The empath is a highly underrated resource for businesses and organizations across the world. If you are one of these people, then you may need to reassess your career and the jobs you are considering. What careers and jobs best suit people that are empaths? This article will give you some enlightenment on what being an empath means and hopefully provide you with some good direction on propelling your career forward.
This blog will talk about the following things:
What is an empath?
How can I tell if I am an empath?
Which are the best jobs for empaths?
What is an empath?
Being an empath is not a superpower. They don’t read minds. But empaths do tend to be more perceptive to the feelings of others. They are very good at recognizing emotions in the people around them.
Empaths perceive human emotions more strongly than non-empaths. This is a function of the mind and is not a learned skill. This ability can be both a blessing and a curse. Empaths often get overloaded when dealing with the emotions of others. This is especially true in large groups. However, many empaths have learned how to separate their own emotions and the negative emotions they perceive in others. They have turned a disadvantage into a strength when dealing with others.
Empathy is considered a personality trait. Everyone (except in extremely rare cases) has some level of empathy. Otherwise, we would all be emotionless machines. It is what gives us passion, creativity, and the need for human connections. Business is a human endeavor and, as such, also depends on empathy.
There are different types of empathy that people have:
Cognitive empathy: You can understand how a person feels and what they may be thinking. This can make you a better communicator because it helps you to translate information from one person to another.
Emotional empathy (affective): Sharing the feelings of someone else. You can feel what another person is feeling. This enables you to build strong emotional connections with others.
Compassionate empathy (empathic concern): This is more than just understanding and sharing feelings, but means that you are actually motivated to help others.
Am I an empath?
Almost all humans have some level of empathy. Just how much and what type you have can vary greatly from person to person. If you seem to feel more than others, then you may be an empath. Let’s take a closer look at determining if this applies to you.
What are the traits of being an empath?
An empath is a person highly attuned to the feelings and emotions of those around them. Empaths feel what another person is feeling at a deep emotional level. Empaths may feel emotions more intensely than others.
There are some recognized things that indicate a person is an empath:
Empathy - This is a given. If you are better at reading people's feelings and have strong empathy for others, then this is a strong indication you are an empath.
Intuition - Empathic people also appear to have excellent intuition. Also known as having great gut instincts. Helpful for making decisions with limited information.
Caring - If you are very concerned about others, then this is a sign you are an empath. This also causes empaths to want people to feel safe, secure, and happy.
Sensitivity - Emotional sensitivity is part of empathy, but empaths also can be more sensitive to sights, sounds, smells, and physical sensations that others may not notice. The downside of this is that empaths may be easily distracted or annoyed by specific scents and noises around them.
Since a person’s levels of empathy are psychological and personality traits, they are difficult to objectively measure. There are many online tests to determine if you are an empath. A quick Google search will yield hundreds of websites with free tests. Check some out if you need some additional guidance on finding out if you are an empath or not. If you want to find out if you are an empath, then do some research on how the experts identify people and what their traits are.
The best careers and jobs for empaths
So, how do you know what careers for empaths are good to get into? Empaths can definitely be successful in any role. Broadly speaking, empaths tend to do better in jobs that require interactions with fewer people, in individual contributor roles, and in calmer environments. However, empaths can still be successful in roles that require dealing with lots of people, this is not necessarily something to avoid, as long as you know the role and are able to adjust. The key is to understand your empathic traits (pluses and minuses) and choose a career that fits you.
Can an empath be a good leader? What about being a manager? Leadership and management roles obviously involve working with larger numbers of people and being able to deal with conflicts. Many empaths are very good at handling a lot of different people and are comfortable confronting people and diffusing tense situations. Again, it just comes down to knowing yourself, your capabilities, and the job you will be stepping into. Being an empath can be a very big benefit in a leadership role.
Empaths typically have great success in self-employed (business owner or independent contractor), small businesses, work-from-home, and more entrepreneurial roles. This allows the empath to control their own schedule (at least somewhat), direct interactions with others, and create alone (decompression) time.
Given all of the above, let’s dive into some specific examples of careers, roles, and professions that work well for a typical empath.
Healthcare
Doctor - Doctors can greatly benefit from a highly tuned sense of empathy. This allows them to better anticipate their patient’s needs and to provide them with a better level of care. Empaths can be successful even in the stressful and face-paced medical school and residency environments. They just need to be prepared for it.
Nurse - Empaths enjoy caring for others. They want to help and make people feel better, which is a perfect fit for a role in nursing. The emotional needs of patients are very important, and empaths also excel and understanding and meeting these needs. Similar to medical schools, nursing programs, and hospitals can be difficult for empaths.
Therapist - Therapy is another great fit for empaths because it deals directly with people's emotions and mental conditions. Empaths are good at understanding and dealing with emotional suffering, listening, and offering constructive advice.
Helping people
Librarian or Guidance Counselor - For empaths that love working with kids, they should look at a career as a librarian or a guidance counselor. Librarians work in roles that well suit empaths, and they interact directly with children on a daily basis. Guidance counselors work with students and kids to mentor them on their education and life in general. Empaths are good at these types of jobs due to their ability to easily understand the wants and needs of others, which aids them in leading kids in the right direction.
Social worker - Being a social worker is tough and can put you in emotionally charged scenarios. But, if you are looking for a career that really helps people and society overall, then this may be a good role for you. Your empathic abilities will be a tremendous advantage, but make sure you are prepared to avoid getting overwhelmed by strong emotions and conflicting feelings you will encounter.
Creative careers
Writing - Writing is a great career for empaths because it provides an outlet for expressing emotions, being creative, and telling stories that connect with people. It is also a job where you usually can avoid getting into stressful situations, working directly with individuals and groups.
Artist - Empaths tend to see things differently, which gives them the ability to create beautiful artwork. You can use your passion and other strong feelings to inspire you. Working in the art world is also a great place to reach people and connect in different ways.
Musician - Similar to artists, musicians leverage their emotions and feelings to create wonderful music. Being a musician gives you the ability to tailor your working environment (clubs, cafes, arenas, schools, orchestras, etc.) to best meet your professional and emotional needs.
Business
Office work - Working in an office can be beneficial and helpful to other people. Look for companies that are focused on providing assistance to people and local causes. There are many non-profit companies that have office jobs that will allow you to have a good job and make a difference by helping people.
Summary of careers for empaths
Being an empath is a great advantage in many different jobs, roles, and businesses. The most important thing is to assess your empathic strengths and find a career that best suits you. Knowing yourself and what to look for in a job will enable you to do anything you want whether that’s teaching, sales, leadership, or creative work. Use your empathic abilities to empower yourself and develop a great career path, but, most of all, use them to take care of yourself and others.
Key takeaways
Get a good understanding of what being an empath means for you.
Choose a career and job that matches your strengths and avoids your weaknesses.
Look closely at the typical jobs that work best for empaths, as well as those that do not. Keep these in mind when conducting your job search.
Don’t limit yourself, but use this guide to give you some direction in planning out the best path for your career development.
