John Hollands

Vocational
Preference
Inventory
Individuals have unique characteristics
related to interests, abilities, needs, values
and personality traits

Occupations & Jobs have unique

characteristics related to work tasks, skills
required, demands and rewards

Workersand employers are most satisfied

when there is a good match between the
characteristics of the worker and the
characteristics of the job.
4 Basic Concepts:
o People can be a combination of 2 or more types

o Environments(meaning jobs, worksites or schools)

can be a combination

o People seek out similar types of environments

Example: An Investigative type person would seek
out a work environment that was also Investigative
oA match between the personality type and the
environment type will yield greater satisfaction and
productivity
6 Personality Types
Their names and characteristics
Most persons can be categorized as
one of six types:

Realistic

Investigative

Artistic

Social

Enterprising

Conventional
There are six environments:

Realistic
Investigative
Artistic
Social
Enterprising
Conventional
oPeople search for environments that will
let them use their skills and abilities, express
their attitudes and values, and take on
agreeable problems and roles.

oA persons behavior is determined by an

interaction between his or her personality
and the characteristics of his or her
environment.
Realistic (R)
to work with tools, machines, animals
mechanical, electrical skills*
that involve building/repairing
down-to-earth and practical
Investigative (I)
engage in physical science activities
math and science ability
in the scientific and medical fields
curious, studious and independent
Artistic (A)
creative activities (free from routine)
language, art, music, drama skills
using creative talents
creative and free thinking
Social (S)
activities that involve
Informing, teaching, helping others
ability to work with people
jobs such as teaching, nursing
helpful and friendly
Enterprising (E)
activities that permit leading
leadership ability, people skills
involving sales or management
ambitious, outgoing, energetic, self-
confident
Conventional (C)
activities that require organizing info
organizational, clerical skills
involving record keeping, data entry
responsible, dependable, detail-
oriented
Individuals Code
How is it identified?
3 Methods for Identifying a
Code
Informal Assessments
Interest Inventories
Use of last three jobs held