The Importance of Work in One’s Career Development

• Career development is the progression of all of our various life roles and the factors that go into shaping them.

• Career counseling helps an individual navigate the career development process.

  • Career counseling is also helping a client weigh the relative importance of being a parent and working at a job, assisting a person through a midlife crisis, helping an individual as she readies for retirement, and reminiscing with an older person about his life.

• Numerous studies show that good career counseling increases one’s career awareness and is related to increased job satisfaction and positive mental health.

Career Development Models: A Brief Overview

Trait-and-Factor Approach

• Trait-and-factor theory

  • Developed at the beginning of the 20th century

  • The trait-and-factor theory of career guidance was straightforward. It involved a helper assisting a client in assessing the client’s strengths, examining job availability, and using a rational process to make career decisions.

• Today’s theory now includes the following principles:

  • Individuals have unique traits that can be measured and examined, such as aptitudes, interests, values, expectations, psychological adjustment, aspirations, and more.

  • Occupations require individuals to have certain traits if they are to be successful.

  • The better the ability to match traits to occupations, the greater the likelihood that the individual will succeed and feel satisfied.

  • The interaction between client and helper is a dynamic process that includes both affective and cognitive components.

  • The ability of an individual to match his or her traits with occupations is a conscious process that can occur in a deliberate fashion and is fostered by client knowledge of traits and the sociological factors impinging on career decisions.

  • Cultural values are important and can impact the success of the helping relationship and the person’s experience of a job.

Career Psychodynamic Theory

• Career psychodynamic theory

  • Career psychodynamic theory assumes that the kinds of parenting one receives and placement in one’s family of origin can unconsciously influence career choices.

Career Developmental Theories

• Career development theory

  • Career development theory was advanced by Donald Super.

  • Career development theory involved an individual passing through a series of sequential and predictable stages.

• Initially known as a developmental self-concept theory, Super’s theory included the following concepts:

  • Career development is an ongoing, continuous, and orderly process starting in early childhood and ending with death.

  • People’s abilities, personality traits, and self-concepts differ, and individuals are qualified for a number of different types of occupations based on their characteristics.

  • Occupations tend to be specifically appropriate for people with certain kinds of qualities, although there is enough variability in occupations to allow for some differences in the kinds of people who will be drawn to them.

  • Self-concept is both a function and a result of one’s career development process and can change as one passes through developmental stages.

  • Movement from one occupational level to another is influenced by a number of factors, including parental socioeconomic level, status needs, values, interests, skills in interpersonal relationships, economic conditions, and intelligence.

  • Starting in early childhood and continuing into late adulthood, career development can be assisted by helping individuals understand and develop their abilities and interests and by assisting them in understanding their strengths and weaknesses.

  • By understanding the individual's developmental level, counselors can make appropriate interventions that can assist individuals in learning about themselves and their career development process, thereby making occupational choices more likely to lead to satisfaction at work and a high self-concept.

  • Career development is generally irreversible, although some people who face important developmental crises may recycle through the stages at any point in their career.

• Super identified five stages of career development that apply to all people, those being:

  • Growth stage (from birth through age 14)

    • The child examines his or her interests, capacities, and fantasies—that is, this is when the child tries out in his or her mind and through role-play different life roles.

  • Exploration (ages 14 through 25)

    • The young person experiments with various life roles to see how they fit—making tentative steps toward choosing a career.

  • Establishment stage (ages 25 through 45)

    • The individual advances in his or her career and begins to settle in, although frustration and change can occur throughout this stage.

  • Maintenance stage (ages 45 through 60)

    • The person maintains and updates his or her skills; the individual may be innovative during this phase but can also stagnate.

  • Decline stage (sometimes called deceleration)

    • The person begins to disengage from work, becomes less emotionally involved with work, and, in some cases, moves toward retirement.

• Super noted that people can “recycle” through the stages at any point in one’s life if a career change is needed.

• Super’s developmental approach has added an important dimension to understanding the career development process by making us aware of the universal developmental tasks people face throughout their lifetimes.

Social Cognitive Career Theory

• Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) has become one of the more popular theories of career development.

• Social cognitive career theory is anchored in self-efficacy theory.

• Social cognitive career theory states that the types of choices we make are based on our current beliefs about whether we can perform certain behaviors. It also suggests that self-efficacy is related to our family experiences, sociological influences, abilities and aptitudes, interests, our sense of our personality style, and the goals we have in life.

• Social cognitive career theory suggests that individuals are affected by objective factors and perceived environmental factors.

John Holland’s Personality Theory of Occupational Choice

• Personality theory of occupational choice was introduced by John Holland.

• Personality theory of occupational choice entertains that genetic predispositions and environmental influences lead people to develop a preferred method of living in the world, which some might call their personality.

• Holland suggested that if individuals could identify their unique personality styles, they could find the job that best fits their personality and ultimately find satisfaction in their careers.

• John Holland identified six personality types, each of which represents a way that a person relates to the world, and assigned each type a name that reflected its general personality style, those being:

  • Realistic

  • Investigative

  • Artistic

  • Social

  • Enterprising

  • Conventional

• Holland’s six personality and work types.

