Planning your research career (for trainers)

1. 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.

2. 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
• 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.

3. 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
Exercise
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.

4. 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
Exercise
 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

5. 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
Exercise, page 1

6. 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
Exercise
Social
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.

7. 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
Exercise
Enterprising
I’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.

8. 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
Exercise
Investigative
I’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.

9. 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
Exercise
Practical Focus
I 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.

10. 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
Exercise
Creative
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.

11. 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
Exercise
Systematic
I 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.

12. 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
Exercise
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

13. 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
Key Facilitation Points:
• Help researcher understand/confirm where their interests are
• Help researchers understand/confirm where their interest are
not
• Consider the interaction between skills and interests
• How could working in a particular role(s) suit their
interests?

14. 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
Key Facilitation Points:
• To what extent does the researcher’s current, last, or
considered future roles match their interests?
• What roles are being suggested by their interest results?
• Most people will be a mixture of different interest areas with a
predominance in one.
• Each description will not reflect the individual
researcher 100%. Explore and discuss.