Holland’s Six Personality Types

If economical factors such as money was no problem, everyone would wish to pursue their dreams and desires. I would either wish to indulge in a life of simply existing contently, or pursue my fervent, egotistical, and narcissistic wish to rule the world. But such are merely fanciful fantasies, and the responsibilities, limitations, and desires of reality, such as skill, income, and influence from internal and external factors such as family, determines our choice between income, emotional satisfaction, and skill compatibility. Simply put, based on our skill set, and our interests, we try to choose a profession that allows us to goals of whatever degree or term, depending on our aptitude and attitude for and toward work. The profession we choose is also often a product of influence from our romantic fantasies, the demands of society, and the suggestion and information available in our surrounding environment, such as teachers and counsellors. And often, our professional dreams, and goals, may or may not differ from our personal dreams and goals, and our profession, at least for me, is the means to the ends of my

Dr. John Holland created a theory and inventory to help describe personality types that can be used to identify occupations that are best suited for a particular personality type, or “Holland Code.”

The Textbook defines people in the Investigative category as “These people love to problem-solve and analytical thinking skills. They're intellectually stimulated and often mathematically or scientifically inclined; like to observe, learn and evaluate; normally prefer to work alone; and are reserved.” (page 499, The College Success Textbook).

The first section of this paper details the elements that a personality type assessment typically measures. The second section contains discussion on the personality type assessment of the author of this paper. In the third and last section, the author shares how his personal assessment outcomes could affect his work relationships with his colleagues.

According to John Holland’s Theory of Career Choice, he explains the significance of involving work related behavior. Holland makes a connection between personality type and working environment, and how these two aspects guide one to career success and satisfaction. After taking the personality test, I found out that I am an extrovert. Being a very social person, I need to have a job that is not boring, keeps me on my toes, and I am constantly being challenged in. After working at the Property Management Company I learned that just when you think your day can’t get any more hectic, it does. So you always have to be alert and ready to handle whatever comes your way. This is exactly the kind of job I want, and although some people may get freaked out and scared by this, things like that are what make me happy and feel accomplished.

John Holland was a remarkable psychologist that took special interest in career choice and personality traits. Holland’s career counseling perspective started while studying at the University of Minnesota for graduate school in counseling. In graduate school, was when he discovered that people express personality in various ways (Nauta, 2010, p.12). He expressed that personality and career interests work together somehow (Nauta, 2010). The John Holland’s Typology “is the concept that one chooses a career to satisfy one’s preferred modal personal orientation” (Zunker, 2012, p. 27). He made two major points about how people are influenced for a career choice. The first point was that people search for an environment that they can utilize their skills and abilities, and reveal their values and attitudes in the most influential way. The second point was that “a person’s

As already mentioned existing career theories dealing with vocational personality and environment Holland (1976) and Scheine’s anchors (1978) have been well respected and very adequate for many years.Those theories were helping many people to form and succeed in their career paths.

I believe that my personality and the expected work roles and environment align with each other very well, and so my career choice is congruent with my traits (Zunker, 2016). As seen in the assessment that draws the personality types from Holland’s theory, my personality closely aligns with what employers desire in school counselors (123test, 2017). Employers desire someone who can interact with others and help them solve problems, which aligns with social and conventional categories found as described by Holland’s theory (Zunker, 2016). The work setting is an office space and in schools, which is an environment I desire to work in (BLS, 2015). As such, I

There are two career development theories which is quite coinciding with my career development. The first one is the vocational choice theory of Holland (1997), it teaches me how to choose a career at the very beginning. Holland’s theory is based on the assumptions that the individuals always make vocational choices based on their personalities and interest inventories is essentially the same as personality inventories. Holland supposes the psychological relevant stereotypical view will influence the occupational choices individuals make. What’s more, he believes that individuals can identify vocational goals by clarifying their personality and they can only be successful and content if they choose their jobs congruent with their personalities. Thus Holland classifies six pure personality types and six working environments which are realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional. Actually Holland’s theory help me a lot in my career development, especially when I was confused about my future. Holland provides an instrument showing occupational titles and activities which are suitable for the six

The first group that spoke talked about Holland’s six personality types which include investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, conventional, and realistic. While people don’t fit into just one of these types, the types that define them most give a good idea of their interests and what they might be good at career wise. When listening to the descriptions of each type, I was able to identify where I would fall, investigative and social. This makes sense because I want to be a counselor which would involve social skills as well as investigative skills. I was also able to tell where some of the people in our class would fall as well. I find great joy in understanding others and Holland’s personality types are a great way of gaining insight into that.

Holland’s Model of Personality and Occupational Types is a model that takes the personality of an individual, analyzes it and then puts you in a section where one might succeed in that type of career path. There are six different sections and I am going to analyze all six and see where I may fit best.

Though a generally overlooked and unappreciated field of work, career counseling has made significant impact in the field of psychology. Frank Parsons’ 1906 lecture, “The Ideal City,” emphasizes the need for young people to receive assistance in choosing a vocation (Niles & Harris-Bowlsbey, 2013). Further, Parsons was one of the pioneers in linking personality traits to vocational success, thus coining him as the father of vocational guidance (Niles & Harris-Bowlsbey, 2013).

Allport defines personality as ‘the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychological systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment’ (Allport, 1937). An individual’s unique personality traits and attributes are a powerful indicator of how he/she will interact with the work environment. The difference between average and outstanding employees can often be solely personality related. As the employee is the most valuable asset to the company, ‘selecting the right employee during the process is critical’ (Carbery and Cross, 2013, pp. 41-53)

For many people, finding a career that is both fulfilling and practical is a strenuous task. Fortunately, there is a plethora of different interventions, techniques, assessments, and inventories designed to aid those individuals in making the wisest career choices possible. But are any of those routes inherently better than the others? Or are all the differing options separate but equally effective? Donald Super’s Life Span Theory and John Holland’s Theory of Vocational Choice are just two of the many theories used for career counseling. Both methods are distinct in the way they approach career issues, yet despite their differences, there are some resemblances between the two theories as well. Comparing and contrasting these two theories will make it easier to see if one theory is better than the other for career counseling or if they are both equally effective.

Personality has been inherently defined as possession of a particular set of characteristics possessed by people which influences their behaviour and reactions in different situation along with their motivation level to react to difficulties at the workplace. However, understanding personality traits and their development has been a contentious matter. Nonetheless, various theories have been forwarded to rather contribute to this contentious debate. For example employers set goals and encourage involvement with the company to have a better employee performance, which would result in higher motivation level subsequently leading to increased efficiency. Studies regarding the relationship between personality traits of a particular employee