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Are you having trouble setting career goals? In searching for the right career, there are so many options and decisions. Hollandcodes.com has the tools that will help you to make the right career decisions.

Overview

There are three steps in career planning cycle that will help you achieve your career goals and search for a career.

Step One: Get a Clear Career Goal

The first step in search for a job is setting a career goal.

In order to set a career goal, you have to take inventory of yourself to determine what you can offer an employer.

You need to –

• Build awareness, knowledge and understanding of our strengths, interests, abilities, and skills
• List your ambitions, values, education, and experiences
• Determine your job preferences –job duties, salary, geographic location, and work conditions

Step Two: Explore Career Options

In order to identify potential careers, you may use career exploration and social media resources to gather the following occupational information –

• Labor market
• Work industries
• Companies, organizations, or agencies
• Specific careers

Use online career exploration resources to identify potential careers.

Step Three: Overcome Career Roadblocks

When you are trying to reach a career goal, there will always be obstacles. You solve career problems by completing the following steps –

• Identify educational and career planning obstacles
• Create solutions or courses of action
• Set achievable goals
• Resolve conflicts
• Commit to reach our goals

Problem solving should take into consideration personal interests, skills, values, and financial resources. Big problems are broken down into smaller, more manageable steps. Achievable goals result in the production of new competencies, attitudes, and solutions.

As an individual, you:

• Set, formulate, prioritize, and rank goals
• Clearly state our vocational interests, abilities, and values
• Derive plans or strategies to implement the solutions
• Make a commitment to complete the plans
• Understand decision-making processes
• Evaluate the primary choice
• Consider a secondary occupational choice, if necessary

Decision-making processes include:

• Develop a career plan
• Identify potential occupations
• Select appropriate educational programs
• Figure the costs of educational training
• Consider the impact of career decisions

Step Four: Execution

You execute your career plans when you use different strategies –

• Reality testing
• Social Media
• Job Search Strategies – Resume Writing and Interview Preparation

Reality Testing

While implementing and, you translate vocational interests, abilities, and skills into job opportunities. You do reality testing by implementing the following strategies –

• Informational interviewing
• Networking
• Job shadowing
• Internships
• Part-time employment
• Full-time employment
• Volunteer work

We have a variety of different topics that we use different career/ academic advising sessions -

• Selecting Career test
• Different career tests
• Other career topics - social media, resume writing and interviewing

Different Career Tests

We offer assistance with interpreting the following tests -

• RIASEC Inventory
• Self Directed Search
• Strong Interest Inventory
• Online web-based tools

 Get more details about our career and academic coaching...

MBTI Reinvented

New!!!  Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) Step 2 (Q) Report

Are you looking for an inventory that will match your personality to potential careers? The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) assessment is

• Most widely used personality assessment in the world – more than 2 million assessments worldwide each year.
• Reliable, valid, versatile, and dependable - Used for more than 50 years

The results from the MBTI® produces the 16 types –

1. ISTJ
2. ISFJ
3. INFJ
4. INTJ
5. ISTP
6. ISFP
7. INFP
8. INTP
9. ESTP
10. ESFP
11. ENFP
12. ENTP
13. ESTJ
14. ESFJ
15. ENFJ
16. ENTJ

New!!!! MBTI Step II™ (Form Q) has 144 items 

(including the 93 Step I  M items)

• Is available online, takes approximately 35 minutes to complete
• Drills down to a finer level of detail to explore how individuals of the same personality type may express their personality differently
• Provides individuals’ 4-letter Myers-Briggs personality type code plus results on 20 facets of that type
• Provides in-depth development actions across a range of important individual issues
• Generates two reports: Profile and Interpretive Report

 

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) Q Interpretive Report

• Offers personalized tips for professional development
• A full page each is devoted to applying results to communicating, making decisions, managing change, and managing conflict.
• The report describes your style in these four areas and suggests ways of using that style more effectively.
• The Step II™ Interpretive Report is a highly personalized narrative and graphical report that helps clients understand their MBTI® Step I™ and Step II™ results.
• The 17-page report then applies those results to four important components of professional development: communication, decision making, change management, and conflict management.

Features & Benefits

• Refreshed to be more engaging and user-friendly
• Graphically enhanced to illustrate facet results
• Graphs each of the 20 Step II™ facet results, with descriptions to help clients better understand their meaning, and integrates the results with their Step I results.

 Read more about the MBTI...

