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Below is a brief outline of the Strong Interest Inventory® as described by CPP Inc. (cpp.com), the publisher of the ‘Strong’ among other products and services for counseling professionals.  Click here to see a sample of the High School version of The Strong Interest Inventory:  

 

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The Strong Interest Inventory® assessment is one of the world’s most widely respected and frequently used career planning tools. It has helped both academic and business organizations develop the brightest talent and has guided thousands of individuals—from high school and college students to midcareer workers seeking a change—in their search for a rich and fulfilling career.

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How It Helps:

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The Strong Interest Inventory® assessment is ideal for a wide range of applications, including the following:

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• Choosing a college major—helps students uncover their career interests and identify which areas of study are appropriate or required for a particular field

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• Career exploration—opens up the world of work to first-time career seekers and those considering career transition by identifying their interests and demonstrating how they relate to various occupations and careers

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• Career development—helps heighten individuals’ self-awareness and provide deeper understanding of individual strengths and blind spots, including work style and risk-taking orientation

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• Employee engagement—helps employees align their interests with areas of responsibility in their job that reflect those interests

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• Reintegration—helps individuals navigate the reintroduction process after a period of disconnection

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“ I want to choose a career that I’m going to be happy

with for the rest of my life. After taking the Strong

I realized that I want to be something where I interact

with people on a daily basis. ” Nathalia Cisneros, First Year College Student

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For providing a theoretical structure to the Strong, in 1974 John Holland’s psychology-based codes were incorporated into the assessment. Holland’s theory is based on four main assumptions:

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•  In our culture, most people can be categorized into six Themes and each person may be characterized by one Theme or some combination.

• Job environments can be divided into these same six Themes and each environment is dominated by a particular type of person. Thus, the personality types of co-workers, as much as job requirements, establish the working tenor of a given occupation.

• People search for environments that let them exercise their skills and abilities, express their attitudes and values, take on problems and roles they find stimulating and satisfying, and avoid chores or responsibilities they find distasteful or formidable.

• Behavior is determined by an interaction between a person’s personality and the characteristics of his or her working environment. Factors such as job performance, satisfaction, and stability are influenced by this interaction.

 

Holland’s theory organizes the six Themes by placing them at the six points of a hexagon with those presumed to be the most closely related located adjacent to each other and those most dissimilar located across the hexagon from each other. The order in which they fall around the hexagon is frequently called the R-I-A-S-E-C order (Realistic – Investigative – Artistic – Social – Enterprising – Conventional). The Strong is the only empirically derived RIASEC assessment.

 

Why It’s Popular:

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The Strong Interest Inventory® assessment is a trusted tool because it is:

1. Empirically based

2. Underpinned by rigorous science and research

3. Regularly updated to reflect changes in today’s world of work

4. Backed by excellent support and guidance through CPP’s globa distributor network

 

 

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