Career Assessment: Holland's Vocational Interests, Personality Characteristics, and Abilities

Abstract

A two-study design was used to examine the relationship between Holland's vocational interest types, personality characteristics, and abilities. Study 1 consisted of 139 individuals (48 men and 91 women) who participated in a vocational assessment exercise. They completed the Self-Directed Search, the revised NEO Personality Inventory, and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised. Study 2 consisted of 669 men and 206 women employed in the finance industry who completed the SDS, the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory, and a measure of general abilities, the PL-PQ. In both studies conceptually similar vocational interests and personality were found to be empirically related. A weak to moderate relationship was observed between general abilities and Investigative interests and between general abilities and the personality characteristics of Openness to Experience and Intuition. It was concluded that assessment of all three domains of interests, abilities, and personality has several advantages for assisting clients seeking vocational counselling.