Know your Personality Type with the Holland Code

One way of exploring careers is by looking at occupations according to

occupational interest. John Holland conducted research that divided job
seekers into six broad personality type categories: REALISTIC
INVESTIGATIVE ARTISTIC SOCIAL ENTERPRISING CONVENTIONAL All
types have both positive and negative qualities and none are better than
the others. The Holland Code is a generalization, and not likely to be an
exact fit.
Step One: Circle the number of all items below that are appealing to you leave the rest blank
1. Planting and growing
crops
2. Solving math problems
3. Being in a play
4. Studying other cultures
5. Talking to people at a
party
6. Working with computers
7. Working on cars or
lawnmowers
8. Astronomy
9. Drawing or painting
10. Going to church
11. Working on a sales
campaign
12. Using a cash register
13. Carpentry
14. Physics
15. Foreign language
16. Working with youth

17. Buying clothes for a

store
18. Working from nine to
five
19. Setting type for a
printing job 20. Using a
chemistry set
21. Reading fiction or
plays
22. Helping people with
problems 23. Selling life
insurance
24. Typing reports
25. Driving a truck
26. Working in a lab
27. Playing a musical
instrument 28. Making
new friends
29. Leading a group
30. Following a budget
31. Fixing electrical
appliances
32. Building rocket
models

33. Writing stories or poetry

34. Attending sports events
35. Making your opinions
heard
36. Using business
machines
37. Building things
38. Doing puzzles
39. Fashion design
40. Belonging to a club
41. Giving talks or speeches
42. Keeping detailed records
43. Wildlife biology
44. Using science to get
answers
45. Going to concerts or the
theater 46. Working with the
elderly
47. Sales people
48. Filing letters and reports

Step Two:
1.

On the chart below, again circle the numbers of the items which
appealed to yo
2.
Then count the number for each row and write the number in the
box to the left.
NOTES.
The two highest categories are the clusters in which you have the most
interest, and their corresponding labels are your Holland Code. (For example, if
you scored highest in Social, and second highest in Artistic, your Holland Code
would be SA. This is where you will concentrate your career exploration
efforts.)
R = REALISTIC
1 7 13 19 25 31 37 43
I = INVESTIGATIVE
2 8 14 20 26 32 38 44

A = ARTISTIC
S = SOCIAL

3 9 15 21 27 33 39 45
4 10 16 22 28 34 40
46
E = ENTERPRISING 5 11 17 23 29 35 41
47
C=
6 12 18 24 30 36 42
CONVENTIONAL
48
Highest score: _____________ Second highest score: _______________ My Holland
Code: _______

In the lists below, you can identify your type, and then focus on your job search in
the Interest section of Advanced Search in the Wages and
Occupational Data (WOOD) tool
REALISTIC
- Robust, rugged, practical, physically
strong - Uncomfortable in social settings Good motor coordination - Weak verbal and
interpersonal skills - See themselves as
mechanically and athletically inclined Stable, natural, persistent - Prefer concrete
to abstract problems - Have conventional
political and economic goals - Rarely
perform creatively in the arts or science Like to build things with tools - Like to work
outdoors - Cool to radical new ideas - Like
to work with big, powerful machines - Buy
boats, campers, snowmobiles, motorcycles

INVESTIGATIVE
Scientific orientation - Task-oriented, all
wrapped up in their work - Introspective
and asocial - Think through rather than act
out a problem - Strong need to understand
the world - Enjoy ambiguous tasks - Prefer
to work independently - Have
unconventional attitudes - See themselves
as lacking in leadership skills - Confident of
their intellectual abilities - Analytical,
curious, reserved, independent - Great
dislike for repetitive activities - Buy
telescopes, calculators, electronic
equipment

ENTERPRISING
Good verbal skills, persuasive
- Strong leaders
- Avoid work involving long periods of
intellectual effort
- Strong drive to attain organizational goals
- Concerned with power, status, and
leadership
- Aggressive, popular, sociable, selfconfident
- High energy level
- Adventuresome, ambitious
- Enjoy making things happen
- Value money and material possessions
- Dislike science and systematic thinking
- Buy big cars, nice clothes, country club
memberships
CONVENTIONAL
Prefer well-ordered environments - Like
systematic, verbal and numerical activities;
avoid ambiguous situations and problems Conscientious, efficient, practical - Identify
with power - Value material possessions and
status - Orderly, persistent, calm - Adverse
to free, unsystematic, exploratory behavior
in new areas - Do not seek outside
leadership - Stable, controlled, dependable Most effective at well-defined tasks - Save
money, buy conservatively