3 Questions You're Not Asking That Will Guide Your Career Choice.

Brad Minton, MS, LPC, NCC
Career and Academic Counselor, Instructor, Speaker
Reproduced with permission from author
Minton, B. (2016, September 9).3 Questions You're Not Asking That Will Guide Your Career Choice. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com

Working with teenagers and young adults everyday who are coming to college is extremely rewarding, and educational to say the least. Being a career counselor, I have the task of helping students discover their education and career path. The one thing that I have come to discover in the process of helping them is their ideas about career are usually fairly vague.

That in and of itself is not the issue.  Most experts agree that as many as half of all college freshman have not solidified their major and/or career choice, and 75% will end up changing their path as they work towards their degree. Uncertainty is a completely understandable and expected aspect of being a new college student.

However, over time, eventually students will start attempting to gain more clarity on their vision for the future and it is here where the problems arise. Generally the first mistake they make is simply choosing a major or career path too hastily, rather than doing the necessary self-exploration. They feel compelled to simply "choose one", and unfortunately, it is this rush to decision that leads so many to change their majors two and three times before graduation. They simply didn't understand what they were getting into.

If they are in fact, taking some valuable time to process their decisions, they still can falter and get off track. How? By simply asking themselves the wrong questions.

Because we tend to associate our work and our careers with time spent (roughly a third of our adult life), one of the first questions students tend to ask is "Will I like what I'm doing?", or "Will I have an interest in it?". While interest is absolutely a necessary ingredient to career satisfaction, the question that needs to be asked is "Will this career give me fulfillment?". You can have interest in a lot of things but they may not fulfill you in a career unless you find the modality which allows you to combine both your interests and your values. Values are the key ingredient which most closely leads to fulfillment because they speak to your soul. They are characteristics of you that cannot be easily negotiated. Interests and values can conflict. If I have a value for autonomy and an interest in computers, I could end up feeling restricted because it may not give me the independence I need depending on the type of work and setting. So again, the deeper question is not what is just going to interest me, but what is going to fulfill me.

A second question students ask themselves often is "What do I want to do?". The reason this question is often not going to provide as much substance to their career choices is that is focuses more on activities rather than purpose. You can give anyone tasks to complete and they will do it......for a period of time. Eventually, the question will arise of why does it matter? Knowing what to do, works in the short term, but knowing why will ultimately make it last, because the why determines the level of investment by giving the activities a purpose. The key question that students must get to is "Why do I want to do...?"

The third question that tends to come up a lot is "What do I want to get?". Students are focused in on the perks of working: salary, vacations, retirement, advancement, independence, etc. The main reason why this is of less importance is simply because all of those things will change with time and location. How much money you think you should be earning will change as you advance. Technology will ultimately change how you work. Your level of advancement will change. You're colleagues will change. Everything in the labor market is moving at a tremendous speed and constantly evolving, thus whatever monetary gain you get from it, is subject to the same. The deeper question you have to ask is not what I want to get, but "What do I want to give?".

By asking yourself this vital question it ties into your fulfillment AND purpose on the deepest level of all. Giving is the ultimate sacrifice, and when we decide to give, we make the resolution that it is for a higher purpose than ourselves. What you choose to give the world is your way of making your unique mark which builds you up, plus it will provide you with more satisfaction than anything you could get, because you've fully committed to the purpose that fulfills you.

Additional note:  We hope that you enjoyed Brad Minton's article.  Get more information about career exploration tools!

Make Different Career Choices in 2018

Are you looking for solutions to answer the question "How do I make different career choices"?

Use our three career discovery steps to make right career choices.

Step One: Get a Clear Career Goal

The first step in making career choices is setting a career goal.

In order to set a career goal, you have to take inventory of yourself to determine what you can offer an employer.

You need to –

• Build awareness, knowledge and understanding of our strengths, interests, abilities, and skills
• List your ambitions, values, education, and experiences
• Determine your job preferences –job duties, salary, geographic location, and work conditions

Step Two: Explore Career Options

 In order to make a career choice, you will need to career exploration resources to gather the following occupational information –

• Labor market
• Work industries
• Companies, organizations, or agencies
• Specific careers

Use online career exploration resources to identify potential careers.

 Step Three: Overcome Career Roadblocks

When you are trying to reach your goal, there may be obstacles.  You solve career problems by completing the following steps –

• Identify educational and career planning obstacles
• Create solutions or courses of action
• Set achievable goals
• Resolve conflicts
• Commit to reach our goals

Problem solving should take into consideration personal interests, skills, values, and financial resources. Big problems are broken down into smaller, more manageable steps. Achievable goals result in the production of new competencies, attitudes, and solutions.

