Part One Brief introduction on Holland's career interests theory
Since 1959 Holland has started to carry out times of large-scale experimental research on career selection. He wrote several books such as career decision on that research topic. Of all his career theories, the most widely spread one is the matching theory of personality and career. In that theory, the classification model is equal to that of interest, so that the classification of personality has often been introduced as the classification of interest. He emphasized that the coordination of the same type of personality of career can bring about the most desirable state. People all face many choices in career, job, post and even specific project. Whether these choices can be matched to the career is one of the most important factors of success.(1)
Realistic tendency: people that have realistic tendency often have technological and sports inclination. They often have comparatively strong coordination ability of body techniques and mechanism, and show strong concern over mechanism and bodies. They are steady, practical and willing to engage into activities and technological work that have specific regulation. Some of them are even crazy about manufacturing new objects by themselves. They show not much ability on interpersonal skill and communication and often have little interest in personnel administration and supervision. Careers that match this type of people include: careers that require skilled techniques, careers in the aspects of animal and plant administration, in the administration of engineers, in manufacturing techniques, handicrafts, and mechanism fittings and operations.
Investigative tendency: People who have investigative tendency show strong interest in theoretical thinking or mathematical statistics. They often show strong passion for the resolution of abstract problems. Also they are inclined to resolve hard problems through thinking and analysis, although the specific manipulation may not be fulfilled. Creative and challenging works are to their taste, and routine tasks would not arouse their interests. Leadership and interpersonal communication are not voluntary and the independency inclination is obvious. Suitable jobs are analyst, designer and biologist etc.
Art tendency: People who have art tendency show strong preference towards creative, imaginary and self-appearance job. A similar characteristic with investigative tendency people is that both of the two types show obvious inclination of creation and dislikes of structural tasks and environments. They have rare interest in routine job. Both of the two types of people prefer to be independent. What distinguish the two types is that people who have art tendency have obvious self-appearance inclination, attach great importance to their instincts and feelings. Careers in the fields are sculpt, handicrafts, dancing and drama.
Social tendency: People who have social tendency are willing to do jobs involving interpersonal communication. They often have superior language ability whereas inferior mathematical ability. Be good at communication be glad to help others, be inclined to humanitarianism and having strong responsibility are their characteristics. Such type of people is accustomed to resolving problems through discussion with people or adjusting of interpersonal relations. They show almost no interest in the job related to mechanism and specific objects. Such type of people is fit for consulting, training and persuasion job. Related career are in this fields of school and social education, social welfare, medical and health care, marketing and direct service.
Conventional tendency: People have conventional tendency are willing to do orderly job with specific requirements. They are not adaptable to jobs that have obscure regulation and large freedom. They don't prefer to make decisions actively and are accustomed to obedience. Such type of people is comparatively faithful, reliable and reserved. They would prefer to keep certain distance with other people in the work. Working carefully with perseverance, caring about social status and social evaluation are the obvious characteristics of such type of people. General work in large-scale organizations would be suitable for them. And the suitable careers are bank employees, conservator of books, accounting, cashier, statistical personnel, manipulator of computers and employees in the office.
Enterprising tendency: People who have enterprising tendency like formulating new work plan and setting new organization, playing an active role in activities. They like exerting impact, managing and leading others. Strong confidence, predominance and risk-taking are the most distinguishing characteristics of such type of people. They don't prefer to do specific work that requires long time-span of concentration.
People usually tend to choose suitable career environment for their peculiar personality and interests. For instance, people who have shown realistic tendency could bring into full play his or her potential ability in matching environment. However, in career selection, individuals do not have to choose the matching career environment with his or her personality. One reason is that individuals are often the integration of multi interests, and people that have one single extraordinary tendency is in the minority, so the evaluation of individual's interests categories are often combined with the first three out of six types in the evaluation. And the interest category is often ranged in the order of type, for instance, the type could be RCA, AIS and so on. The other reasons is that the factors that affect the career selection is various, and interest type is only part of them. Social requirement on career and the possibilities of the acquisition of the jobs should also be included as the factors. Hence, compromises have to be done in career selection. And individuals have to learn to adapt to work environment. If individuals could only find one career environment that is on the contrary of his or her interest tendency, the individual may probably find no pleasure from the job.
Part Two Value analysis of career interest theory
1. Positive evaluation of career interest theory
1.1 Value on the development of the theory
Career interest theory of John Holland reflects his long time practical experience in career guidance in a concentrated way. In the organic combination of formerly separated examination of individual difference in career interest with the research on career and career environment, John Holland had established the close relations between the two ways. Self-Directed Search, explored by Holland is carried out on the basis of his former work Vocational Preference Inventory. He seeks to find out two career abilities to correspond with each career interest. The test method of finding out matching interest is quite peculiar, and has shown big advantages in practice. The test result explanation is more concise than before, and the combination of interest test and ability test has played a promotion role in the application of career guidance and consulting.(2)
Holland's interest theory has also advanced that interest is another method that depicts personality and is a more general concept in career selection. In his theory personality is regarded as the combination of interests, value, needs, techniques, beliefs, attitudes and study personality. As far as career selection is concerned, interest is the most important aspect of personality in the matching process of people with career. Besides, Holland has also advanced the theory of personality type of career interest. He believes that individual's choice of career is under the dominance of motivation, knowledge, interest and self-consciousness. The most important factor people select career in certain fields is the impact of interest and personality. This theory is regarded as one of the most influential career development theory and career classification system.
1.2 Value on the recruitment of employees for enterprises
Holland had applied his theory of career-personality into DOT, and by right of related content in the career analysis in DOT, the dictionary of Holland Occupational Codes has been compiled in order to offer assistance for people when searching suitable vocations according to their own career interests type. Concisely speaking, before the advancement of Holland's theory of career and personality, research on the differences among various individuals in career interest (for instance the research of Francis) and the gathering and arrangement on the career information (for instance the DOT in the Labor Department of USA) has been conducted separately. The advancement of Holland's theory has made the relations between career interests and various careers more easily understood.
For recruiting enterprises, the carrying out of modern career interest test has played an important role in the human resources management and development. People can not only be tested on the whole, but the specific aspect can also be tested. Hence, the test of career interest can not only be applied in the advancement, examination and training of graduates and employees in the transfer of posts and job selection.
1.3 Value on individual career
According to Holland's theory, people's career interests could affect the satisfactory degree of careers. When the job is in accordance with the interests, people's potential ability could be brought into full play, and thus achievement could be made. With the help of career interests test, the hard problems can be resolved easily in search of interesting job. For students and people with little employment experience in particular, Holland's career interest test could help them make vocational design and bring into full play their ability in their job more easily.
In specific, career interest test tools could help individual make career design and vocation development plan. This tool can help employees and people looking for job reposition, realize and develop their ability on the whole.
2. Query on the validity of career interest theory
Career test should include both subjective and objective tests. In traditional recruitments, the most often-used subjective test tools include interview, examination on certificate and resume evaluation. Honestly speaking, the above methods may probably help the acquisition of some useful information, however, obvious weaknesses also exist: 1. The acquisition of information is superior, and the deep content could not be easily acquired; 2. The evaluation of current status is the major part, and the potential ability could not be easily evaluated; 3. Qualitative description takes the major part without sufficient quantitative analysis tool; 4. Dependence on subjective experience and lack of objective evaluation standards; In a word, non-standard and subjectivity could greatly reduce the effectiveness of recruitment. With the development of subjects of psychology, statistics, and management, standard and objective employees test methods have arisen in the place of former commonly used recruitment method and have been more and more widely used in reality.
Part Three Enlightenment on individual's career design
1. Implication of interest on individual's career design
Firstly, interest is one of the most important bases for career selection. IT serves as a strong spiritual power. Interests can make people concentrate on the career knowledge he or she likes and enlightened to conduct creative job. When people' interests grow on certain vocation, they would put all their energy and activity into the job. Consciousness and attention to the knowledge, dynamics of the vocation would arise, as well as affluent imagination, enhanced spirit of overcoming difficulties and memory.
Secondly, interest can help improve work efficiency and promote the exertion of abilities. Once people's interest of work is inspired, dull work will grow colorful and interesting. Interests have made work no longer burdens but enjoyment. People once conducted a research and found that if people are engaged in interesting jobs, 80-90% of total abilities could be bring about, and never feel tired even long time of work. And if people could not find interest from the job, only 20-30% of the abilities could be bring about.
Thirdly, interests are important factors that could ensure the stability and success of career. Interests serve as one of the major sources of the career motivation. Other things being equal, the engagement of interesting job could not only bring satisfaction but also affection toward job, which would lead to the stability of the job. In addition, interests in many fields could make people easily cope with the ever-changing environment.
2. Career design of individuals according to career interest
Career design is people's planning of career development in the future, the objective of which is to help individuals bring into full play all the potentials of the individual and make the career more happily. The content of career design includes career objectives, career development path, upcoming preparations; development plan involving career choosing and adjustment; adjustment and preparation in terms of self-consciousness, knowledge, ability, technological training, behavior and attitude, value opinion. Reasonable career design should be conducted in two aspects of subjectivity and objectivity. In subjective aspect, value opinion, attitude, motivation, ability and development direction. Social and organizational environment should be considered as objective aspect.
From the above analysis we could deduce that the first step of career design is self-consciousness, which means individual characteristics analysis. Only after correct consciousness of people themselves could correct analysis and selection of people's future career development be conducted and suitable career development path be determined. Usually, individual's characteristics analysis includes several aspects in individual's interests, ability, personality and behavior style. Analysis methods on people's characteristics include test method and self-introspect method. Test method uses psychology, management and some other subjects and technologies comprehensively to measure and evaluate people's ability, inclination, characteristics, and behaviors systematically and objectively. Self-introspect method mainly recognizes individual's characteristics through the observation of themselves and other people's reaction toward themselves. Test method is comparatively systematic and objective however cannot exist without the assistance of specific tool. Self-introspect method is easy to be conducted, but would usually be affected by some prejudice and self-consciousness ability. Final test results of the two methods reflect people's career interests that would determine their career selection.
