For most people, liking their work is at least of some importance, and if you're someone for whom that's especially true, then it's all the more critical that you consider your interests when choosing a career. Remember that what you're good at doesn't necessarily match your interests. For example, you may be a real whiz at word processing, but the thought of pecking away at a keyboard for extended periods of time may leave you cold.

Examples of Work Interests

• Accommodating: An interest in catering to the wishes and needs of others, usually on a one-to-one basis.
• Artistic: An interest in creative expression of feeling and ideas.
• Business Detail: An interest in organized, clearly defined activities requiring accuracy and attention to details, generally in an office setting.
• Humanitarian: An interest in helping others with their mental, spiritual, social, physical or vocational needs.
• Industrial: An interest in repetitive, concrete, organized activities performed in a factory setting.
• Leading/Influencing: An interest in leading and influencing others by using high-level verbal or numerical abilities.
• Mechanical: An interest in applying mechanical principles to practical situations by using machines and hand tools.
• Protective: An interest in using authority to protect people and property.
• Scientific: An interest in discovering, collecting and analyzing information about the natural world, and in applying scientific research findings to problems in medicine, the life sciences and the nature sciences.
• Selling: An interest in bringing others to a particular point of view by personal persuasion, using sales and promotion techniques.