As an individual, you:

• Set, formulate, prioritize, and rank goals
• Clearly state our vocational interests, abilities, and values
• Derive plans or strategies to implement the solutions
• Make a commitment to complete the plans
• Understand decision-making processes
• Evaluate the primary choice
• Consider a secondary occupational choice, if necessary

Decision-making processes include:

• Develop a career plan
• Identify potential occupations
• Selecting appropriate educational programs
• Figuring the costs of educational training
• Considering the impact of career decisions.

Step Four: Execution
You execute your career plans when you use different strategies –

• Reality testing
• Social Media
• Job Search Strategies – Resume Writing and Interview Preparation

Reality Testing
While implementing and, you translate vocational interests, abilities, and skills into job opportunities. You do reality testing by implementing the following strategies –

• Informational interviewing
• Networking
• Job shadowing
• Internships
• Part-time employment
• Full-time employment
• Volunteer work

Social Media and Networking Tools
 Networking can help you validate your career choices.  You can use a variety of social media tools to learn and connect with professional associations and potential employers. Major networking social media tools are –

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Linkedin
• Facebook

Ready to begin planning for the New Year...  Need help deciding?  Contact us at explorecareers@gmail.com

What is your code?

How do your interests relate to potential careers and possible college majors?

Are you an Artist Creator, Conventional Organizer, Enterprising Leader, Investigative Thinker, Realistic Doer and Social Helper?


Artistic Creator

 












Artistic Creators like to - —

• Write stories, poems, or other creative writings
• —Enjoy the arts, theater, and dance
• —Play musical instruments
• —Like to paint or sculpt

 Facts about Artistic Creators -

• Characteristics: Complicated, Original, Impulsive, Independent, Expressive, Creative
• Strengths: Uses imagination and feelings in creative expression 
• Potential Careers: Artist, Musician, Actor/ Actress, Designer, Writer, Photographer
• Possible College Majors: Art, Theater, Graphic Design, Music, Journalism, Communication

Conventional Organizer

Conventional Organizers like to - —

• Put things in order
• Attend to detail
• Handle things in a systematic manner
• Desire to be efficient

 Facts about Conventional Organizers -

• Characteristics: Careful, Conforming, Conservative, Conscientious, Self-controlled, Structured
• Strengths: Orders activities paying attention to details
• Potential Careers: Accountant, Banker, Editor, Office Manager, Librarian, Medical Laboratory Assistant
• Possible College Majors: Business, Accounting, Management

Enterprising Leader

Enterprising Leaders like to -

• Manage people and projects
• Persuade, take action, set goals
• Work well in groups
• Sell products and services

— Facts about Enterprising Leaders -

• Characteristics: Persuasive, Energetic, Sociable, Adventurous, Ambitious, Risk-taking
• Strengths: Leads, manages, and organizes
• Potential Careers: Manager, Producer, Lawyer, Business/ Marketing, Executive, Entrepreneur, Principal
• Possible College Majors: Pre-Law, Business Management and Administration, International Business, Political Science

Investigative Thinkers

Investigative Thinkers like to - 

• Like to invent or research
• Solve problems
• Work with ideas
• Use computers
• Love knowledge

Facts about Investigative Thinkers -

• Characteristics: Analytical, Intellectual, Reserved, Independent, Scholarly, Judgmental
• Strengths: Works with abstract ideas and intellectual problems
• Potential Careers: Biologist, Chemist, Historian, Researcher, Doctor, Mathematician
• Possible College Majors: Biology, Chemistry, Nursing, Pre-Medicine, Mathematics, History

Realistic Doers

Realistic Doers like to -

• Like working with tools or machines
• Prefer to work outdoors
• Enjoy playing sports

Facts about Realistic Doers -

• Characteristics: Frank, Practical, Focused, Mechanical, Determined, Rugged
• Strengths: Manipulates tools, Possesses mechanical, manual, or athletic ability
• Potential Careers: Craftsman, Fitness Trainer, Optician, Policemen, Fire Fighter, Physical Education Teacher
•  Possible College Majors: Justice Studies, Fire Science, Athletic Training, Martial Arts, Corporate Fitness, Physical Education

Social Helpers

Social Helpers like to -

• Like to teach and serve
• Are good listeners and communicators
• Work well in groups
• Show empathy

Facts about Social Helpers -

• Characteristics: Helping, Informing, Teaching, Inspiring, Counseling, Serving
• Strengths: Interacts with people, concerned with the welfare of people
• Potential Careers: Teacher, Clergy, Coach, Therapist, Nurse, Counselor, Sociologist
• Possible College Majors: Nursing, Counseling, Social Science, Education

Interested in finding your code ...

