The implications of Holland's constructs in the prediction of employment: A cautionary note

Abstract

John Holland's model of vocational choice has been used for both individual and group career counselling, in a variety of social and cultural contexts. Typically, it is used to help people to make career decisions; however, Holland has also proposed that his model could be used for predicting the manner in which individuals would cope with unemployment and/or job change. In this paper, the authors present the results of a study assessing the validity of Holland's claims with respect to the efficacy of his theory in the prediction of job search success. The results of the study provided, at best, limited support for Holland's claims; most predictor/criteria combinations were found to have little or no relationship to each other. The authors conclude that the Holland model is of limited value for predicting job search success, and suggest the use of other data collection techniques for such purposes. The authors also recommend further research regarding the operationalization of Holland's constructs.