SOCIAL

ARTISTIC

- Sociable, responsible, humanistic,

religious - Like to work in groups - Have
verbal and interpersonal skills - Avoid both
intellectual problem-solving and physical
exertion - Enjoy healing, developing,
training, or enlightening others Understanding, helpful, idealistic - Dislike
working with machines or in highly
structured situations - Like to discuss
philosophic questions - Concerned with the
welfare of others - Cooperative, friendly,
generous - Attend workshops, other group
experiences

- Like art, music, drama, other creative

interests - Prefer free, unstructured
situations - Impulsive, non-conforming,
independent - Adverse to rules - Deal with
problems through self-expression in art Value beauty and aesthetic qualities Expressive, original, intuitive - Like to work
in free environments - Like small, intimate
groups - Willing to take risks to try
something new - Dress in freer styles than
other people - Have need for individualistic
expression - Not assertive about own
capabilities - Sensitive and emotional Spend money on art objectsbooks,
paintings, DVDs, CDs

http://www.ccdf.ca/ccdf/NewCoach/english/ccoache/e4a_bp_theory.htm

E. Finding Supports
E4. Understanding the Career
Development Big Picture

Big Picture View of Career

Development Theory

Why is theory important? Theory helps us make sense of our

experiences. A solid knowledge base in theory provides a
meaningful framework and context for working with clients. It gives
you a better understand of particular strategies, counselling
approaches and tools; helping you determine how to use them,
when to use them and why you use them. Finally, having the ability
to use a number of theories and approaches better equips you to
determine and meet the particular needs of each individual client.

What follows is a thumbnail sketch of each of the major human

development and career development theories identified by the
National Standard and Guidelines. The descriptions given below
are meant to provide only a preliminary introduction to one or two of
the central components of these important approaches to career
development. They are intended to help you assess your own
understanding of career development theory and identify potential
areas for further learning and professional
development.

Common Human Development Models

These include but are not limited to:
1. Maslow (1908-1970): Abrahman Maslow is best known
for his developmental theory of human motivation. As a humanistic
psychologist, Maslow believed that actualization of ones inherent
potential was the driving force of human personality. Maslow placed
self-actualization into a hierarchy of motivation or his famous
hierarchy of needs. Self-actualization is identified as the highest
drive but before a person can turn to it, he or she must satisfy other
lower motivations like physiological, safety, social and esteem needs,
respectively. For example: A homeless youth client will need
assistance in finding secure housing before being referred to a
career decision making
program, in Maslows view.
See B1.3 the Basics of
Motivation theory for a more
in-depth look at Maslows
theory of motivation and its
relationship to Herzbergs
work on job satisfaction.
2. Skinner (1904-1990): B.F.
Skinner is recognized as a
leader in the field of
behaviourist theory. Very simply
put, Skinner believed that
changes in behaviour are the
result of an individuals
response to events (stimuli)
that occur in the environment.
The response or behaviour
produces a consequence and
the nature of the consequence
either reinforces or weakens
the probability of the behaviour
occurring again. So if you wish
to alter someones behaviour,
you reinforce the behaviour you want people to do again and ignore
or punish the behaviour you want people to stop doing. Example:
Using verbal praise and other forms of recognition to encourage
youth to continue their job search.

3. Erikson (1902-1994): Erik Erikson developed the psychosocial

theory of social development. The theory describes the eight stages
of human development (infancy to late adulthood), through which
every person passes. At each stage of development the person is
confronted with and hopefully resolves a new psycho-social issue.
Each developmental stage builds on the successful completion of the
earlier stages. If the issues of the earlier stages are not successfully
resolved they are expected to reappear as problems in the later
stages. Example: Youth clients working on establishing their own
identity may be struggling with settling on a career path because
they dont really know who they are yet.
4. Frankl (1905-1997); Victor Frankl belongs to the school of existential
theory and was the founder of logotherapy. He regarded the search
for meaning and an authentic life as the primary human motivation.
This will to meaning is universal and common to all individuals. As
free individuals we have a choice on how we will deal with inner
conditions and outer circumstances. We are responsible for our own
existence and for finding a purpose or meaning to our lives. Frankl
asserted that one can discover meaning through purposeful work,
creative pursuits and suffering. Example: It is important for youth to
take responsibility for making their own career choices and to be
encouraged to consider careers that will be personally meaningful
and fulfilling.
Major Career Development Theories: Again these include but are
not limited to:
1. Trait-Factor Theory: The Trait-Factor theory of career development
goes as far back as the early 1900s and is associated mostly
strongly with vocational theorists Frank Parsons and E.G.
Williamson. Some of the basic assumptions that underlie this theory
are:

