What RIASEC (Holland Codes) measures
RIASEC is John Holland's model of vocational interest. Six themes — Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional — describe the kinds of work environments and problems a person is drawn to. Most people are a blend; the top three letters (e.g. IAS, ERC) form the Holland Code that predicts occupational fit better than any single letter.
The six themes in plain English
Realistic — hands-on, physical, mechanical, outdoor. Builders and fixers.
Investigative — analytical, scientific, research-driven. Thinkers and diagnosers.
Artistic — creative, expressive, unstructured. Designers and makers.
Social — teaching, helping, developing others. Coaches and counselors.
Enterprising — persuading, leading, selling, launching. Founders and closers.
Conventional — organizing, ordering, systematizing. Operators and administrators.
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Why interest matters as much as ability
Ability tells you what someone can do; interest predicts what they will actually stick with. Two engineers with identical cognitive-aptitude scores will diverge sharply in performance and tenure if one is an IR pattern (investigative-realistic) and the other is an ES pattern (enterprising-social) stuck in solo analytical work. Interest-mismatch is one of the top predictors of 12-month attrition.
How EQIQs uses RIASEC
RIASEC is one of the 21 frameworks EQIQs blends. Pairing it with cognitive aptitude tells you whether someone can do the job; pairing it with values and career anchors tells you whether they want to. That combined signal shapes the role-fit read and the 12-month retention flag on every profile.