  • Realistic

    • Realistic persons like to work with equipment, machines, or tools, often prefer to work outdoors, and are good at manipulating concrete physical objects.

    • These individuals prefer to avoid social situations, artistic endeavors, or intellectual tasks.

    • Some settings in which you might find realistic individuals include filling stations, farms, machine shops, construction sites, and power plants.

  • Investigative

    • Investigative persons like to think abstractly, solve problems, and investigate.

    • These individuals feel comfortable pursuing knowledge and manipulating ideas and symbols.

    • Investigative individuals prefer to avoid social situations and see themselves as introverted.

    • Some settings in which you might find investigative individuals include research laboratories, hospitals, universities, and government-sponsored research agencies.

  • Artistic

    • Artistic individuals like to express themselves creatively, usually through artistic forms such as drama, art, music, and writing.

    • They prefer unstructured activities in which they can use their imagination and creative side.

    • Some settings in which you might find artistic individuals include theaters, concert halls, libraries, art or music studios, dance studios, orchestras, photography studios, newspapers, and restaurants.

  • Social

    • Social people are nurturers, helpers, and caregivers and have great concern for others.

    • They are introspective and insightful and prefer work environments in which they can use their intuitive and caregiving skills.

    • Some settings in which you might find social people are government social service agencies, counseling offices, churches, schools, mental hospitals, recreation centers, personnel offices, and hospitals.

  • Enterprising

    • Enterprising individuals are self-confident, adventurous, bold, and sociable.

    • They have good persuasive skills and prefer positions of leadership.

    • They tend to dominate conversations and enjoy work environments in which they can satisfy their need for recognition, power, and expression.

    • Some settings in which you might find enterprising individuals include life insurance agencies, advertising agencies, political offices, real estate offices, new and used car lots, sales offices, and management positions.

  • Conventional

    • Individuals of the conventional orientation are stable, controlled, conservative, and sociable.

    • They prefer working on concrete tasks and like to follow instructions.

    • They value the business world and clerical tasks and tend to be good at computational skills.

    • Some settings in which you might find conventional people include banks, business offices, accounting firms, and medical records offices.

• Holland conducted research that supported the notion that his six personality types could be viewed on a hexagon, with adjacent types sharing more common elements than nonadjacent ones.'

• Holland went on to suggest that although some people may almost exclusively be one type (e.g., “realistic type”), it is more usual for an individual to have two or more types that dominate.

• By listing an individual’s top three types in order of preference, we can determine one’s occupational code, known as a Holland code.

Choosing a Career: A Self-Analysis

• The following items, which are based on career development theories, include a number of factors that affect the career decision-making process. Awareness of them can help us and our clients make intelligent choices about our future career paths.

• Assess your developmental level

  • Where in the career process are you? Whereas some individuals may just want any job, others may want any job in a chosen profession, and still, others may be looking to “settle into” a career path and focus on a specific type of job in that profession.

• Take an interest inventory

  • Many types of interest inventories are readily available, some of which determine the test taker’s Holland code.

• Explore your Holland code

  • After obtaining your Holland code (step 2), go to O*NET Online and find jobs that match your code.

• Examine your early childhood

  • Reflect upon and assess how early childhood issues affected your propensity toward certain careers. Include such things as your placement in your family, , the values of your family, the belief system of your family, the influence exerted by others, and so forth.

• Examine your parents’ career development and influence.

  • Assess how your parents’ career development affected your aspirations. For instance, if your parents were “career military” and had aspirations for you to do the same, are you comfortable with the idea of following a different path and possibly disappointing them?

• Assess socioeconomic issues

  • Reflect on how salary expectations will affect your status in the professions you are considering. Will you make “enough” to feel satisfied? Will you make enough to support your family, should you have one? Are enough jobs available in that profession for you to have a reasonable expectation that you can get one?

• Assess emotional intelligence and personal issues

  • Assess how your ability to manage your emotions might impact your job performance and how issues in your life could interfere with your work performance.

• Examine situational issues

  • Assess situational issues that could impact career decision-making.

• Examine your self-efficacy

  • Do you believe you can do an excellent job in the field(s) you have chosen? If not, can you change your beliefs, or are you destined to be run by them?

• Make some tentative choices

  • After you have completed steps 1–9, you should have a reasonably small yet good list of potential jobs and a possible career path.

Finding a Job

Gathering Information

• There are a few things that you might want to consider prior to making an application for a specific job:

  • The minimum credentials needed for the job

  • The specific requirements necessary to fulfill the job

  • The philosophical orientation of the setting

  • The number and type of clients one is expected to see

  • Other job roles and functions

  • Salary

  • Diversity of co-workers

  • Possibilities for job advancement

The Application Process

• The following represent some items one should address when completing applications for graduate programs or at agencies.

  • Fill out all necessary forms, and meet all application deadlines.

  • Make sure you address each item asked of you in the graduate application or in the job advertisement.

  • Do not submit cookie-cutter applications to different jobs or different graduate schools. Make sure that your application “speaks to” the school or job to which you are applying.