Every person has a unique pattern of traits made up of their

interests, values, abilities and personality characteristics,
these traits can be objectively identified and profiled to
represent an individuals potential

Every occupation is made up of factors required for the

successful performance of that occupation. These factors can
be objectively identified and represented as an occupational
profile

It is possible to identify a fit or match between individual traits

and job factors using a straight forward problemsolving/decision making process.

The closer the match between personal traits and job factors
the greater the likelihood for successful job performance and
satisfaction.

Trait-factor theory has been around for a long time and is still being

Gold

Guardian

used by many career practitioners in one form or another. Many of the

aptitude, personality and interest tests and occupational information
materials that emerged from this approach have evolved and remain in
use today (e.g.,True Colors, General Aptitude Test Battery, DataPeople-Things Interest Test, occupational profiles and the ever
expanding computer-based career guidance programs).

Blue
Orange

Idealist
Artisan

Green

Rational

2. Hollands Career Typology Theory: An off-shoot of the trait-factor

theory can be seen in the work of John Holland. Like the trait-factor
approach, Hollands Career Typology focuses on individual
characteristics and occupational task. Hollands theory expanded the
concept of personality types and posited that:

Personalities fall into six broad categories: realistic,

investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional
(often referred to as RIASEC).

Since certain personalities are attracted to certain jobs, the

work environments then reflect this personality and can be
clustered into six similar populations (RIASEC)

Although each individual is made up of all six types, one type

is usually dominant. Most personalities tend to resemble up
to three of the six personality factors.

Personalities can be matched with similar combinations of

work environments using a problem-solving approach.

The closer the match of personality to job, the greater the

satisfaction
Hollands Career Typology takes a cognitive, problem solving
approach to career planning and this model has been extremely
influential in vocational counselling. It has been employed by
popular assessment tools such as the Self-Directed Search,
Vocational Preference Inventory and the Strong Interest Inventory. It
has also resulted in practical resources like the Dictionary of
Holland Occupational Codes which applies Hollands codes to
major occupations.

Supers Life-Span/ Life-Space Theory: Donald Super believed that

humans are anything but static and that personal change is
continuous. Supers Life-Span/Life Space is a very comprehensive
developmental model that attempts to account for the various
important influences on a person as they experience different life
roles and various life stages. Here are some of Supers main tenets:

Every individual has potential. People have skills and talents

that they develop through different life roles making them

capable of a variety of tasks and numerous occupations.

In making a vocational choice, an individual is expressing

his or her understanding of self; his or her self-concept.

People seek career satisfaction through work roles in which
they can express themselves and implement and develop
their self-concept. Self-knowledge is key to career choice and
job satisfaction.

Career development is life long and occurs throughout

five major life stages: Growth, Exploration, Establishment,
Maintenance and Disengagement. Each stage has a unique
set of career development tasks and accounts for the
changes and decisions that people make from career entry to
retirement.

These five stages are not just chronological. People cycle

through each of these stages when they go through career
transitions.

People play different roles throughout their lives including the

role of worker. Job satisfaction increases when a persons
self-concept includes a view of the working-self as being
integrated with their other life roles.
Supers theory has greatly influenced how we look at career
practices. Understanding the ages and related stages of career
development assists practitioners to identify where clients are in the
career development continuum and suggest appropriate career
related goals and activities. It also underscores the necessity to
examine career development within the larger context of an
individuals roles and life style and how to achieve a life/work
balance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxbqtEeEgA4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxbqtEeEgA4
http://career.iresearchnet.com/career-development/supers-career-development-theory/Career
Research Career Development Supers Career Development Theory

