Enterprising (E) · Leading & persuading

Enterprising interests draw you to persuading people, setting goals, leading and making the decisions that keep things moving. The name suggests startups, but the same interest shows when you pull off a student council event or sort out a team’s direction.

People high in E tend to come alive where competition and results are visible. Holland called these Enterprising environments and expected people to stay longer where their code and the setting’s code match.

Your second letter says what you want to lead. ES leads by developing people (education ventures, sales team management, public policy); EC by steering numbers and operations (financial management, purchasing, operations); EA by bringing ideas to market (brand marketing, entertainment production); ER by moving sites and physical goods (construction projects, agribusiness).

In ESC, the leading E sets the direction while S looks after people and C after schedules and budgets. It shows up often among project managers and heads of large event operations, where decisions and administration sit together.

Enterprising sits next to Social (S), working with people, and Conventional (C), working with systems. ES and EC codes are therefore consistent, and the matching job families are fairly clear.

Across the hexagon is Investigative (I), the interest in digging deep alone. An EI code is uncommon but can be a strength in research-based public policy design, patent licensing or running a market research firm, where analysis and persuasion meet.

Majors often mentioned include political science, international trade, real estate, sports management, arts management and media studies. Example jobs cover a wide stage: merchandiser, export sales representative, venture analyst, fundraiser, event planner, legislative aide, franchise operations manager, startup business developer and social entrepreneur.

Enterprising interests are not limited to profit. Leading a nonprofit campaign or organizing a local festival uses exactly the same drive.

Sell something at a flea market, run a club event from start to finish or plan a small crowdfunding campaign. Going through one full cycle of setting a goal, persuading people and delivering a result shows how real the interest is.

Startup competitions, Model UN and debate tournaments are good tryouts too. Note whether moving people was enjoyable and whether rejection felt bearable, not just whether you won.

A high E score does not make someone a good leader. Being drawn to lead and being able to listen and decide fairly are separate things to build, and plenty of people with low scores lead well when it counts. Codes also shift with experience.

Overlaying strengths like leadership or fairness shows what kind of leader you might become. VIA and RIASEC together and the MBTI career guide put interests, strengths and work style side by side.