Module 2 - Career Theories

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CAREER THEORIES
Outline:
Theory types
I. Trait and type theories or Theories concerned with the Counseling Process
1. Trait and Factor Theories – Parsons, Williamson
2. Values-based Career Development - Brown
II. Developmental Theories
1. Life Span Theory – Super
2. Psychosocial Development – Erikson
3. Developmental Task Theory – Havighurst
4. Developmental Theory - Ginzberg, Ginsburg, Axelrad, and Herma
5. Self-Development Theory (Individualistic Approach) - Tiedeman
6. Developmental Theory of Occupational Aspirations – Gottfredson
7. Adult Career Development Theory – Schlossberg
III. Theories of Content
1. Self – Directed Search – Holland
2. Chance Encounter Theory – Bandura
3. Social Cognitive Career Theory – Lent, Brown , and Hackett
4. Learning Theory of Career Counseling – Krumboltz and Nichols
5. Occupational Choice Theory – Roe
6. Composite Theory – Hoppock
7. Theory of Work Adjustment (Person Environment Correspondence Theory) – Dawis
and Lofquist
8. Contextual Career Development – Young , Valach, and Collin
9. Constructivist Theory – Savickas and Peavy
10. Generational Template Theory – Abrenica
* Based on Career Development and Systems Theory by Patton & McMahon (2006)
I. THEORIES CONCERNED WITH THE COUNSELING PROCESS
 Theories that explain “the how of career” (how people choose careers)
 Also considered as the Trait and Factor theory, which involves matching traits with the
requirements of a specific occupation
 Use of assessment instruments is a major resource in this theoretical perspective
1. TRAIT AND FACTOR THEORY – Frank Parsons
 Established by Frank Parsons in 1909

 Introduced under the Career Development movement
 Trait as an operational characteristic of individuals and Factor is described as a
characteristic necessary for successful job performance (Parsons, 1909)
 A key characteristic of trait-and-factor theory is the assumption that individuals have unique
patterns of ability (i.e., traits) that can be objectively measured and correlated with the
requirements of various types of occupations (Zunker, 1990). It is when individuals are in
jobs best suited to their abilities that they perform best and productivity is highest.
 Proposed that there are 5 basic traits:

SMU RGC Review: CAREER GUIDANCE Page 1
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o Aptitude
o Achievement
o Interests
o Values
o Personality
 Proposed 3 key elements of career selection:

1. A clear understanding of yourself, aptitudes, abilities, interests, resources, limitations,
and other qualities
2. Knowledge of requirements, and conditions of success, advantages and disadvantages,
opportunities, and prospects in different lines of work
3. “True reasoning” on the relations of these two groups of facts (Parsons, 1909)
 10 career counseling principles that counselors should remember:

1. It is better to choose a vocation than merely to hunt a job
2. No one should choose a vocational without careful self-analysis, thorough, honest, and
under guidance
3. The youth should have a large survey of the field of vocations and not simply drop into
the convenient or accidental position
4. Expert advice (from persons having studied vocations) must be better and safer for a
young person than the absence of it
5. Process the information on paper
6. No person should decide for another what occupation he should choose
7. In the choice of vocations, consider (1) understanding of self, (2) knowledge of the
requirements of the work, and (3) true reasoning on the relations among these two
8. Counselor should be frank and honest
9. Special effort is made to develop analytic power
10. One who would be a vocational counselor should familiarize himself with a high degree
of industrial knowledge
 Seven stages for a career counselor to work through with clients:
1. Personal data: create a statement of key facts about the person, remembering to
include every fact that has bearing on the vocational problem.
2. Self-analysis: a self-examination is done in private and under the instruction of the
counsellor. Every tendency and interest that might impact on the choice of a life work
should be recorded.
3. The client’s own choice and decision: this may show itself in the first two stages.
The counsellor must bear in mind that the choice of vocation should be made by the
client, with the counsellor acting as guide.
4. Counsellor’s analysis: the counsellor tests the client’s decision to see if it is in line
with the “main quest”.
5. Outlook on the vocational field: the counsellor should be familiar with industrial
knowledge such as lists and classifications of industries and vocations, in addition to
locations of training and apprenticeships.
6. Induction and advice: a broad-minded attitude coupled with logical and clear
reasoning are critical at this stage.
7. General helpfulness: the counsellor helps the client to fit into the chosen work, and
to reflect on the decision.
Sources:
National Guidance Research Forum, ‘Guidance Practice – Matching Theories
(Trait/Factor)’, accessed December 2008, (www.guidance-research.org).

