Compare and contrast Holland and Krumboltz's theories of career.

Holland and Krumboltz are both career theorists who focus on how career decisions are made. Holland focuses on interests and emphasizes a person-environment fit. According to his theory, there are six main occupational themes or interests. If the tasks in your career match your interests, you will be satisfied. The six themes include: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional. Krumboltz's theory on the other hand focuses more on happenstance and action steps. According to this theory, actions lead to career choices and opportunities. While he doesn't dismiss the value of interests, he believes most careers happen due to action. For example, talking to others about your career interests or being willing to explore many career paths via electronic searches may result in you finding out about a job opportunity that you may never have even considered, but that is a good fit for you.