Part Four Implication of career interests in individual's career experience
1. Test of career interests
Career interest is reflected as peculiar psychological characteristics by the combination of the variety, complexity of careers and the variety of working people. Career interests differ among themselves, and the difference is quite obvious. On one hand, modern social career has been greatly segmented, and the requirement and regulations of social activities has become more and more complicated, so that the differences among various vocations have become more and more obvious, and the appealing and requirements of individuals has varied greatly between one and another. On the other hand, the difference of physical, psychological, educational, social and economic status and background of individuals has lead to the differences of career type choices.
It is quite necessary to conduct career interests tests for people when they are choosing their careers. It can help people determine his or her subjective inclination so that the most suitable environment is likely to be offered and the individual could be likely to put all his or her energy into the new environment and job. Career test also serves as an important role in the choosing and allocation of the management Selection on the basis of ability appraisal could help achieve the biggest earnings and the most successful activities (vocation).
2. Definition of career interests
Career interests are shown as peculiar personality inclination when people are exploring certain vocation or are engaged in certain career activities. Such interests render people give priority to certain jobs when in search of jobs and make people yearn for that vocation. Roles of career interest in career activities are that it would exert an impact on career orientation and career selection, help promote and exploring of wisdom, mine potential ability and improvement of work efficiency.(3)
Social responsibility, content, nature and style of work, service measures of each career is quite different, which has decided that each career has its peculiar requirements on the interests of the working people. The difference of forming process and the factors exerting impacts of each people has also help the formation of complex and various career interests. For each people, search of career to his or her taste should be conducted according to the result of career interests test and the classification and selection of various careers and career interests.
First of all, the satisfaction of current knowledge and experiences accumulation is not enough. The outstanding appearance of lacking interests in work is the satisfaction of current knowledge and experiences accumulation, and the result is always the slow development and growth of the individual. Lack of enterprising spirit in work and satisfaction of general manipulation and common sense is no good for the cultivation of work interests. And the writer's suggestion is that to cultivate career interests, the deep understanding of the principles of the job and no satisfaction of general manipulation is very important.
Second step is to mine the deep reasons instead of the superior appearance. Problems, especially some extraordinary problems are always pregnant with some new leap. Take the fall of apples on the ground for an example. Nobody except for Newton couldn't help search of the deep reasons of the phenomenon. And the result for that is that Newton find out the truth, thus the universal gravitation has been found out. More search of the deep reasons and thinking of the problems is very helpful for the cultivation of career interests.
Third step is to go ahead facing all the difficulties. Interests cultivation is sometimes not a natural process, which means that not all the inborn interests could form career interests finally. Actually, in the cultivation of interests, many difficulties exist on the path. If people cannot face straight all the problems, and give up in the face of the difficulties, the cultivation of interests would just stop.
Final step is to cultivate interests in the work. In the actual working process, there are not only hard bitter, but also pleasures when the difficulties got resolved perfectly. Not only pleasure of success but also the summaries of lessons of failure are also helpful for the formation of interests. So the writer believes that more working pleasures should be experienced in practice, and the cultivation of career interests should be gradually promoted, that is step by step.
Ding zhaozhong, who used to win the Nobel Prize of physics, once said, interests are more important than talent. Practice has also proved that among all the subjective factors that affect the planning and development of individual career experience. Interests are just like invisible hands and play the biggest role. Each people should focus on career interests in the career experiences planning.
Career inclination is at the same time career interest. It serves as the basis of the whole career. What cannot be ensured is the loyalty of people to enterprises, but what can be realized is that people tend to be loyalty to the job to his or her taste. If people could choose a career according to his or her interests, his or her go-aheadism spirit will be fully inspired. Even tiresome and difficulties could not prevent the light pleasure and vigorous. Even if temporary difficulty cannot be easily overcome, people will not easily give up. Instead, he will try everything he can to overcome the difficulties and even forget sleep and food, totally absorbed in it. Edison is a good example. He almost spend more than ten hours in the laboratory, eating and sleeping there without any bitter feeling.(4)
Part Five Conclusions
The reason why Holland's career interests theory has been widely recognized and applied cannot be separated from the application value. It is a good tool for the recruitment of enterprises and employees appraisal. For people applying for jobs, the recognition of the career interests and the selection of interesting jobs play important roles and sometimes even irreplaceable place.
As researcher on human resource management, pure understanding of Holland's career interests theory is far from enough. What is important is how to apply the theory into actual work practice. In particular, for people how to cultivate individual's interests by right of interest theory or to bring into full play individual's ability still needs further research. In addition, Holland's career interests theory is not perfect, and many weaknesses still exist. This theory still needs supplement and perfection, and this task is an important task for human resource managers.

Bibliography:
(1) Li Qiu, Career Psychology, Page 345, Jiangxi High School Press, 2001
(2) Zhangyan, Career Psychology, Page 45, 1987
(3) Bai Ligang, Measure and Research of Career Interests, Page 87, Psychological research Center of China's Academy of Science,1995
(4) Lu Xu, Change Your Lifestyle, Page 119, Economic Science Press, 2003