Finding a Place to Start: Self Assessment
Identifying Your Interests:
The following exercise is based on the work of John Holland, a career theorist who looked at the relationship between interests and occupational fit. As you complete the exercise, you will be identifying your top interest categories based on Holland's schema.
Instructions For The Holland Party Exercise
Imagine you are at a party with six different groups of people gathered around the room.
Read the description of the six Holland Types (Realistic, Artistic, Investigative, Social, Enterprising, Conventional). Imagine yourself joining the group of people that you would most enjoy being with. If several groups appeal to you, pick the one that appeals to you most. Write down the first letter of the name of that group.
Pretend all the members of your group have left the party and you decide to join another goup. What would your second choice be where you'd feel most comfortable and enjoy the conversation? Write down the first letter of your second choice next to your first choice. Can you imagine making a third choice? Write down the first letter of your third choice, next to the first and second.
Holland theorized that people have two, perhaps three, major interests. The letters representing these interests form your Holland Code (e.g. IA, Investigative-Artistic, or IAS, Investigative-Artistic-Social).
See a pdf version of the Holland Party exercise.
Last updated on Tuesday, November 15, 05 at 11:44:58 AM EST.