Go to bit.ly/29EUm0J

 

Hollandcodes.com has new mobile friendly web site!

Hollandcodes.com has a new look -

• Easy to navigate
• Screen customized for phones, ipads, and computers
• Fresh, new look
• Immediate access career tests and downloads
• FREE gift for visitors 
• Social media connections

Connect and share ideas with us.

• Blogs - Blogger and Wordpress
• Facebook
• Linkedin
• Pinterest 
• Twitter
• Slideshare
• Instagram
• Tumblr
• YouTube

Join us on Snapchat (careerandsocial)!

Time for Reflection, Growth and Renewal!

Summer is a time for change!

Take the time to reevaluate where you are and what you are doing.

What are your interests, abilities and skills?

Do those interests, abilities and skills match your current job?

If not, is it time to make a change? What are your plans to reach your career goals?

Trying to make a decision, but there are so many choices.

We are providing you with information about the top 5 career tests .  All of these resources will help –

• Build awareness of the interests, abilities and skills. 
• Provide resources to explore careers.  Learn about salaries, job duties, job outlook, training requirements, and more.
• Research colleges to find our information about admission requirements, available programs, tuition, learning options (on-campus or online), payment options, scholarships, and more.

MBTI®

• Format: On-Line
• Reading Level: Youth/ Adult/ Children
• Subject Area: Personality Styles, Occupations

My Career Profile

• Format: On-Line
• Reading Level: Youth/ Adult/ Children
• Subject Area: Holland Codes, Interests, Abilities/Skills, Values
• Databases: Occupations and Colleges/ Universities

Self Directed Search

• Format: Printed/On-Line
• Reading Level: Youth/ Adult/ Children
• Subject Area: Holland Codes, Interests, Occupations

Strong Interest Inventory®

• Format: On-Line
• Reading Level: Youth/ Adult/ Children
• Subject Area: Holland Codes, Interests, Occupations

Career Decision Making Tool

• Format: On-Line
• Reading Level: High school student, college student, adult
• Subject Area: Holland Codes, Interests, Occupations
• Databases: Occupations and Colleges/ Universities
• Best Buy:  Immediate access, customizable, comparable to more expensive inventories

We are here to help you become a success at Hollandcodes.com!

Strategies to Decide Job Choices

In life, there are so many decisions and options.  That, we struggle to decide if we are making the right choices.

We get input from professionals, family, friends and coworkers.  But, we are still no convinced that we have the right answers. 

 

We ask if we are we setting the right goals! 

Since we live busy lives, we are looking for tools are easy to use and inexpensive - saving time and money.

Looking for Immediate Answers

 It would be great to get instant answers.  However, searching for the right job is a journey - a process.  

 Yet, tools make the journey easier.

  We have an easy-to-use program divides the process into three steps -

• Knowing yourself
• Learning about careers
• Deciding the right training program

The tools provide you with all of the answers that you need to successfully decide on a job. 

Once you purchase, you get immediate access to the program.

The program has all of the resources that you need to make the correct decisions.

The program is on-line making it available at any time.

For more information...

Build My Career Test

We developed Build my career test so that you can choose the best FREE career test that suits you.  

• Find tests that help you tap into your hidden potential. 
• Get resources that provide inspiration and motivation to explore your interests. 
• Access to tools to identify potential careers and training options.
• Discover who you really are and understand your likes, dislikes, and interests.
• Match your likes, interests to careers.
• Find training programs that are matches to the careers that you are interested.
• Succeed in planning a career.
• Explore careers and training options.

Career Decision Making Tools

With Build My Career Test, you will learn about -

• Self-Analysis, Self Awareness, or Self Assessment
• Career Exploration Tools
• College Major/ Training Program Exploration Tools

Each section comes with online resources and supplemental activities.

Awareness, Assessment, and Knowledge section gives you access to different free career tests  –

• Interest test
• Transferable Skills test
• Values test
• Personality Styles test

You choose which tests that you take.  Then, you use the results to identify potential careers and college majors.  We give information about the best resources that are available.

