What Color Is Your Parachute? Read Online Free PDF

their interests and skills work together.

Realistic (R): People who like nature, athletics, or tools and machinery. Examples: Tom loves to hike in the mountains and does volunteer trail maintenance. Dee plays on the school soccer team. Paul repairs cars. Louise and Larry build furniture in their father’s woodworking shop. Ross grows vegetables for the farmers’ market, and Yvette raises dogs to be companion animals for people with disabilities.
Investigative (I): People who are very curious and like to investigate or analyze things. Examples: Jason always wants to know why—why a certain bird is no longer seen in his area, why the brain works the way it does, why one ball team plays better than another. Jessica investigates the best places to take a date—concerts, movies, amusement parks, hiking trails—and writes about them for her school paper. David analyzes everything—from the data in his chemistry experiments to the results of community service projects. Erin, a student council member, wants to figure out why new students have so much difficulty scheduling the classes they need.
Artistic (A): People who are very artistic, imaginative, and innovative. Examples: Ashley draws cartoons. Carlos, Aaron, and Stacy started a band and play at local dances. Daniela designs costumes and sets for school theater productions and is known for being able to create great stuff with few resources. Guy develops his own software for doing computer animation.
Social (S): People who like to help, teach, or serve people. Examples: Isabel, a senior, orients freshmen about life at high school. Steve tutors middle school students in math and English. Keri reads assigned class texts to a blind student. Darin volunteers as a trainer for the school football team, and Bob serves as a peer counselor.
Enterprising (E): People who like to start up projects or organizations, or influence or persuade people. Examples: Dana started a service project where high school students visit the elderly in a convalescent home. Ty, who’s running for student body president, persuades people to vote for him. Greg works with kids who are at risk of getting involved with drugs and gangs.
Conventional (C): People who like detailed work and like to complete tasks or projects. Examples: Michael, the treasurer for a service club, keeps detailed financial records of all their fund-raising activities. Kristin works part-time in an insurance office, where she’s responsible for keeping all the files up to date. Terri oversees the preparations for the prom, making sure everything that needs to get done gets done.
OK, now you know a little about the kinds of people who’ll be at the party. You’ve just arrived and walk in the front door. (Don’t worry about whether you’re shy or if you actually have to talk to anyone. That doesn’t matter at this party.) Now, we have three questions for you:
  1. Which corner of the room would you go to first—that is, which group of people would you most enjoy talking to for the longest time? Write down the letter for that corner.
  2. After fifteen minutes, everyone else in the corner you chose leaves for another party. Of the groups that still remain, which group would you be drawn to the most? Which people would you most enjoy being with for the longest time? Write down the letter for that corner.
  3. After fifteen minutes, this group also leaves for another party. You look around and decide where to go next. Of the groups that remain, which one would you most enjoy being with for the longest time? Write down the letter for that corner.
The three letters you selected indicate your “Holland Code.” The Holland Code is named for Dr.John Holland, a psychologist who did research on “people environments”—that is, the types of people we most like to be with. According to Dr. Holland, everyone has three people environments they prefer from among these six—Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising,