Work style

Not quite. It tells you which kinds of activity engage you, and from that suggests fields worth investigating. Whether a specific job fits also depends on ability, circumstances, the job market and luck — none of which a quiz can measure.

Because almost nobody is a pure single type, and most real jobs call on more than one. Someone with a Social–Enterprising combination suits quite different work from someone Social–Artistic, even though both lead on Social.

Very common, and not automatically a sign you chose wrong. Many people find the part that fits inside their existing job — taking on the work that does interest them, moving role within the same organisation. That is usually cheaper and less risky than changing career.

Six career interest types from Holland's model: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional. The result is the order they come in for you — careers advisers usually work with your top two or three rather than the first alone.

The Holland model is widely used in careers guidance and has a reasonably solid research base for that purpose. Understand its limits, though: it measures interest, not ability, and it does not predict how well you will do. A result suggests directions to look into, not a list of jobs you should or should not take.