6 ways to decode and uncover your career path

Overview of career discovery

Are you fulfilled now whether employed or unemployed? Will you say you have discovered your career? In the comment box below let us know where you are, ask questions and I will be happy to respond to you.

Can you say, you know how to go about discovering your career? In many developing countries career discovery is almost absent. One of the single most important aspects of our lives is neglected. Today, you will be getting an introduction in to uncovering career path through Holland’s career codes theory. At the end you will discover a lot about yourself and possibly make strategic decisions.

Career discovery as the word suggest is the process of discovering your skills, talents, abilities, strengths, weaknesses and career interests which can be the basis of choosing a career path.

I will delve a little into human resource theories whiles making it simple to understand. In an earlier article on career development theory I explored several career concepts and philosophies such as:

• Gottfredson’s Theory of Circumscription and Compromise
• Social Cognitive Career Theory
• Holland’s Theory of Vocational Personalities in Work Environment

Holland’s theory of vocational personalities

I will use Holland’s theory of vocational personalities as a basis of career discovery. Holland’s theory of vocational choices is formulated around the fundamental observation that people possess different traits, behaviors, and interests that can be organized according to six groupings or types.

Here are Holland’s types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional (RIASEC), each of which characterizes a type of person you may gravitate to and best describes you.

Realistic Personality traits (Doers)

The Realistic are skilled at working with machines, animals and drawings. People of this career type are practical, rugged and analytical and will thrive in areas relating to building of all kinds machines and other equipment. If you find yourself being practical and independent valuing realism, information and enjoy working with abstract concepts then some career types are suited to you. You will find the following jobs suitable:

Careers of Holland’s Realistic type personalities

The career paths of people in this category and many more are listed below:

Investigative Personality traits (Thinkers)

The investigative type personality tends to be analytical, investigative, problem solving, mathematical and scholarly. They love research and scientific discovery and do very well in the sciences both social and the physical. These types of people are not generally interested in leading, selling, networking and persuasion.

Careers of Holland’s Investigative type personalities

The career paths of people in this category and many more are listed below:

Artistic Personality traits (creators)

The Holland type artistic personality are the people that are creative, imaginative, intuitive and inventive. If you are of that ilk you value creativity, art, music and body movement. If this is your area, you are more inclined toward writing, drawing, speaking and working with your hands.

Careers of Holland’s Artistic type personalities

The career paths of people in this category and many more are listed below:

Social Personality traits (Helpers)

With the social personality trait, you are drawn to people and you tend to like to work with people. You are the type of person that has empathy and likes to help others and support them. If you are this kind of person you are highly intellectual and allow your intuition to take precedence in decision making.

Careers of Holland’s Social type personalities

The career paths of people in this category and many more are listed below:

Enterprising Personality traits (Persuaders)

If you are the enterprising personality then you are of the go-getter group that is ambitious, valuing power, fame and fortune. You are an entrepreneur and like to work with people, develop new ideas, turn things around and change the world, networking with a knack for persuasion and very smooth at talking.

Careers of Holland’s Enterprising type personalities

The career paths of people in this category and many more are listed below:

Conventional Personality traits (Organizers)

If you are the type of personality that loves details, order and structure then you are of the Conventional Holland personality type. If you tend to be logical, organized, methodical and detail-oriented then consider careers in this area.

Careers of Holland’s Conventional type personalities

The career paths of people in this category and many more are listed below:

key takeaways

Your road to career discovery is about introspection, probing, analyzing and trying to discover which personality type best reflects you. A good framework in the Holland codes to decode you career. Of the 6 codes which best describes you, use this in zeroing in on your career preferences.

Conclusions

A greater indicator of your fulfillment will be to align yourself with your career code. Go through the list again to determine if you are builder, thinker, creator, helper, persuader and organizer. It will guide you on the types of jobs to look for and the career path to chart. In the future we will be dealing with topics on career planning, growth and career excellence.