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Parsons, F, ‘Choosing a Vocation’, accessed December 2008,

(www.leonardoevangelista.it).
TRAIT AND FACTOR THEORY – EDMUND GRIFFIN WILLIAMSON (1939, 1949)
 Williamson was a prominent advocate of trait-and-factor counseling. He developed what is

considered to be the first comprehensive theory of counseling (as distinguished from
Freud's theory of psychoanalysis).
 Known as trait and factor theory, Williamson's approach initially grew out of the ideas of
Frank Parsons. He expanded Parson’s theory by using assessment instruments to measure
people’s traits as well as the traits required in certain occupations. The theory views career
development as static rather than developmental; it does not recognize that interests, values,
abilities and personalities change.
 Although originally vocationally oriented, the approach was modified and soon was seen as a
generic approach to counseling and psychotherapy.
 The trait and factor approach involved a series of six steps, which included:
1. Analysis. Gather client information (examining the problem and obtaining available
records and testing on the client)
2. Synthesis. Organize data to gain understanding of client (summarizing and
organizing the information to understand the problem).
3. Diagnosis. Counselor’s statement of client problem (interpreting the problem
depending on:
1. no choice,
2. uncertain choice
3. unwise choice
4. a discrepancy between interests and aptitudes
4. Prognosis. Predict future development of problem
5. Counseling. Counselee is helped to develop insight (aiding the individual in finding
solutions
6. Follow-up. Counselor assist counselee with recurring problems (assuring proper
support after counseling had ended)
* Adapted from: http://ww2.odu.edu/~eneukrug/therapists/williamson.html
 Williamson’s (1939) six-stage model of counseling is very practical in school counseling. The
stages offer a rational approach to counseling outcomes and individual decision making.
 In addition, this model allows for multiple assessments and multiple sources of information.
Multiple sources of information are vital to the appropriate counseling of ethnic and cultural
minority youths. Trait-and-factor theory has been responsible for at least two major
contributions to career counseling (Isaacson & Brown, 1993).
o First, its emphasis on identifying individual characteristics such as attitude, ability,
interest, and personality has influenced the development of numerous assessment
and appraisal instruments and techniques.
o Second, the emphasis on knowledge and understanding occupational possibilities
has encouraged the development of occupational information.

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2. VALUES BASED CAREER DEVELOPMENT – Duane Brown
 Brown's values-based career theory emphasizes the central importance of values in career
counseling and occupational choice.
 Definition: Values are defined as cognitive structures that are the basis for self-evaluation
and one's evaluation of others. The values system contains all the values held by individuals,
including their cultural values and work values.
 Values also have an affective dimension, are the primary basis of goal-directed behavior, and
are the stimulus for the development of behavior related to goal attainment. Values have
been portrayed as more fundamental traits than interests, and it has been suggested that
concerns for values should be the primary consideration in career counseling, without
precluding the use of other constructs. (Encyclopedia of Counseling, 2008)
 Brown’s model is based on his own set of seven assumptions. He believed that values with
high priority are the most important factor in decision making, providing that an individual
has more than one choice that will satisfy their values (Brown & Crace, 1996). Culture, sex,
and socioeconomic status influence opportunities and social interaction, resulting in a wide
variation of values in subgroups of society.
 Propositions of Values-Based Model (Brown)
1. Making choices that coincide with values is essential to satisfaction.
2. Life satisfaction is the result of role interaction.
3. High-functioning people have well- developed and prioritized values.
4. If the value system matches between worker and occupation, then the worker attains
congruence (happiness)
 Eight Steps in Values Based Multicultural Career Counseling
1. Assess cultural variables
2. Communication style and establishing relationships
3. Facilitation and decision making process
4. Identification of career issues (assessment)
5. Selection of culturally appropriate goals and culturally appropriate interventions
(Steps 5 and 6)
6. Implementation and evaluation of interventions used
7. Advocacy
 This approach classifies clients into two categories:
1. those making planned decisions
2. those making unplanned decision
 For all clients, counselors must assess whether:

 there are important intrapersonal value conflicts.
 mood problems exist.
 values have been crystallized and prioritized.
 client can use values-based information.
 client understands how career choices affect other life roles.
II. THEORIES CONCERNED WITH THE DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESS
 Depicts career as a series of stages that individuals undergo or pass

 Share the assumption that factors related to career choice are also related to stages of
personal and psychological development.

