Using the Career Interests Diagnostic to boost talent alignment and team success
In today’s competitive workplace, finding the right talent isn’t just about matching skills to job requirements. True alignment happens when individuals’ personal interests align with roles that allow them to grow and thrive. The Career Interests Diagnostic from Deeper Signals is designed to reveal these interests, helping organizations boost job satisfaction, enhance engagement, and foster long-term success.
Why career interests matter for talent and team success
High turnover and low engagement are all too common challenges that stem from a disconnect between employees’ day-to-day roles and their deeper career interests. Skills and experience are crucial, but creating a meaningful match goes beyond credentials. The Career Interests Diagnostic allows organizations to dig deeper, providing insight into what truly motivates individuals and aligning them with roles they find fulfilling. This approach leads to higher job satisfaction, stronger retention rates, and improved team morale. Employees aligned with roles that fit their personal interests are more likely to remain engaged and committed, increasing both productivity and job satisfaction. Tailored development plans that reflect these interests can also accelerate personal and organizational growth, allowing career planning to benefit both the individual and the company.
The science behind the Career Interests Diagnostic
The Career Interests Diagnostic is grounded in the RIASEC model, a scientifically validated framework widely used in psychology to categorize career interests, and has been studied by various researchers in relation with the five-factor model. RIASEC identifies six core interest areas:
- Realistic – Hands-on, practical roles
- Investigative – Analytical, problem-solving roles
- Artistic – Creative, expressive roles
- Social – Interpersonal, helping roles
- Enterprising – Leadership-focused roles
- Conventional – Structured, detail-oriented roles
This model, backed by decades of research, provides a reliable basis for understanding how interests align with different career paths. The Career Interests Diagnostic uses this structure to quickly and accurately reveal an individual’s primary interests, allowing organizations to align job roles with intrinsic motivations that drive success.
Key applications of the Career Interests Diagnostic
- Optimizing talent acquisition
For talent acquisition, the diagnostic offers a new dimension to the hiring process. By identifying candidates who are not only skilled but genuinely passionate about the role, organizations can build a workforce that is both capable and highly motivated.
- Facilitating strategic career planning
In strategic career planning, the diagnostic helps align employees’ long-term goals with the roles and responsibilities they’re most likely to enjoy and excel in. By identifying core career interests, the diagnostic enables organizations to map out career paths that align with employees' aspirations, fostering a sense of purpose and engagement.
- Personalizing development efforts
Personalized development is a key application of the Career Interests Diagnostic. With insights into each employee’s unique aspirations, organizations can tailor development plans to target specific growth areas, ensuring that training is relevant and impactful.
- Optimizing team composition
The diagnostic can also optimize team composition by revealing the diverse interests and complementary skills of team members. Strategic team assembly based on these insights fosters creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving, helping to build high-performing teams that drive business success.
For organizations considering the diagnostic for recruitment or other high-stakes decisions, conducting local validity studies can be valuable. These studies help verify that the diagnostic performs effectively within specific organizational contexts, ensuring that it aligns with the organization’s values and goals. At Deeper Signals, we provide support for these studies to help organizations maximize the diagnostic’s impact and application.