Supers Career Development Theory

Donald E. Supers (1910-1994) career

development theory is perhaps the most widely known life-span view of career
development. Developmental theories recognize the changes that people go through
as they mature, and they emphasize a life-span approach to career choice and
adaptation. These theories usually partition working life into stages, and they try to
specify the typical vocational behaviors at each stage.
In the 1950s, when Super began to formulate his theoretical conceptions, differential
psychology and the trait-and-factor theory permeated vocational counseling. The
dominant assumption was that differing abilities and interests were crucial in
determining occupational choice and success. For this reason,
vocational counseling was seen primarily as a process of helping individuals match
their abilities and other traits with those required by accessible occupations. By
applying the matching model, practitioners of vocational guidance assisted their
clients in choosing the right vocation, that is, the one that is well matched or
congruent with an individuals abilities, interests, and personality traits. Super
recognized the valuable contribution of the trait-and-factor theory and the matching
model to vocational theory and guidance practice. But he also believed that they were

too static and insufficient in explaining the complexities of vocational behavior. Super
proclaimed that occupational choice should be seen as an unfolding process, not a
point-in-the-time decision. Therefore, he proceeded to supplement the trait-and-factor
approach by constructing a comprehensive career theory in which (a) career
development is seen as a lifelong process unfolding in a series of developmental
stages and (b) career selection is not a one-shot decision but the cumulative outcome
of a series decisions.
In his attempts to shape a comprehensive career theory in the 1950s through the mid1990s, Super complemented the traditional individual-difference approach to
vocational guidance with three additional perspectives: (1) developmental perspective
focusing on the life course of vocational behavior and stressing continuity in career
development, (2) phenomenological perspective emphasizing the role of self-concept
in the development of an individuals career, and (3) contextual perspective bringing
forward the importance of multiple social roles and their interaction across the life
span.

Developmental Perspective: Understanding Careers In

The Life Span
While traditional vocational guidance focused on occupational choice and the
prediction of occupational success at some later point in time, Super stressed the need
to understand and predict a career. He defined a career as a sequence of occupations,
jobs, and positions held during the course of a lifetime, including also prevocational
and postvocational activities. Super asserted that what was actually needed in
vocational guidance was a career model, which takes into account the sequence of
positions that an individual occupies during her or his working life. Interest in
understanding careers led Super to look into peoples career patterns, which portray
one aspect of vocational developmentthe sequence of changes in occupational level
and fieldover a period of time. Although initially set out by the individuals parental
socioeconomic level, patterns are also determined by individuals abilities, personality
traits, and the opportunities to which they are exposed. The analysis of career patterns
supported the view that the life cycle imposes different vocational tasks on people at
various times of their lives. Drawing on the work of
developmental psychologists and sociologists who independently studied stages of
life and work, Super and his colleagues outlined five major stages of career
development, with each one characterized by three or four appropriate developmental
tasks:
Growth (roughly age 4 to 13), the first life stage, the period when children develop
their capacities, attitudes, interests, socialize their needs, and form a general
understanding of the world of work. This stage includes four major career
developmental tasks: becoming concerned about the future, increasing personal
control over ones own life, convincing oneself to achieve in school and at work, and
acquiring competent work habits and attitudes.
Exploration (Ages 14-24) is the period when individuals attempt to understand
themselves and find their place in the world of work. Through classes, work
experience, and hobbies, they try to identify their interests and capabilities and figure

out how they fit with various occupations. They make tentative occupational choices
and eventually obtain an occupation. This stage involves three career development
tasks. The first one, the crystallization of a career preference, is to develop and plan a
tentative vocational goal. The next task, the specification of a career preference, is to
convert generalized preferences into a specific choice, a firm vocational goal. The
third vocational task is implementation of a career preference by completing
appropriate training and securing a position in the chosen occupation.
Establishment stage (25-44 years) is the period when the individual, having gained
an appropriate position in the chosen field of work, strives to secure the initial
position and pursue chances for further advancement. This stage involves three
developmental tasks. The first task is stabilizing or securing one place in the organization by adapting to the organizations requirements and performing job duties
satisfactorily. The next task is the consolidation of ones position by manifesting
positive work attitudes and productive habits along with building favorable coworker
relations. The third task is to obtain advancement to new levels of responsibility.
Maintenance (45-65) is the period of continual adjustment, which includes the career
development tasks of holding on, keeping up, and innovating. The individuals strive
to maintain what they have achieved, and for this reason they update their competencies and find innovative ways of performing their job routines. They try also to
find new challenges, but usually little new ground is broken in this period.
Disengagement (over 65) is the final stage, the period of transition out of the
workforce. In this stage, individuals encounter the developmental tasks of deceleration, retirement planning, and retirement living. With a declined energy and
interest in an occupation, people gradually disengage from their occupational
activities and concentrate on retirement planning. In due course, they make a
transition to retirement living by facing the challenges of organizing new life patterns.
Supers model demarcates the stages both with age bounds and task markers.
Originally, Super viewed the stages as chronological, but later he also acknowledged
an age-independent, task-centered view of stages. For example, individuals embarking
on a new career in their middle adulthood might go through exploration and
establishment stages. Thus the five stages spreading across ones entire life span, or
the maxicycle, might also be experienced as minicy-cles within each of the
maxicycle stages. Individuals cycle and recycle throughout their life span as they
adapt to their own internal changes or to changed opportunities to which they are
exposed.
http://careerconnectors.wikispaces.com/E.+
+Career+Development+Theory