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1. DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY - GINZBERG, GINSBURG, AXELRAD, AND HERMA (1951)
 First to take on a holistic approach to career planning (“What did you want to be when you
grow up?”). Examined the “occupational stories” of people from many age groups, and
determined that occupational choice is not a one-time decision, but a developmental process
occurring over several stages and sub stages.
 In its original formulation, Ginzberg and his colleagues’ theory viewed vocational choice as a
process that passes through some developmental stages in an individual’s life. They stated
that this process of career decision making is usually irreversible, once crystallized. The
resolution of the career choice process is a compromise, according to the theorists.
 Basic propositions:
(1) occupational choice is a long-term process
(2) the process becomes increasingly irreversible
(3) the eventual choice represents a compromise between what the individual would ideally
prefer and the available realistic possibilities, and
(4) occupational choice and eventual entry is a process consisting of a series of stages that
the individual will go through.
 Stages of Career Development

1. Fantasy (0 – 11) – The stage in which Ginzberg, et. al., observed that young children,
up to about age eleven, live in a fantasy stage,where they believe they can do just
about anything. They frequently say, “I’m gonna be a_______” without considering skill
sets, education and training requirements, or the economy. For them, anything is
possible.
2. Tentative (11 – 18) – Between the ages of twelve and eighteen, young people are in
the tentative stage, where they begin to say, “I like this” (interests), “I’m good at
this,”(capacity), “This is important to me,” (values), and “I think I might want to move
in this direction,”(tentative choices).
 Interest (11 – 12) – the time the individual begins to recognize the
need to identify a career direction. Here, the individual’s choice is based purely
on his interests. But even though interests form the primary basis of choice
here, there is also a rather subtle awareness of the fact that ability is also
necessary
 Capacity (12 – 14) - the individual begins to be aware of the importance of

introducing realistic elements into his vocational choice. So he begins to
consider his own abilities and capabilities in the vocational choice process.
However, because knowledge of capacities for most adolescents is incomplete,
career choices made at this sub-stage are still tentative.
 Values (14 – 17) - the stage when individuals undergo marked changes in
their approach to vocational choice. The individual at this stage considers the
value of his service to society before making a choice. He does not choose a
vocation just because everybody else is choosing it or merely because of its
status. For example, an individual may choose to be a teacher (a less paying
job) and not a bank manager because in teaching he will impart knowledge to
society.

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 Transition (17 – 18) - . The individual at this stage begins to face the necessity
to make immediate, concrete and realistic decisions about his vocational
future and to assume responsibility for the consequences of the choices. The
principal feature of this sub-stage is the integration of interests, capabilities
and values and their utilization in the career decision making process.
3. Realistic (18 – 22 (24) – Ginzberg and associates called the third stage the realistic
stage, where adults begin to zero in and say, “I want to know more about this
(exploration) and “The picture is getting clearer. I seem to be gravitating to this area.”
(crystallization).
 Exploration - The individual at this stage tries to acquire experience and

select a path to follow from among two or more strongly held alternative
vocational interests (Oladele, 1987). Here, the individual investigates
occupational opportunities virtually the last time and options are sorted out.
 Crystallization - the time when the vocational patterns of the individual

become clearer to him. So he actually makes a vocational choice, having in
mind a clear idea of occupational tasks he wishes to engage in and those he
wishes to avoid.
 Specification - This stage represents the final point of career development,

