The Six Holland Occupational Themes

Center for Career and Experiential Education

First Floor Roosevelt Hall

uri.edu/career

The Six Holland Occupational Themes

• The six themes are: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic,

Social, Enterprising, and Conventional

• A person will usually identify with three codes strongly

– Represented with first letter of code name

• You can usually see yourself in all of themes, somewhat

• After age 25, the letters should stay the same, but the

order of them might change

• The verification process in the following screens will allow

you to rate yourself for best fit on each theme compared to

your results from the O*NET Interest Profiler

Realistic: The Doers

• Love to work with their hands, tools, machinery,

computer networks

• Rugged, practical, athletic, mechanical,

adventurous, self-reliant

• Enjoy fixing, repairing, building, working outdoors

• Like physical risks

• Prefer concrete rather than abstract problems

• Present oriented, thing oriented

Realistic Work Environments

• Places where they can produce tangible results

– Things that they can see and touch

• Situations calling for minimal interaction with

others

• Where casual dress is allowed

• Organizations structured with clearly drawn lines

of authority

Realistic Quiz

• What kind of car do they drive? – Trucks, SUV, Jeep, 4WD

• What would be their ideal vacation? – Camping, attending sports event, fishing, golfing, wilderness,

survival, hiking, adventure trip

• What motivates them? – Hands-on, tangible results

• What would they buy? – Boats, campers, sports equipment, power tools, ESPN magazine,

adventure books

Investigative: The Thinkers

• Like to gather information, uncover new facts, interpret data

• Curious, abstract thinkers, rational, critical, intellectual, introverted, insightful, persistent

• Love to explore learning

• Strong scientific or mathematic orientation

• Competent in analysis, writing, problem solving, research

• Very task-oriented

• Express themselves by using their minds

• Enjoy mental challenges

• Solve problems by thinking

Investigative Work Environment

• Unstructured work environments that allow freedom in work styles

• Where they can work alone most of the time

• Research labs, universities, computer-related industries, scientific foundations, medical facilities

• Where they can continue to learn and uncover new data

Investigative Quiz

• What would they drive? – Bicycle, Volvo, “hybrid,” Honda, Volt

• What would be their ideal vacation? – Space camp, fossil dig, science museum, African safari, visit ruins,

historical places (Europe)

• What motivates them? – Curiosity, learning, knowledge

• What would they buy? – Telescopes, computers, books, puzzles, electronic equipment,

science fiction or mystery novels

Artistic: The Creators

• Enjoy music, art, drama, anything cultural

• Enjoy self-expression

• Independent and highly creative

– Creativity is expressed in many ways… ideas, writing,

appreciating or creating arts, performing, counseling,

developing programs, etc.

• Impulsive, non-conforming, sensitive, emotional, visionary,

introspective, imaginative

• Enjoy beauty, variety, and what is unusual

• Solve problems by doing something new

Artistic Work Environment

• Unstructured, flexible settings that allow self-

expression

• Where they can work on their own

• Where they can teach skills

• Where they can bring creativity into their work

• Theaters, concert halls, advertising, public

relations, museums, libraries, education, etc.

Artistic Quiz

• What kind of car do they drive? – VW Bug, PT Cruiser, Mini Cooper, Convertible

• What would be their ideal vacation? – NYC to see theatre, Venice to see art, dance/acting workshop,

lessons in something creative

• What motivates them? – Self-expression

• What would they buy? – Art objects, music CDs, colorful things, decorations, theatre tickets

Social: The Helpers

Like to work with people, often in groups, to help inform,

train, teach, nurture, help, develop, cure

Like to arrange positive relationships – create harmony

Deep concern for people and excellent interpersonal skills

Humanistic, cooperative, supportive, tactful, friendly,

outgoing

Solve problems by discussing feelings with others

Social Work Environment

• Unstructured settings where they can get to know

others

• Where they can feel like they make a difference

• Where they can work with others

• Social services, non-profit, schools, human

resources, mental health fields, health care,

community-based jobs

Social Quiz • What car would they drive?

– Mini-van, SUV, Suburban, station wagon, Volvo

• Where would be their ideal vacation? – Cruise with friends/family, beach house vacation, Disney World,

family reunion, Habitat for Humanity

• What motivates them? – Helping others

• What would they buy? – Charity event tickets, food to entertain others, People magazine,

self-help books, anything at a fund-raiser

Enterprising: The Leaders

Enjoy working with others to persuade, sell, lead, manage

Lead others towards some organizational goal or economic

gain

Self-confident, sociable, ambitious, energetic, verbal,

assertive, optimistic, competitive

Prefer social tasks – can’t stay at a task for too long

Like to lead groups, give speeches, manage people and

projects

Enterprising Work Environment

• Like careers in businesses and large

organizations

• Where they can work with others

• Where they can live thoroughly in their

environments and have variety

• Positions of leadership, power, status

• Own a business

Enterprising Quiz

• What kind of car do they drive?

– Lexus, BMW, Cadillac, Lincoln, high-end SUV

• What is their ideal vacation?

– Luxury cruise, spa retreat, week of golf, Hamptons or Cape Cod,

skiing in winter

• What motivates them?

– Persuading others, making a deal

• What do they buy?

– Nice cars, good clothes, country club memberships, the latest

equipment, bestsellers, Wall Street Journal

Conventional: The Organizers

• Like activities requiring attention to detail, organization, accuracy, data systems, filing systems

• Enjoy mathematics and data management

• Practical, organized, systematic, accurate, dependable, conscientious, efficient, quite

• Like to organize others

• Don’t mind being managed

• Live in orderliness

• Solve problems by organizing them

Conventional Work Environment

• Prefer support service roles

• Like to know the structure of the organization

– Well organized chain of command

• Where they can be around others and by self

• Where they can be given exact instructions on a project

• Large corporations, business offices, accounting firms

• Where they can organize things and people

Conventional Quiz

• What kind of car do they drive? – Buick, Honda, Saturn, fuel efficient cars

• What is their ideal vacation? – Historical cities, knitting workshop, pre-programmed

tour, same cabin each year

• What motivates them? – Organizing and bring things together

• What do they buy? – Hobby collections, how-to books, file cabinets and

shelves

Occupational Themes Wrap-Up

• Questions?

• What have you learned about yourself?

• What do you need in a career to make sure it is in line with

your interests?

• What careers will you research as a result? Which majors

will you look into?