After spending time learning each career development based theory and internalizing how it could be pertinent to my occupational course this far, I ended up feeling most connected with John Holland’s Typology theory. Due to Holland’s emphasis on gravitation and affiliation to a particular career based on elements such as one’s personality and background shaped by life history and genetics, I feel that I by large identify with this particular conception because of my evaluation of how these factors have predominantly influenced my career choices (Zunker, 2012). Moreover, the intricacies of his theory include five fundamental concepts pertaining to his interrelated hexagonal model involving personality styles and occupational environments that I will later delve into (Zunker, 2012). I feel that these aspects of his theory further support the association I feel it has to my career journey and the choices I have made (Zunker 2012). So overall, throughout the paper, I will be going more into depth regarding how his proposed discussion on the matter of career choices applies to my career development and the career path I have chosen at this time in my life.
Zunker (2012) discusses John Holland’s Typology theory as individuals that are drawn to a particular career due to not only to their personal attributes, but also their encounters, cultural influences, etc. that make up their background. At the center of Holland’s theory is the general notion that an individual chooses their career path in order to fulfill their needs while being provided with satisfaction (Zunker, 2012). This follows my understanding of Holland’s speculation that a career decision is based upon an expansion of an individual and how they see their character or personality along with their occupational inclination that he refers to as a modal personal style (Zunker, 2012). Overall, he highlights the importance of self-knowledge and comprehending the environmental models and influences that attract an individual to certain positions so the career process can be more stable and satisfying in the long run (Zunker, 2012).
This initial understanding of his theory is what drew me in immediately. When thinking of what field to enter, I have always incorporated a few factors into my decision-making. This includes my natural need and want to care for others and the hope of finding an environment where I can utilize this characteristic of my personality. Finding such a profession would allow me to not only carry out something I dearly value, but also feel fulfilled while being able to actively and continuously engage in something that relates to my history and who I am.
This leads me to the explanation of Holland’s proposed modal occupational environments and their corresponding modal personal orientations as mentioned earlier. As Zunker (2012) states, they “can be arranged in a coded system following his modal-personal-orientation themes (p 28)” which are realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional. According to Holland, most can be classified in at least one or more of these six groups which I will briefly summarize. The first theme, realistic, connects to a personal style that isn’t as much focused on social interaction or abstractions, but more so concrete elements that can be seen and/or touched (Zunker, 2012). So it makes sense that the associated career environments would consist of occupations such as an electrician or mechanic (Zunker, 2012).
The second theme, investigative, is more math and science based with a drive to habitually use analysis. In this case, an indulging profession could include some kind of technician or programmer where they more so identify themselves as being problem solving and intellectual (Zunker, 2012). Holland’s third theme, artistic, embraces mentally creative abilities and the value of expression specifically in an art form (Zunker, 2012) This means that one would perhaps describe themselves as autonomous and may more so be attracted to professions like a writer or designer (Zunker, 2012).
Lastly are the themes social, enterprising, and conventional. Social’s personal style includes communication and an interest in the community with fulfilling careers in the education or medical fields (Zunker, 2012). Enterprising was described as those who identify with perhaps being compelling and ambitious with attraction to compatible occupations such as manager and sales types of positions (Zunker, 2012). And finally, conventional is delineated as someone who embodies practical and structural traits that would thrive in more of a clerical type of career (Zunker, 2012).
As I came to comprehend more of each of the themes, I was first caught off guard. I thought to myself if I had to pick one it would be social since I first and foremost recognize myself to be a helpful and caring person, but I felt like there was more to me than that. Then I grew fonder of Holland’s theory as I further investigated from Zunker (2012) the inner relationships amongst one another. This made me appreciate and relate to the variation and fluidity that Holland’s theory embodies. Additionally, I can see how this theory works effectively with others in the sense that it captivates relationship styles that could apply to people from various origins since it’s not very restrictive.
These relationships are presented in what was introduced as a RIASEC hexagonal model with five key concepts (Zunker, 2012). The first discussed was consistency. This relates to how some occupational environments and personality types share alike factors, and the closer the types are on the hexagon, the more consistent the person is and perhaps will be in their career path (Zunker, 2012). As for differentiation, Zunker (2012) describes this concept as the level of distinctiveness of the individual’s personality or occupational profile. Those that have a more defined code will most likely be more reliable, and in terms of practical use, it allows the individual and counselor to better understand how to proceed when making career choices.
