Author(s): BACG

Grades: 9th to 12th grade

Holland Party Game

National Career Development Guideline Standards: PS1,
PS2, PS4, CM1, CM2
American School Counselor Association Standards:
Develop Career Awareness A1.3

Lesson length: 60 minutes

In this lesson students play an interactive game, called the Holland Party Game. This game was
developed by (and adapted by the Bay Area Career Guide staff) Richard Bolles, author of What Color is
Overview Your Parachute? Students will imagine they are in a hypothetical college lunchroom observing other
students who are engaged in conversations. Based on these conversations, students are to select their
first choice table to join and the instructor leads a discussion as follows. Students will then test their
choices by trying the online Bay Area Career Guide assessment tool.

Lesson • Students will demonstrate awareness of their career Personality Types and will determine their own
Objectives unique career interest Holland Code.
• Students will be able to identify types of careers that match and do not match their Holland Code.

• Handouts:
CAREER GUIDE PROFILE (optional)
HOLLAND PERSONALITY TYPES
Materials • The letters, R, I, A, S, E, C, written on individual sheets of paper, taped around the classroom.

Suggested
timeframe
Procedure
(5 min.)
1. WARM UP: QUICK WRITE
Teacher displays Holland Personality Types.
“With what descriptor do you most identify? Realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, conventional.
Explain your answer.
Teacher asks for volunteers to share their responses to the warm up.
 2. Discuss the background of the Holland Theory.1
(10 min.) Holland Theory
John Holland worked as an Army Classification Interviewer during World War II and
later as a university counselor. He found that as he interviewed, he could begin to
predict people’s responses based on patterns he noticed over the years. He identified
these patterns and divided them into six broad categories. The definitions for these
categories are listed in the “Holland Personality Type” handout:
• Realistic
• Investigative
• Artistic
• Social
• Enterprising
• Conventional

These patterns are interesting, but they become more useful when correlated to
occupations. Dr. Holland believed that people can be described as a combination of
these six types, and that work environments can also be described as a combination of
the same six types. If people find a compatible work environment, they are more likely
to be satisfied and productive.

3. Teacher introduces the Holland Party Game to play with the class.
• Students imagine that their classroom is a large cafeteria at a nearby community
(20 min.) college. Different groups of students are sitting throughout the room eating
lunch and talking.
• Students must choose to have lunch with one of the following groups of people in
“Description of Party Game Tables.”
• Students listen to all the group descriptions and then choose their first choice.
• WRITING ACTIVITY: QUICK WRITE
“Using the handout, HOLLAND PERSONALITY TYPES, explain your first choice and why you chose it.”
• Students physically join the table with the letter of their first choice. Each table
has a list of possible career options for that match.
• Students share with each other at the table why they chose this personality type.
• Ask students to then select their second choice repeat the quick write before
moving to the table of their second choice.

1
Definitions: Holland (Occupational) Code refers to each student’s unique combination of interests based on survey results. Holland Personality Types refers to the
six categories into which a person’s expressed occupational interests fall.
 • Students share with each other the table why they chose this personality type.
4. GROUP DISCUSSION: WHOLE CLASS
Teacher asks the students questions about their choices. Possible prompts are listed
(10 min.) below.
• Why did you choose your first table? (Egs. I’m a painter so I chose Artistic)
Possible • Why did you choose your second table?
Prompts • What kinds of occupations could you do to combine your two choices? (For
example: Social and Artistic could be a Drama Therapist) DON’T SEE HOW THEY
WOULD KNOW THIS???
• What are bad career choices for you based on your first and second choices: (For
example: Social and Artistic people would not like to work independently as a
researcher calculating detailed computations. Other tips are to look at opposite
corners of the room and consider that those interest areas are the ones that they
do not prefer.)

5. OPTIONAL: After playing the party game, ask students to take the BACG survey
online and see if their results match what their original Party Game choices were.
(15 min.)

Close (5 min.) TICKET OUT THE DOOR:

“List your number one “type” and three (3) things you realized about yourself today.”

Additional The Holland Party Game is based on Richard Bolles’ work in What Color is Your Parachute. You can
Resources learn more about his work at his website: http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/

To learn more about John Holland see:

http://www.self-directed-search.com/Holland.html
Explore: Career Guide Profile
Holland Personality Type: What your two most prevalent types?

Number One: Number Two:

Definition: Definition:

College Define the Program Related Jobs Where is this

programs that program offered?
interest me
Students study the theory of Solano Community College
flight and the design, www.solano.edu
construction, operation, and
maintenance of aircraft, aircraft
propulsion units, and aerospace
vehicles. Includes combined
airframe and powerplant
mechanics programs.
 College Define the Program Related Jobs Where is this
programs that program offered?
interest me
 Holland Personality Types

Everyone has some level of each type, but generally there are 2-3 that are more significant than the
others. Let’s take a closer look at the Holland Personality Types.

Holland Personality Types

Realistic (R) Social (S)

People who like nature, or People who are drawn to helping,
athletics, or tools and machinery. teaching, or serving others.

Investigative (I) Enterprising (E)

People who are very curious, like People who like to start up
to investigate or analyze things. projects or organizations, and/or
influence or persuade people.

Artistic (A) Conventional (C)

People who are very artistic, People who like detailed work,
imaginative, and innovative. and like to complete tasks or
projects.