a period of social interaction. They need a quiet, solitary environment to “recharge their social batteries.” They may also prefer independent work over group activities, so it can be difficult for them to form meaningful workplace connections. 

• Intuitive. They want to understand people’s motives behind their actions. They tend not to focus on facts and instead prefer referring to past experiences and their personal beliefs. 

• Feeling. They tend to make decisions based on their feelings, values, and personal beliefs rather than logic. They’re attuned to their own feelings and the emotions of those around them. They often draw on this when making decisions. 

• Judging. Having a judging personality type doesn’t necessarily mean INFJs are judgmental. Instead, it means they prefer structure, order, and clear objectives instead of spontaneity.

What INFJ applicants look for in a workplace 

Try highlighting the following qualities in your job descriptions to draw INFJs to your workplace. 

Meaningful purpose

INFJs are driven by their desire to make the world a better palace. As a result, they’ll seek out jobs that align with their personal values. If your business is in healthcare, counseling, or nonprofit sectors, INFJs will naturally gravitate towards you.

However, if it isn’t, you’ll need to be more strategic to attract Advocates to your business. Try emphasizing your commitment to social responsibility, highlighting charitable giving, or showcasing environmentally sustainable practices within your organization. 

A demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion can also be appealing to INFJs, as they often appreciate working in environments that embrace different perspectives.

Structured workplace

INFJs thrive in structured environments that provide clear guidelines and expectations. 

This means you should ensure your job description clearly defines roles and responsibilities, highlighting the organization's commitment to organized workflows and processes. Additionally, emphasize any well-established procedures your company has adopted to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in daily tasks.

Work-life balance

Advocates thrive when they have a healthy work-life balance. As a result, they often look for jobs that respect their personal time. 

Highlight any initiatives that demonstrate your company’s commitment to fostering a healthy work-life balance. For example, spotlight flexible work arrangements, family-friendly policies, and initiatives that prioritize employee well-being – like additional vacation time.

Opportunities for personal growth

INFJs are lifelong learners who seek opportunities for personal and professional development. They’ll want to know about any opportunities that will help them enhance their skills, expand their knowledge, and contribute meaningfully to their team. 

Highlight mentorship programs, employee training, and the ability to grow and develop away from the business – for example, through workplace volunteering days.

Clear communication 

Some Advocates are prone to overthinking. As a result, they’ll be interested in roles and businesses where clear communication is prioritized. 

Highlight how transparent your policies are, how your managers deliver feedback, and how your company shares business updates with the team. All these elements will indicate that communication is important to your business. 

How to assess INFJ type candidates

You shouldn’t consider a candidate’s personality type only when determining whether to hire them. For a fair evaluation, you should also assess their skills. This will provide a comprehensive understanding of each candidate's suitability for a particular role, ensuring a well-rounded and effective hiring decision. 

If you’re considering an INFJ for a role in your business, consider using the following assessments:

• Business Ethics & Compliance test. While most INFJs are driven by their values and possess a strong sense of integrity, you can’t be sure that their values will match with yours. This test will help you understand a candidate’s understanding of conflict of interest, their handling of business relationships, and their understanding of how ethics affect professional reputation.  

• Time Management test. INFJs’ inclination towards choice paralysis and perfectionism can make them struggle with time management. Tasks and projects may run over deadlines since INFJs want to get them “just right.” Measuring a candidate’s time management skills can help you ensure they can keep up with your organization’s time-based needs.

• Motivation test. As INFJs’ values are so closely aligned with the types of jobs they tend to pick, it’s a good idea to measure their workplace motivation. This will help you determine if your values fundamentally align with theirs and whether they’d be a good culture add. 

Using pre-employment tests like the ones above is the safest and fairest way to measure candidates’ skills. It removes bias from the recruitment process, ensuring a fair employment chance for all. This contributes to workplace diversity and ensures ethical hiring practices. 

TestGorilla offers hundreds of tests for you to choose from. Combine five or fewer tests to create your own custom assessment. You can even add your own questions or edit the pre-crafted questions to tailor your assessment to your role. 

On top of assessments, you can use meaningful interview questions to probe more deeply into INFJ candidates’ other strengths and weaknesses. This way, you can ensure they possess the strengths you’re seeking and can thrive despite their challenges. For example, you might ask questions like: 

• “Describe a time when you mediated a workplace conflict.”

• “Describe a time when someone in the workplace personally confronted you. How did you handle it?”

• “What steps do you take to ensure you don’t overextend yourself?”

• “How would you tell a colleague ‘no’ when you really want to help them but don’t have time?”

Hire your next INFJ with TestGorilla

INFJs are sensitive and determined and have a strong moral compass. They’re passionate about making the world a better place and speaking up for those less fortunate. However, their introverted nature makes them a tough nut to crack, and hiring managers need to ensure the right match to get the best out of their applicant. 

Talent assessments can help you do this. Not only do they help you measure personality types – they can help you understand a candidate’s skills. This will ensure your values are aligned with theirs and guarantee a positive working relationship. It will also help you understand how you can best support your Advocate in the workplace.

Ready to kick-start your hiring process? Watch a live demo or sign up for a free account with TestGorilla to better understand your applicant’s abilities and capabilities.