Holland’s Six Occupational Personality Types

John Holland,professor emeritus psychologist at John Hopkins proposed a theory that personality factors of an individual influences their career choices.They intend to work with people who have same preferences as them at work,chose to prefer job where their present skill and abilities can be optimally used to improve their career graphs while also be satisfied with their job performance .

Holland described six personality types are visually represented by a hexagonal model. The types are

RIASEC

1. Realistic (R)- The ‘Do-er’
2. Investigative (I) — The ‘Thinker’
3. Artistic (A) — The ‘Creator’
4. Social (S) — The ‘Helper’
5. Enterprising (E) — The ‘Persuader’
6. Conventional (C ) — The ‘Organiser’

The types of personality closest to each other on the hexagon have the most characteristics in common.

1. Realistic (R) — Realistic individuals see themselves as practical,realistic and mechanical,involve in activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions and are less likely to work people.They have task oriented behavior are kinesthetic learners and often do physical task. Typical realistic careers include electrician, engineer, veterinarian and the military.
2. Investigate (I) — Investigative individuals see themselves precise, scientific, and intellectual, involve working with ideas which require an extensive amount of thinking.They seek autonomousity to work ,analyse,organise facts ,hence lack any persuasive skills and do not enjoy leadership positions.They value science and ,most would prefer being employed in investigative and explorative work sectors. Typical investigative careers include medical technologist, biologist, chemist and systems analyst.
3. Artistic (A) — Artistic individuals see themselves expressive, original, and independent,involve working with forms, designs and patterns.They enjoy creative activities, are flexible ,impulsive and emotional and communicate in a very expressive manner. They value aesthetics would prefer to being employed in creative sectors such advertising,theatre ,fine arts etc.Typical artistic careers include musician, reporter and interior decorator.
4. Social (S) — Socialistic individuals see themselves expressive, original, and independent ,enjoy helping,training or providing service to others.They like working in team ,participate in discussion. They would prefer to be employed in teamwork like work sectors requiring significant interaction with other team-people. Typical social careers include teacher, counselor and social worker.
5. Enterprising(E) — Enterprising individuals see themselves energetic, ambitious, and sociable. Enjoy activities that require them to persuade others, such as sales, and seek out leadership roles. They would like to be employed in those sectors where there is opportunity to engage in activities, such as leadership, management etc. Typical enterprising careers include salesperson, business executive and manager.
6. Conventional (C ) — Conventional individuals see themselves organised,careful,conscientiousness and effective. They are responsible but shy away any leadership roles.They prefer to be employed in organizational sectors, record keeping and data management jobs .Typical conventional careers include secretary, accountant and banker.

A research by Holt, Kaufman and Pumaccahua(2013)found that individuals who majored in investigative and artistic courses were more agreeable and scored higher on openness and self-assessed creativity skills than those individuals who were pursuing realistic and social majors. Investigative and realistic individuals are more competitive and are attracted to tasks which involve competition pressure (Houston, Harris, Howansky & Houston, 2015).

I checked my Holland’s type and it turn out be true to the kind of people I seek to work with .To know your Holland personality type visit here..

References

HOLLAND’S OCCUPATIONAL PERSONALITY TYPES[PDF]. (n.d.). Johns Hopkins University.

Holland’s Theory of Career Choice and You. (n.d.). Retrieved June 14, 2019, from https://www.careerkey.org/choose-a-career/hollands-theory-of-career-choice.html#.XQNcfBYzaM8

Hollands Six Personality Types — North Dakota. (n.d.). Retrieved June 14, 2019, from http://www.nd.gov/cte/crn/docs/HollandTypes.pdf

Kaufman, J. C., Pumaccahua, T. T., & Holt, R. E. (2013). Personality and creativity in realistic, investigative, artistic, social, and enterprising college majors [Abstract]. Personality and Individual Differences,54(8), 913–917. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2013.01.013

Houston, J. M., Harris, P. B., Howansky, K., & Houston, S. M. (2015). Winning at work: Trait competitiveness, personality types, and occupational interests. Personality and Individual Differences,76, 49–51. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2014.11.046

Holland’s Theory of Vocational Choice — Career Development — IResearchNet. (2016, December 10). Retrieved June 14, 2019, from http://career.iresearchnet.com/career-development/hollands-theory-of-vocational-choice/