3.1. Interests, Abilities, and Aptitudes

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Welcome!

reminders & Important Dates:

• Unit 3 Starts: 3/13: Today!
• 3.5. Assignment: Create a career plan: 3/27

• Last Class: 3/27
• MP 1 Ends: 4/2
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Reaction Time - Skill and Ability Video

Recap 2.2.3.

Active Listening Assignment

• Identified active listening skills;
• Gave advice to a receiver to improve her own skills;
• Reflected on how poor active listening skills can affect a speaker; and
• Think about if active listening can help you build trust in a relationship.

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3.1. Interests, Abilities, & Aptitudes

Overview 3.1

Vocabulary: ability, aptitude, interests, job zones

• identify a personal interest
• match six career interests with their explanations
• distinguish between interests, abilities, and aptitudes
• differentiate between five job zones
• complete a self-assessment to determine their Holland Code

Imagine walking into a group of people you know casually from school. Perhaps they are from a sports team or another group you belong to, and everyone is working to prepare a huge event to be held that evening for the community. You notice that everyone seems to have their own little group and they happen to be working on something different.

The groups go as follows:

• one group is out in the yard, assembling and setting up tables and chairs for dinner;
• one group is figuring out how to get in touch with the DJ to let her know what equipment she will need to bring;
• one group is hanging up streamers and signs and making other decorations;
• one group has rounded up the younger kids and is helping them set up a game station;
• one group has a checklist of tasks that need to be completed and is making sure others are on task; and
• one group is setting up the movie projector and sound equipment.

The group that you chose to join at that event actually tells a lot about your personality!

Knowing your personality type is a step in right direction to helping you choose a career path. Being aware of your interests, abilities, and aptitudes will also help decide on a career.

+info

Now, think about the question: What are you good at? The answer to this question is likely different than your interests. This question tells you what your abilities are.

Complete the sentence below by filling in the blank with two things you are interested in.

Ability

+Plan for Success

+Plan for Growth

+Plan Next Steps

An ability is a task or skill you can currently do. For example, if you are reading this lesson, you have the “ability” to read. Abilities change over time, usually with instruction and practice. In school, you will develop new abilities and strengthen existing abilities.

Basic Skills - Skill and Ability Video

Aptitudes

Like abilities, aptitudes are tasks or skills. However, they are the tasks and skills that you have not yet developed. The dictionary defines aptitude as a natural ability to do something or to learn something. In other words, with instruction and practice, aptitudes are the abilities you could have in the future.

During your high school career, it is possible that you will have your aptitude tested. A very common aptitude test is one that is taken between 10th and 12th grade called the “Scholastic Aptitude Test” (also known as the SAT). This test score is used to help determine your readiness for college.

Aptitudes

Aptitude tests can give you a general idea of your future abilities based on your current academic strengths and weaknesses. However, aptitude tests cannot accurately predict your future success. Aptitudes are not permanent. They can change over time as you develop skills and address weaker areas.

For example, If you have the ability to solve math problems quickly, you might have an aptitude for engineering. If you have good eye–hand coordination abilities, you might have an aptitude for playing sports. If you have musical ability, you might have an aptitude for learning languages. Check out the image below to find out what an aptitude test can and cannot do.

1. Maggie would probably do well on the reading comprehension section of an exam.

2. Maggie reads quickly and accurately.

3. Maggie likes to read books.

B. Ability

C. Aptitude

A. Interest

Match the example to the correct term

As you continue your career planning journey, you will rely greatly on self-awareness and self-assessment.

Self-awareness is an understanding of your feelings, character traits, interests, and goals, and it is key to having a good idea of who you are as a person now and who you want to be in the future. Knowing where you are on your journey helps you track your progress toward meeting your personal and career goals. In addition to self-awareness, you will participate in several self-assessment activities each year, which will help you evaluate things like your learning styles, skills, interests, values, and personality traits. The first step in self-assessment for career exploration is to figure out your own Holland Code.

Holland Code

John Holland, an American psychologist and sociology professor, devoted the majority of his research to career development by understanding how different personality types work together and what setting and career is best for each personality.

John Holland created The Holland Code, which breaks personalities down into six types:

• realistic;
• investigative;
• artistic;
• social;
• enterprising; and
• conventional.

Realistic Interests

Investigative Interests

Artistic Interests

Social Interests

Enterprising Interests

Conventional Interests

A. the helpers

B. the thinkers

C. the creators

1. social

2. artistic

3. investigative

Match the Holland personality type with the descriptive word below.

Holland Code

Today, you learned about interests, abilities, and aptitudes. Afterward, you learned about your Holland Code, a career assessment tool that can help measure your interests and abilities to help you find relatable career options. Think back to the beginning of the lesson, when you were asked to imagine that you arrived at a gathering to help set up for a community event. There were six distinct groups working to get everything prepared for the event. Which group did you find yourself pulled toward?

Personality

Take a minute to think about what you have learned about Holland's personality types in this lesson. Have you been identifying with any of them? There was probably more than one personality type that you found yourself relating to. That is good! Your Holland Code will consist of your top three personality types. If you feel you fit into each category a little bit, that is fine! That means you have many interests and are working on learning which one means the most to you. Or, did you have a hard time picking three types? That is okay, too! This is step one of your self-assessment journey. This course will help you discover and evaluate your skills, interests, and values throughout high school to help you find the perfect career and know the steps to take to get there!

Thanks! Answer the poll before you go and have a great rest of your day!

People who like to work with others and data fit into the Enterprising personality type. Enterprising people are often considered "good talkers" and use their communication skills to lead others and get others to agree with them. They tend to value things like reputation, status, and money.

Enterprising Interests

Plan Next Steps

Identify what abilities to help plan for your future. Once you know what abilities you need to have, you can make a plan to develop those abilities.

Plan for Success

Identify the abilities you will need to be successful in your chosen career. Different careers require different skills and abilities. It is essential to know what skills are important for your future career.

People who like to observe, learn, and think are categorized in Holland's Investigative personality type. They like to understand all aspects of an idea before acting on it, think things out in-depth, and do whatever research is needed. Investigators want to work with data and prefer working independently rather than in social settings.

Investigative Interests

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People who like to work with their hands to produce something tangible to show for their efforts are considered to be in the Artistic personality type. They tend to be creative and innovative, open to new thoughts and ideas while showing the outcome of their work. Artists typically enjoy working with others and are emotional or connected to their craft.

Artistic Interests

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People who like rules, procedures, structure, and order fit in with the Conventional personality type. Conventionals like working with clear-cut ideas, like data and numbers, and tend to value reputation and status.

Conventional Interests

Plan for Growth

Identify areas for growth. Knowing your personal abilities can help you identify the areas where you can learn and grow.

Hands-on learners tend to gravitate toward Holland's "R" for Realistic. They like to work outside, usually with plants, animals, and tools. Realistic people like to work by themselves and do not tend to enjoy social situations. If something needs to be fixed or built, the Realistics will jump in to repair or make it.

Realistic Interests

An interest is something (such as a hobby) that a person enjoys learning about or doing. You probably will not find a career that involves all of your interests, but it might help to find careers that involve at least a few of your interests.

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People who consider themselves a "people person" and thrive in social settings fit the Social personality type well. Socials like to work with people, helping, assisting, teaching, and communicating. They are drawn to building relationships with others in a meaningful way and prefer conversations over intellect or physical labor. If you ask a social person about their career goal, they will probably say they want to help others.

Social Interests