Planning your research career: Interests

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement No 643330

Interests

John Holland developed an influential theory of career choice

and he identified that when people work in areas that interest

them, they are more motivated and perform better. Further

research by Spokane et al (2000) conducted a detailed analysis of

interests as a predictor of job satisfaction and found there is a

strong relationship between these two factors and they

highlighted the importance of exploring interests when

choosing careers.


Interests

• There is an overlap between skills and interests, as people are more likely to invest time & energy in developing skills that interest them.

• However, an interest can be different to a skill. An interest is

when you are drawn to something, excited by it, attracted to it, energised by it, it intrigues you – it appeals to you, even though you may not have tried it before. • Therefore being interested in something is not the same as

being skilled in/at it.


InterestsExercise

Objective: To identify your interest types (i.e. what it is you love

doing, both inside and outside of the working environment) and

seek roles that you are passionate about, in order to increase

your levels of job satisfaction and performance.


InterestsExercise

Please go to the Interests section at the beginning of your Career Development Journal

You will be asked to choose your personal preferences from 6 areas of interest. Mark the following statements on a

scale of 1 – 10, with 10 being the closest to how you feel. Social Enterprising Investigative Practical Focus Creative Systematic


InterestsExercise, page 1


InterestsExerciseSocial

Working with people and making a difference in their lives is of

interest to me. I like roles where I can work with groups and

organisations that treat people well. I am interested in helping

people and communication skills. I’m usually less interested in

working with machines, mathematics, and work that is dictated

by procedures.


InterestsExercise

EnterprisingI’m ambitious and enjoy working toward goals and having responsibility. I tend to be good at dealing with other people and influencing others. I suppose you could say that I’m self-confident, see myself as a leader who is respected by others. I usually enjoy work that involves: Managing projects or people, making decisions, persuading others to see my point of view, selling ideas to others. I tend to be interested in communication, persuasion and leadership skills. I’m not really interested in repetitive work and ‘back-seat’ type roles.


InterestsExercise

InvestigativeI’m interested in solving problems and understanding why things happen. I like to ask questions, seek information and observe what is going on around me. I have an interest in roles involving mathematics, diagnosing problems, sharing ideas and generating solutions. I also like technical, mathematical and scientific fields of work. I’m not really into dealing with people, being a leader or repetitive work.


InterestsExercise

Practical FocusI tend to enjoy practical, hands-on work activities. My preferred work activities would include working with physical materials such as plants, animals, machinery and tools. I also like to dabble in building, fixing or repairing things or using my physical abilities as tools to complete tasks – e.g. using my strength, flexibility or dexterity. I like to think that I’m down-to-earth, concrete, practical and action-oriented. I don’t really like roles involving a lot of paperwork.


InterestsExerciseCreative

I’m interested in art, self-expression and how things look and sound. My preferred work activities typically involve designing and producing art forms – e.g. visual arts, drama, performance, music, dance or writing. I am drawn to work environments that are unstructured and offer freedom, variety, and change. I could be described as expressive, imaginative, intuitive, non-conforming and introspective. I tend to dislike repetitive or highly structured work such as clerical and business roles.


InterestsExercise

SystematicI like following set procedures, routines, and working with ordered numbers or information, such as an office environment. These roles can include working with data and details more than ideas. Usually I like a clear line of authority to follow. I feel comfortable around orderliness, organisation, security and routines. I like to think of myself as clear, logical and reliable.


InterestsExercise

Review the scoring of 1-10 that you gave to each interest area

List your top three areas of interest in descending order

Use the dialogue box to write down any related thoughts

Education

Planning your research career: Interests