Self Study

Introduction

Interest and personality tests are very unique and important tests that help to integrate career assessment. In this way, an individual can be assessed by the use of a personality test and an interest test. These tests are based on theories and self-evaluations.  This course work seeks to elaborate and explain the basics of a personality and interest test in career assessment.

Personality Test

John Holland’s Theory Types is one of the most useful theories to date when referring to vocational choice.  Holland’s theory states that in our culture, individuals are attracted to a particular career as a result of their personality type.  The theory states that people can be categorized as one of six types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, or Conventional.  This is also referred to as the RIASEC model.  The role of the counselor in application of this theory is to help the client establish a sense of self and to provide the client with information and encouragement to express confidence when making a career choice.  The counselor must also provide a safe environment that will stimulate growth, learning and self-understanding, since self-knowledge is central to Holland’s theory. 

The role of the client is to make self-evaluations and learn themselves, gain knowledge about different occupations, understand their likes and dislikes, discover their personality style, and where they will be most congruent when choosing a career. Holland believed that obtaining knowledge of one’s occupational environment and personality type are critical when making a career decision.  The two assements that I chose were the Interest Inventory Report and the Personality Test Report.

According to Dr. Holland’s theory, the interest areas can be clustered into a hexagon. In this case, the areas, which are close to each other, have many characteristics in common. However, it is necessary to note that in order to thrive in work environments, a person needs to support and promote their core personal interests and ensure that he or she is around people, who share the same or similar interests.

Realistic

According to Dr. Holland, persons who have realistic interests enjoy dealing with real world materials, plants and animals. This simply means that they do not enjoy inside work as much as they enjoy outside work. In this case, these people do not like jobs that involve a lot of paper work.

Investigative

According to Dr. Holland, persons who are investigative enjoy thinking and coming up with ideas, as opposed to physical activity. In this case, investigative persons mostly figure out mental problems and like researching ideas.

Artistic

Artistic people, on the other hand, are self-expression persons who prefer patterns, designs and forms. This simply means that artistic persons like vacations that help them to self-express.

Social

Social people are person, who prefer different social interests, such as activities related to promoting learning, personal development and assisting others in different ways. In this case, social persons prefer communication and socialization rather than working with data, machinery and objects. Social persons also teach, care and help others in different situations. This does not mean that social people are persons who can only work with other people, rather it means that social people prefer working with other people. Social persons get their satisfaction from communicating and being a part of other people’s lives. This means that social people are kind, caring, friendly, cheerful, warm, idealistic, supportive, responsible, patient and generous.

Most social persons solve problems through discussions, communication and compromise and the things that are most relevant to them are trust, relationships, emotions, communications, family goodwill and friendship. Most social persons talk with friends, throw parties, read, do volunteer work, cook or spend time with family members and friends.

Enterprising

Enterprising persons, according to Dr. Holland, are persons who have interests related to carrying out and starting up different activities. This simply means that they like making decisions, being the lead persons and persuading people. Enterprising people are highly competitive and ambitious. In this case, they like doing business, and they are extremely ambitious. This is because they are good at public speaking and are highly persuasive. This simply means that enterprising people work with initiative power, confidence and perseverance. Therefore, they hold powerful leadership positions. In view of this, enterprising people are optimistic, ambitious, competitive, persuasive, adventurous, funny, sociable, confident and assertive. The most valuable things for an enterprising person are success, excitement, achievement, winning, influence and risk taking. Most enterprising people discuss politics, play competitive sports, entertain and have parties.

Conventional

According to Dr. Holland, people with conventional traits are more interested in a set of routines and procedures. Thus, the conventional persons prefer working with more detail and data, as opposed to working with ideas and ideals. The report shows that all the female adult persons have more interests, as opposed to male persons.

Personality Test

 Personality is determined by the psychological type of a person. According to Carl Jung, personalities can be explained using personality tests to exhibit tendencies and conceptualize bipolar scales, which help to represent personality types of preferences. This simply means that people may seem to belong to a certain personality group while in reality everyone has a little of all traits in them. It is necessary to note that personality mostly focuses on emotions. In this case, personality test may be successful if outward and inward emotion is measured. According to the bipolar scale, introverts are inwardly focused while extroverts are outwardly focused. Therefore, introverts’ energy is drawn from reflection, ideas and contemplation. On the other hand, extroverts’ ideas are drawn from the people around them or the situation around them.

Therefore, the main difference between introverts and extroverts is in the way, in which the two handle or respond to the big or large social gatherings. Mostly, extroverts tend to direct their emotional focus outward while introverts tend to direct their emotional focus inwards. Thus, extroverts are more friendly, social and interactive as opposed to introverts who are quiet, emotional and shy. It is amusing to note that it is extremely easy to read an extrovert’s mind. This is because they are extremely outgoing as opposed to introverts who are quiet and shy. Therefore, extroverts can be described as talkative, friendly, fun, social, expressive, assertive, confident and outgoing. This is because they interact well with others, enjoy being around other people, are convincing and persuasive, and can make good leaders.

Decision Making

Personality also focuses on decision making. This simply means that a person’s personality determines if the person makes the decisions subjectively or objectively. In this case, there are thinkers, feelers, judgers, and perceivers. Thinkers are logical, analytical, objective, fair, thoughtful and critical. Perceivers are spontaneous, genuine, flexible, impulsive, relaxed, calm and laid back. This is because they adapt well to changes, are not afraid to take risks, are business minded and can work very well under pressure.

Conclusion

Self-study or self-evaluation discusses and tries to understand their likes and dislikes, their personality style, and where they will be most congruent when choosing a career. In this way, people are able to make self evaluations and learn themselves, gain knowledge about different occupations. This is because obtaining knowledge of one’s occupational environment and personality type are critical when making a career decision.