John L. Holland

John L. Holland was born October 21, 1919, in Omaha, Nebraska, and was one of four children. He is best known for the career development model, Holland Occupational Themes. Holland is also the creator of the vocational tool the Self-Directed Search, which allows individuals to rate their skills, abilities and interests in order to receive a Holland code that can guide them to careers they would be interested in and excel at.

 Holland's theory boasts that individuals more than likely will fit into one of six main personality types: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, conventional. Those with realistic personality types enjoy working outdoors or with their hands, assembling machines or tools. Investigative personality types enjoy discovery and research and often take pleasure in problem-solving. Artistic personality types are drawn to designs and patterns and enjoy expressing themselves through various art forms. Social personality types enjoy working with people, teaching or counseling others. Enterprising personality types also enjoy people, but are more drawn to leading or encouraging others and often times have a business sense. Conventional personality types like working indoors with organizational tasks, dealing with numbers or other data.

Holland honed his career development theories during his career, working at Western Reserve University, the Veteran's Administration Psychiatric Hospital, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, the American College Testing Program and John Hopkins University. He passed away on November 27, 2008, in Baltimore, Maryland, at 89 years old. His Self-Directed Search and other career development theories are still used today by career counselors and those in related fields.

Donald Super

Donald E. Super (1910-1994) was a leader in career development, focusing on the constantly changing self-concept and its relation to one's personal career development. Super developed his theory over many years, beginning in the early 1930s and spanning nearly to his death. According to Super's theory, self-concept is something that changes and grows over time and his approach to career development mirrors that.

Super's life and career development stages are as follows: Growth (birth-14), Exploration (15-24), Establishment, (25-44), Maintenance (45-64) and Decline (65+). Super argued that developmental tasks would vary depending on the stage you were in, but that the main theme would be that one's self-concept would be ever-evolving. He claimed that one would choose their vocational path based on their self-concept and how their beliefs, goals, etc. fit into that particular field.

Super developed the Life Rainbow in which he placed his five development stages on an arc and asked people to color each life role (parent, worker, citizen, leisurite, student, child) as they saw appropriate in each of those stages. This provides a visual representation of self-concept, allowing us to actually see the span in which we take on certain roles and their importance during difference stages of our development.

Super's work has greatly impacted the world of career development and has contributed helpful tools, such as the Life Rainbow, to the career counseling profession. For more information about Super, his work and his theory you can visit:

http://evolutioncounseling.com/donald-super-career-counseling-theory/

For an easy-to-read pdf of Super's Life Rainbow and deeper explanation of his developmental stages, you can visit:

http://www.careers.govt.nz/fileadmin/docs/career_theory_model_super.pdf



- A. Murray