Career Exploration tools provide the following information –

• Overview
• Skills
• Values
• Outlook
• Earning
• Interest Profile
• Working Conditions
• Contact Info
• Areas of Study

College Exploration resources lists the following facts –

• Location of School
• Majors Areas of Study
• Name of School
• Size and Cost
• Region in the USA
• Type of School

Build My Career Test

Build My Career Test has the following activities -

1. Identify values, transferable skills, personality traits, and interests
2. Access FREE career tests
3. Explore careers
4. Explore degree/ training programs
5. Explore colleges
6. Create a portfolio that summarizes your results
7. Utilize career planning strategies to create achievable career and academic goals

For more information, go to Hollandcodes.com/buildmycareertest.html
 
 

After free career test, what is next!

Low Cost Career/ College Major
Exploration Resources

The Destiny Decision Making comes with FREE tests to help you tap into your hidden potential.  You receive inspiration and motivation to explore your interests.  You have access to tools to identify potential careers and training options.

• Discover who you really are and understand your likes, dislikes, and interests.
• Match your likes, interests to careers.
• Find training programs that are matches to the careers that you are interested.
• Succeed in planning a career.

This course will motivate you as you explore careers and training options. 

Destiny Decision Making can be is used in conjunction with Free Holland Codes career tests!

Low Cost Career Development Tools

Awareness, Assessment, and Knowledge Guide outlines the process of selecting a career assessment.  The process includes:

• Introduction to Career Planning
• Steps to Self Awareness
• Tools To Assess Self Awareness
• Selection of a Free Test or Career Assessment
• Features Of Career Self Assessments Tests
• Career Test Checklist

Career Decision Making Tools

• Discover who you really are and understand your likes, dislikes, and interests.
• Match your likes, interests, skills, and personality styles to careers. 
• Find training programs that are a match to the careers that they are interested. 
• Succeed in planning a career. 

This Destiny Decision Making Course will motivate you as you explore careers and college majors. 

Awareness, Assessment, and Knowledge Parent, Teacher, and Adult Guide outlines the process of selecting a career assessment.  The selection process includes –

• Introduction to Career Planning
• Steps to Self Awareness
• Tools To Assess Self Awareness
• Selection of a FREE Test or Career Assessment
• Career Test Checklist 
• Features of Career Self Assessments Tests

The Guide to Career Exploration and Planning is for teens or adults who need a manual that will guide them through the steps of career planning process.     
The topics included in the Guide are -

• Career Planning Map
• Self-Analysis, Self Awareness, or Self Assessment
• Career Exploration Tools
• College Major/ Training Program Exploration Tools

Career exploration tools provide the following information –

• Overview
• Skills
• Values
• Outlook
• Earning
• Interest Profile
• Working Conditions
• Contact Info
• Areas of Study

College exploration resources lists the following facts –

• Location of School
• Majors Areas of Study
• Name of School
• Size and Cost
• Region in the USA
• Type of School

Pay a low cost to access 12 Resources version of the Destiny Decision Making Tool.
Looking for more resources, update and get one year access to the 68 resources of the Destiny Decision Making Tool.  Now on sale!

12 Resources

12 Resources version has the following activities -

1. Read Ten Top Tips to select a career test (1 download)
2. Use career test checklist (1 download)
3. Get access career test (1 download)
4. Record career test results (2 downloads)
5. Record interest areas (2 downloads)
6. Explore careers (2 downloads)
7. Explore degree/ training programs (2 downloads)
8. Explore colleges (1 download)

Destiny Decision Making Tool (12 Resources) - $10

68 Resources

Update to the 68 Resources:  Access for 365 days
 68 Resources version has the following activities -

1. Read Holland Codes Overviews (5 downloads)
2. Read Ten Top Tips to select a career test (1 download)
3. Use career test checklist (1 download)
4. Get access career tests (5 downloads)
5. Record career test results (2 downloads)
6. Record interest areas (4 downloads)
7. Explore careers (13 downloads)
8. Explore degree/ training programs (6 downloads)
9. Explore colleges (1 download)
10. Use career, degree/ training program, and colleges training manuals (7 downloads)
11. Use career, degree/ training program, and colleges training web sites (4 web sites)
12. Engage, connect, and network (19 social media resources)
13. FREE Career Social Media Resource Center Membership
14. Free Online RIASEC Inventory ($5 value!)

 
Read more, there are two editions -

• 12 Career/ College Major Exploration Resources
• 68 Career/ College Major Exploration Resources