The third concept, identity, is indicated as having a sense of clarity and stability regarding an individual’s gifts, goals, and interests. And following this is congruence, which is explained as a person’s personality type matching or being mingled in their work environment. This is mostly related to performance, objectives, and satisfaction (Zunker, 2012). Finally, the fifth step, calculus, is emphasized by Zunker (2012) as “the theoretical relationships between types of occupational environments [that] lend themselves to empirical research techniques” (p. 30).
Following my study of each of these codes, I believe the theme I essentially fit the best, as I mentioned above, is social. Since I can remember, I have always been concerned with social problems and the wellbeing of everyone and everything. I feel that this is not only due to who I am and what I value, but also my background, which directly applies to Holland’s theory. My parents had me when they were pretty young, and they broke up after I was a few months old so I was alone most of my upbringing since my dad didn’t live as close and my mom was always working. I was lonely a lot so my personal relationships with others were a main focus for me. Also, I believe that seeing some of my friends and family struggle with depression, anxiety, and/or dysfunctional family dynamics and having issues with this myself have led me into this type of direction. Early on, I realized that nothing was more important to me than fixing my pain and helping others with theirs. So I naturally gravitated towards doing something related to helping others, and counseling seemed to be the most suitable choice for me. Additionally, I feel like I have always been approached by certain family and friends and kind of taken on a “counselor” role. With this career move of attending school for school counseling, I will be able to continue that type of role but in a professional setting and with more knowledge of how to properly fulfill that role. This way I will be in an interactive occupational environment where I can utilize my social personality style. Overall, I feel that this relates to part of Holland’s theory that individuals are attracted to certain occupational environments that allow them to make use of their skills and in a sense set forth their values (Zunker, 2012). This falls in line with his five key concepts as well, especially identification and congruence. I believe my identified talents and interests prove to be congruent with the occupational environment that I have chosen.
Secondly, I feel that I identify with Holland’s artistic theme because I have always been interested in the arts. In middle school and high school, I was involved in drama and choir and on my own time, I enjoyed writing, singing songs and dabbling into fashion. I always felt validated and fulfilled creating things which relates to my previous career at an agency where I exercised my ability to write and create campaigns for certain clients. I enjoyed the expressiveness and originality I was able to practice, but after a while I realized that I wanted to work on something that I felt was more valuable which is to help others. Although I do miss primarily practicing this side of me, I feel that in time I will be able to incorporate this part of myself into my counseling.
I consider myself to be a strong SA, but if I had to choose one more theme it would have to be conventional making me an SAC. This was a hard one for me to decide since I also somewhat feel drawn to enterprising and realistic, however looking at my past experiences I realize that I have enjoyed more controlled and structured type of environments (Zunker, 2012). I think this awareness brings to light part of Holland’s theory that my code is somewhat inconsistent since SAC isn’t as close on the hexagon model. However, since I do feel most strongly towards social and artistic, I am confident about my self-knowledge regarding my occupational environment and modal personal orientation that counseling is the right career choice.
When taking into consideration how my current career choice is related to my cultural influences, I realize that it’s impacted me in the sense that mostly everyone has gone to college in my family and community, and it is generally frowned upon to not pursue education. I attribute this to the value I place on furthering my education, and the pressure I have always received of needing a degree. I believe this cultural expectation has pushed me to work towards obtaining a degree, and seeking a decent paying job. Also, this pressure has led me to want to help others who are aiming towards schooling after high school and the pressure they may be experiencing to do so on top of other personal issues which is the focus of my career now. Overall, the cultural impact I have experienced I can say is definitely interrelated to all of my career pursuits so far in my life.
In conclusion, I have found Holland’s theory to be a practical resource to refer to. Not only did it help me clarify my own personality style, preferences, and inconsistencies I have in terms of congruence with career environments, but it also proved to be a universally applicable theory I would like to use in the future on others. Furthermore, I learned the importance of self-evaluation and self-knowledge, and how it can help one identify and seek a suitable, satisfying, and stable career that matches their dominant personal orientation. Ultimately, this theory validated my career choice and the fact that I will be able to exercise the things that are most important to me which will in turn lead to a more fulfilling career and life overall.
References
Zunker, V.G., (2012). Career counseling: A holistic approach. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
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