  • Take and be prepared for any necessary tests (e.g., GRE for graduate schools, personality tests for some jobs).

  • Write a great essay or statement of philosophy.

  • Find out if an interview is required, and prepare for it.

  • Find out about faculty members’ research or be knowledgeable about your employer’s background, and find an opportunity to ask questions about what they have accomplished.

  • Provide a well-written résumé.

  • Consider submitting a portfolio.

  • Use spell check, and check your grammar.

  • Be positive, focused, and prepared.

  • Don’t be negative or cynical.

The Résumé

• Good résumés present a well-rounded picture of who you are, so it is usually a good idea to submit one even if it is not asked for; Some general guidelines when developing your résumé include the following:

  • Make it readable, attractive, grammatically correct, and to the point.

  • Do not use gender-biased words or phrases.

  • Do not be overly concerned about length.

  • Do not make the résumé too wordy or too chaotic.

  • Tailor your résumé to the requirements of the program or job being pursued.

  • Do not add details that could eliminate you from the selection process.

  • Do not sell yourself short.

  • Brag about yourself, but don’t sound narcissistic.

The Portfolio

• Submission of a portfolio may increase your chances of obtaining a job (or being admitted to graduate program).

• Portfolios include materials that demonstrate the ability of the student/professional and may include such items as a résumé, transcripts, or videos of the applicant’s work with clients (clients’ identities are hidden), supervisor’s assessment of the applicant’s work, a paper that highlights the applicant’s view of human nature, examples of how to build a multicultural work environment, and more.

Professional Associations and Networking

• If you want to get a head start on obtaining a job or getting into graduate school, you should join your local, state, and/or national professional associations.

  • Involvement shows your potential employer or graduates school admission committee that you are committed to the field.

• Workshops and conferences are great places to start networking.

Informational Interviews

• informational interviews will allow you to get a closer look at exactly what people do and will help you make a decision about whether you really want to pursue a particular job or apply to a particular graduate program.

Responding to Ads in Professional Publications

• A number of professional publications list jobs locally, statewide, and nationally.

• An active local or statewide human services association may have a job bank and list jobs in its newsletter.

Interviewing at National Conferences

• Some of the larger national conferences will offer a process whereby individuals who are looking for jobs can interview with a prospective employer at the conference.

College and University Job Placement Services

• Job placement services and career management centers at colleges and universities will often maintain a listing of local community agencies that can be helpful when conducting a job search.

Applying to Graduate School

Gathering Information

• The following are some points to consider when applying to graduate programs:

  • Identify which type of program you want to attend (e.g., human services, counseling, social work, psychology).

  • Find out whether the program is accredited.

  • Determine the reputation of the program.

  • Consider whether the program is online or traditional. Consider the benefits and drawbacks of each approach.

  • Consider the kinds of specialties and degrees offered.

  • Identify the philosophical orientation of the program.

  • Find out the entry requirements.

  • Find out the size of the program and university.

  • Ask about faculty-student ratios.

  • Ask about the diversity of the student body and of the faculty.

  • Find out about the cost of the program and the number of scholarships available.

  • Consider the location.

  • Consider how long it will take to complete the program.

  • Find out about job placement possibilities.

Ethical, Professional, and Legal Issues

Being Chosen and Being Denied for a Job or a Graduate Program

• If you are denied admission or not offered the desired job, ask for feedback about your application and/or the interview process.

  • Once you know what was amiss, you can make appropriate changes that will increase your chances of gaining entry into your chosen graduate program or job.

Optimizing Your Clients’ Career Process

• Bottom line is that we need to optimize career choices for people of any age.

• As human service professionals, we should focus on increasing our clients’ sense of self-esteem, not knocking it down.

Know Your Laws

• A number of laws assert the right of individuals to obtain vocational education and career counseling or protect the rights of a person on the job; Following are some short descriptions of a few of those laws:

  • Carl Perkins Career and Technical Education Act

    • Initially passed in 1984 and updated since that time, this act seeks to support academic, career, and technical skills of secondary and postsecondary students who are enrolled in career and technical education, formerly called vocational education.

  • Americans with Disabilities Act

    • This law, passed in 1992, ensures that qualified individuals with disabilities cannot be discriminated against in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, fringe benefits, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges.

  • PL94-142 (Education of All Handicapped Children Act)

    • Concerning career guidance, this law, along with the Carl Perkins Act, requires that students in occupational education programs must be given a vocational assessment to assist them in their career development.

  • Rehabilitation Act of 1973

    • The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ensures access to vocational rehabilitation services for adults if they are severely physically or mentally disabled, if they have a disability that interferes with their ability to obtain or maintain a job, and if the assessment has shown that employment with their disability is feasible.

  • School-to-Work Opportunities Act

    • Passed in 1994 by Congress, this act provides incentives to help schools and community colleges develop programs that integrate academic learning with on-the-job experiences.

  • Title VII and Title IX

    • Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination against women and minorities in all aspects of employment. In addition, Title VII and subsequent amendments set standards for the use of tests to ensure that they do not discriminate against culturally diverse populations.