What It Is
The Holland Code sorts people's interests into six types, developed by psychologist John L. Holland, who published his theory in 1959. The six types are Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional, shortened to RIASEC and often nicknamed Doers, Thinkers, Creators, Helpers, Persuaders, and Organizers. Holland argued that people tend to be happier in work that matches their interests, and that most people are a mix of two or three types. In 1970, he published the Self-Directed Search, a quiz people could take on their own to find their top types and matching careers.
Why It Matters
The Holland Code gave career counselors a shared language for discussing interests, and many career tools still use it today. The U.S. Department of Labor's free ONET Interest Profiler uses the six RIASEC types to connect people with matching careers, and occupations in the ONET database also get codes, like SCE (Social, Conventional, Enterprising), for school and career counselors. The Self-Directed Search alone has been used by more than 22 million people. For young people, discovering their own code is a fun first step in seeing how their interests connect to real jobs.
