Remember how back in school we used to take those aptitude tests, and have the then mystical device called the computer ask us random personality questions and then predict (with swanky statistics) which profession would suit us best? Well, as it turns out, it wasn’t magic, but a completely valid and rational method to determine our career choices. Over the years, a lot of people have done dedicated research to show the connect between your personality type and career choice, and how it is healthier for us professionally as well as personally to sync both these routes. Compatibility between your career choice and personality type, makes you a happier and more productive employee. In this post, we will introduce you to the Holland Code test to identify your strongest personality traits and the respective careers paths that suit them.

John Holland identified six key personality types – Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and Conventional (RIASEC) through his Theory of Career Choice. From here on, ‘personality type’ will be referred to as ‘PT’.

Your PT is Realistic if:

you enjoy working with animals, tools or machines; are introverted and do not enjoy work of social orientation which may involve interaction with other people such as teaching, healing and communications related work. You are practical and believe in tangibility – what you can see and touch.

Possible Career Options: Engineer, Veterinarian, Architect

Your PT is Investigative if:

solving puzzles is your favourite pass time. Well, at times more than a pass time – a mission. You enjoy science and math trivia. Love indulging in intellectual conversation. You imagine yourself as a character out of the Sherlock Holmes novel.

Possible Career Options: Lawyer, Police services, Detective Services, Professor

Your PT is Artistic if:

you indulge yourself in performing or visual arts. Thinking out of the box and creativity seem to be your thing. You like functioning on your own as opposed to working on a team, are expressive and self -dependent.

Possible Career Options: Painter, Writer, Sculptor, Architect

Your PT is Social if:

you are a peoples’ person, the social butterfly in your circle and believe in community service. Wanting to make a difference by doing your bit to bring about good change is something you strive for. You are good at teaching, nursing, counseling and communicating. People trust you and value your opinion.

Possible Career Options: Social Worker, Human Resource Professional, Journalist

Your PT is Enterprising if:

you’ve grown up not just winning the several games of monopoly, but also planning how to invest the money you’ve won in an imagined start-up. You are good at convincing people and take pleasure in selling ideas, even improbable ones, as it trumps your confidence. You are social, a good conversation starter and people enjoy your company.

Possible Career Options: Entrepreneur, Businessman, Investment banker

Your PT is Conventional if:

You are organized and disciplined, and do not take well to change. Your forte are numbers, records or machines. You like making plans and are good at sticking to them. Your friends may even accuse you of having a mild OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)!

Possible Career Options: Banking services, Clerical Jobs, Data Analyst

The above career options are only suggested ones, and in no way written in stone. The Theory of Career Choice also states that there may be an overlap in personality traits, for example, someone who is artistic can also be enterprising. However, one trait is always said to be dominant. Read more about the Holland’s theory of Career Choice and You here.

We came across this wonderfully illustrated infographic on the dependency of career choices on personality types on Truity. And we hope you enjoy reading this post as much as we enjoyed writing it!