E. Career Development Theory

Edit 2 37

Career Development Theories

"Theory without practice is meaningless, but practice without theory is blind." ~ author
unknown
This section is intended to provide a very brief introduction to various Career Development
Theories. It is hoped you will engage in the variuos investigations and reflections and use this
as a starting point for continued learning in this area.

Investigation:
There are a number of Career Development Theories we, as Career Development
Practitioners, should be aware of as they provide ideas as to theory, tools, and techniques
which may be useful in our interactions with students/clients. This section is meant to
stimulate thought and provide a starting point for your investigations into various Career
Development Theories. Let the learning begin!
1. Click on the Discussion tab and respond to the Initial Investigations question.
2. Spend some time reviewing inforamation on the various Career Development Theories
mentioned below and take time to engage in further investigations. Please be aware this is
not an exhaustive listing of Career Development Theories.

Holland
John L. Holland is an American psychologist who is best known for his career development
theory dubbed the "Holland Code". The Holland Code consists of a set of personality types
which link to related occupational choices. As stated on Wikipedia, "Holland's theory argued
that 'the choice of a vocation is an expression of personality' and...the six factor
typology...could be used to describe both persons and work environments."
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland_Codes) The six codes include Realistic, Investigative,
Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional.
In "Essential Elements of Career Counselling: Processes and Techniques" by Norman E.
Amundson, the author outlines a number of counselling goals which can be considered in
association with Holland's Theory of Career Development as:

"Determine the client's present code and its characteristics in one of the ways
previously listed.

...find programs of study that match or are highly similar to the client's code, if
choices about education or training are relevant.

...find occupations or jobs that match or are highly similar to the client's code - if
choice of occupation, choice of jobs, or change in jobs is relevant.

...find leisure activities that match or are highly similar to the client's code, if use of
personal time is an issue.

assist the client to gain information about the identified options." (Amundson, p. 17)

Something to consider...
The Holland Code is applicable to us in our work with students within our school division. For
instance, one of our key resources, Career Cruising, contains assessment inventories aligned
with the Holland Code. Based on results, student profiles may include high interest/skill in all
six areas, low interest/skill in all six areas, or any combination thereof. Often students will
have at least one area that is significantly stronger than the others, but this is not always the
case. Part of our role as career counsellors involves helping students make sense of the
information and to support them in continued investigation in terms of possible occupational
choices based on their unique profiles. It is also important for us to involve parents in the
follow-up discussions.

Super
Donald E. Super, a professor of psychology, considers career development as one moves
from birth to death by identifying important life stages. He is best known for his 'Life-Career
Rainbow' in which he identifies a number of life stages and developmental tasks that link to
occupational choice throughout one's life. Super suggests that as people age, they move
through stages of Growth, Exploration, Establishment, Maintenance, and Disengagement. In
addition, he suggests life roles such as child, student, leisurite, citizen, worker, homemaker
(or various combinations) impact one's life and work. Super views career as being the
combination of all roles and activities one is involved/engaged in at a given point in time. All
impact one another and represent time and energy in one's life space. Super suggests that
the more roles we can balance successfully, the more life/work satisfaction we will achieve.
Super's theory does not undermine the idea that it is important to consider interests, skills,
values, abilities, etc., but it takes additional factors into considersation.
Norman E. Amundson outlines in his book, "Essential Elements of Career Counselling:
Processes and Techniques", a number of factors to consider in relation to Super's Career
Development Theory including:

"identifying the level of career maturity and attempting to reduce deficits found in
possession of needed attitudes, skills, knowledge, and accomplishment of career
development tasks.

analysis of self-concept and strengthening it through assessment and counseling, if

appropriate.

understanding that a career is a combination of interacting life roles and assistance

with selecting those roles and defining their dimentions in order to achieve balance in life.

identifying interests, abilities, and values and distributing them across life
roles." (Amundson, p. 22)