David Freitag – KSU Capstone Project - K-State Division of ...

It would be helpful if her advisor could determine Ellen’s level of differentiation,
identity, and congruence. “A differentiated person has interests that are characteristic of
mainly one type,” identity refers to “the ‘clarity and stability’ of the person’s goals,
interests, and abilities,” and congruence refers to “the degree of ‘match’ between a person
and an environment” (Evans et al., 1998, pp. 230-­‐231). If Ellen’s interests are not
characteristic of the personality type suggested by her Holland code, the advisor should
discuss with her why that might be the case. Any student who is considering a career that is
highly incongruent with their personality type should be questioned about their reasoning.
Using the Holland Classification system to discover a student’s personality type is not the
end of a career exploration, but only the beginning of a conversation with the student.
Summary
By being aware of her personality type as identified by her Holland code, Ellen can
increase her potential to select a satisfying career. By using a specific career exploration
framework with Ellen, giving her a career exploration roadmap to follow, her advisor will
be able to provide Ellen with needed information, developmental tasks, and the
encouragement she needs as she navigates through her academic career and continues in
her career exploration process.
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