Your Scores for the Holland types  The Career Key S-E test is based on John Holland's theory of vocational choice. At its simplest, it is based on the idea that "Birds of the same feather floc together." In other words, people like to be around others who have similar personalities. In choosing a career, it means that people choose jobs and businesses where they can be around other people who are like them.  And, when they do this they are most likely to be satisfied and successful. It is the best known and most widely researched theory on this topic, and is used by many career counselors. Understanding it will help you make sense of your Career Key S-E scores and how they are related to your career choice. Plus, you will have the confidence in knowing that the Career Key S-E is a valid test, one of the few on the Internet.  Studies show that it measures Holland's personality types and not something else.  Many professional counselors know how important this is.  In fact, it is unethical for them to use career measures that do not have this research support.  Invalid tests can be harmful. Holland's theory can be summarized in six statements: In our culture, most people are one of six personality types:Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. People of the same personality tend to "flock together." For example, Artistic people are attracted to making friends and working with Artistic people. People of the same personality type working together in a job create a work environment that fits their type. For example, when Artistic persons are together on a job, they create a work environment that rewards creative thinking and behavior -- an Artistic environment. There are six basic types of work environments: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. People who choose to work in an environment similar to their personality type are more likely to be successful and satisfied. A dancing school, for example, will be "dominated" by Artistic type people, where creative abilities and expression are highly valued. How you act and feel at work depends to a large extent on your workplace environment. If you are working with people who have a personality type like yours, you will be able to do many of the things they can do, and you will feel most comfortable with them. How is this related to the scores you receive on the Career Key S-E? It means that you probably should choose a business whose type is the same as, or similar to, your personality type. For example, imagine that your highest score on the Career Key S-E is for the Realistic type. Looking at the table below, you can see that the most compatible business environment is Realistic. This would suggest that you choose from businesses that are in the Realistic group. Or, you might choose from those that fall in the Investigative or Conventional category. Compatible Work Environments Your Personality Type Most Compatible Compatible Realistic Realistic Investigative & Conventional Investigative Investigative Realistic & Artistic Artistic Artistic Investigative & Social Social Social Artistic & Enterprising Enterprising Enterprising Social & Conventional Conventional Conventional Enterprising & Realistic Most people, in reality, are a combination of types -- like Realistic-Investigative, or Artistic-Social. Therefore, you will probably want to consider occupations in more than one category. If your two strongest personality types are Realistic and Social, Investigative and Enterprising, or Artistic and Conventional - read the following.  In summary, you are most likely to choose a satisfying business if you choose one that fits your personality type. Holland's Theory and Entrepreneurship How is starting and running a business related to Holland's theory?  Here are several ways it can be applied: Your predominant personality type(s) will affect how well you are able to do the activities required for your business to be a success.  For example, people high in Enterprising are generally good at leading people and selling things or ideas so are likely to do well at getting financing for their business idea, leading the business, marketing and advertising.  On the other hand, they tend to be less strong in their analytical thinking abilities; this may affect their ability to do certain kinds of problem solving. Each personality type will have its strengths and weaknesses. And, each business enterprise will have different kinds of demands.  You will to ask yourself:  How do the strengths and weaknesses of my personality match up with the demands of this business?  If you identify a business activity that you are not especially interested in doing, or strong in, you will want to consider how you will handle it. It may be that you can delegate that activity to someone else.  Or, you can strengthen your ability in that area through further training. Reading sample business plans, and creating your own, will help you in doing this analysis.  The SBDCNet is a good source for sample business plans. With your knowledge of personality types and work environments, you now willhave a useful way to think about the kind of work environment you want to create for your business and how to do it.  If you have employees in your business, what mix of personality types would be most desirable?  What kind of work environment do you want to create? Of course, there are many factors to consider in hiring employees, but Holland's theory gives you a useful tool. The theory gives a useful insight into people and how they interact with each other.  It also makes you better appreciate the phrase, "people with differing gifts."  And, it gives you a way of understanding the people you work with, in or out of your business. Your Scores on the Two Personality Dimensions. In contrast to vocational psychologists like Holland, there is another school of psychologists that view personality in a different way -- industrial-organizational or personality psychologists. Their research shows that there are five broad personality dimensions, or factors.  They call these the Big Five.  Recent research suggests that two of these are related success as an entrepreneur: Conscientiousness.  High scorers on this dimension tend to be dependable, hardworking, and achievement-oriented.  They are organized, efficient, planful, thorough, and persistent. Openness to Experience. People high in this area generally like new ideas and concepts, are interested in trying new and different things.  They are imaginative, insightful, creative, and broadminded; and enjoy art, music, and literature. A major study of studies in this area was published in the Journal of Applied Psychology in 2006.  The researchers used studies in their analysis that compared entrepreneurs with managers;  23 studies were analyzed in all.  They found that entrepreneurs were significantly higher in Conscientiousness and Openness to Experience. As with all studies, this one has limitations. But this report is helpful in raising our awareness of the importance of these two dimensions. The scales for these two dimensions are experimental, but we think you will find them valuable to consider. At no charge, you can take a test validated by research, The Big Five Personality Test at www.outofservice.com. To interpret your scores, we suggest that you think of the scores from 28 to 21 as High; 20 to 13 as Moderate; and 12 or less as Low. Conscientiousness and Entrepreneurship  Conscientiousness is obviously important.  Studies show it is the most consistent personality predictor of job performance, for all types of work and occupations.  One aspect of it, the need for achievement, seems to be particularly important for people who are successfully self-employed. Logically, it makes sense.  Successful self-employment requires a person to be highly motivated and hardworking. Unlike the Holland personality types, if you are weak in Conscientiousness, it is not something for which you can easily compensate.  You cannot strengthen your motivation to work hard through training, or delegating it to someone else.  Consequently, it is especially important to choose a business area that will have a strong and enduring attraction for you.  Besides choosing a business that matches your Holland personality, we recommend that do activities that will help you know yourself better. Learn More about Yourself; it describes those most frequently recommended by professional career counselors. Openness to Experience and Entrepreneurship Many, if not most, new business ventures require the entrepreneur to explore new ideas, and to develop an innovative approach to products, business methods, or strategies.  As markets change, new knowledge and technologies appear, and new competitors emerge -- creativity, intelligence, and openness are needed.  These qualities seem especially important in the startup and early stages of a business. If you are low in Openness is to Experience it will be helpful to be aware of that trait, and to remind yourself of it and strive to be as open and imaginative as you can.  It may also be helpful to team up with someone high in it.  Generally speaking, people who are high in Investigative and/or Artistic are more likely to possess this quality. Businesses will vary with respect to the need to be open and innovative.  So, as you explore self-employment and business possibilities, you will want to find out the extent to which this is important. Exploring Other Occupations You can use the results of your Holland scores to identify a broad range of matching occupations at our companion website, The Career Key™.  It includes occupations where the opportunities for self-employment are low or non-existent, unlike this website.  You will get complete, accurate information about each of the occupations you identify. Before you leave this page, be sure to download the special PDF copy.  Just click the download link at the top.

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