Endorsement by Barbara Jacoby

Endorsement

for
"Holland's RIASEC Hexagon: A Paradigm for Life and Work Decisions"
Emily Bullock-Yowell and Robert C. Reardon, authors

by
Barbara Jacoby, Ph.D.
Higher Education Consultant, Barbara Jacoby Consulting

            As a lifelong fan and proponent of John Holland's RIASEC theory, I was pleased to be asked to contribute a piece about a RIASEC-based program I created long ago to Holland’s RIASEC Hexagon: A Paradigm for Life and Work Decisions. In the early 1980s, I directed the office at the University of Maryland that launched a program using RIASEC theory to help students, particularly those who lived off campus, become socialized to the campus and to one another. We believed RIASEC to be a means to organize the university and its myriad offerings and opportunities in a way that would enable students to find others who are like them, compatible environments within the campus, and , ultimately, a sense of belonging and comfort. It worked.
            I strongly believe that today's college students are not the only ones trying to "find" themselves on the campus and in the world. The well-organized chapters of Holland’s RIASEC Hexagon provide a multitude of theory-based, practical examples of how the theory is effective in a wide range of settings and situations. I particularly appreciated the stories of how RIASEC positively impacted individual lives. The authors describe how RIASEC offers guidance and structure to people of all ages trying to find the most suitable productive work environments and to employers and organization leaders seeking to enable individuals to find themselves in their organizational cultures. I especially appreciated the focus on RIASEC in a variety of life roles and relationships, including partnerships, parenting, and interests. I came away from the book believing that we can take RIASEC into the future through the multiple technologies available to us today to create paths and connections that were unimaginable when RIASEC theory first appeared.

— Barbara Jacoby