according to Ginzberg and associates. At this stage, the individual focuses on a
particular occupation. He is ready to accommodate himself or compromise
with reality. Here, choices are delimited and the individual becomes more
specific in career choice. Alternatives are reviewed with respect to a field of
specialization and to particular objectives.
 Career is influenced by the following:
1. The Reality Factor - Social reality that may impede a successful career (marital
troubles, poor job market, job shifts, late completion of PhD)
2. The Educational Factor - Educational background that could restrict or enhance
one’s work opportunities
3. The Emotional Factor - Work satisfaction caused by the interaction between
individual and work environment
4. Individual Values
* Source: Sedofia, J. (2014) Developmental Approaches: Ginzberg’s Theory of Career Choice and
Development. International Journal of Innovative Education Research 2 (1):20-25.
2. LIFE SPAN THEORY – DONALD SUPER
 Key propositions:
 Self – Concept changes over time.
 Career development is lifelong.
 Self-knowledge is key to career choice and job satisfaction.
 Career Maturity occurs once the individual is ready to cope with developmental tasks
Source: http://www2.careers.govt.nz/educators-practitioners/career-practice/career-
theory-models/supers-theory

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 Super's life rainbow (shown above) can be used to help clients understand evolving
interaction among the life roles of child, student, leisurite, citizen, worker, spouse,
homemaker, parent, or pensioner. These concepts are especially relevant as adults attempt
to maintain balance in life roles as various work and life changes occur.
 Important terms:
 Role salience – the relative importance one places on a particular role
 Role conflicts, role interference, and role confusions would likely happen when
individuals are constrained in their ability to cope with the demands associated with
their multiple roles.
 Maxi-cycle – a cycle through the stages of growth, exploration, establishment,

maintenance and decline.
 Mini-cycle – Cycle between cycle transitions; consists of the same stages from growth
to disengagement and would likely take place within each of the stages, particularly
when a person makes transition from one stage to the next. In addition, individuals
would go through a mini-cycle of the stages whenever they have to make expected
and unexpected career transitions such as loss of employment or due to personal or
socioeconomic circumstances
 Career maturity - denotes the degree that a person was able to fulfill the vocational
developmental tasks required in each developmental stage.
 Stated that the implementation of self-concept is a key factor that influences career
development over the life span. In making a career choice, a person is expressing his/her
self-concept. Hence, people attain career satisfaction by being in work roles where they can
express themselves and implement their self-concept. Self-knowledge is key to career choice
and job satisfaction.

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 Individuals cycle and recycle through the developmental stages of growth, exploration,
establishment, maintenance, and decline. If the person was able to attain the
characteristic task in each stage, then the person is likely to experience career maturity.
Stage Age Characteristics

Development of self-concept, attitudes, needs and general world of
Growth birth-14
work
"Trying out" through classes, work hobbies. Tentative choice and
Exploration 15-24
skill development
Establishment 25-44 Entry-level skill building and stabilization through work experience
Maintenance 45-64 Continual adjustment process to improve position
Decline 65+ Reduced output, prepare for retirement
 People in varying stages of development may undergo mini-cycles where they enter the life
stages and encounter its accompanying challenges or tasks. Unlike the original theory which
stated that career development starts at birth, the table below highlights that career
development begin in adolescence.
Adolescence Early adulthood 25- Middle adulthood Late adulthood

Life stage
14-25 45 45-65 65+
Developing a Developing and
Learning to relate to Accepting one's own
Growth realistic self- valuing non-
others limitations
concept occupational roles
Learning more
Finding desired Identifying new tasks Finding a good
Exploration about
opportunity to work on retirement place
opportunities
Getting started in a Settling down in a Doing things one
Establishment Developing new skills
chosen field suitable position has wanted to do
Verifying current
Making occupational Holding one's own Keeping what one
Maintenance occupational
position secure against competition enjoys
choice
Giving less time to Reducing sports Focusing on Reducing working
Decline
hobbies participation essentials hours

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 Visualization of how individuals go through the maxicyle and mini-cycles.
 Super was instrumental in developing the international collaborative research work called
Work Importance Study (WIS) aiming to study work role salience and work values across
different cultures. The WIS involved multiple nations in North America, Europe, Africa,
Australia and Asia, and resulted in measures of work roles and work values with similar
structure and constructs.
3. PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT – ERIK ERIKSON
 One's personality, in terms of attitudes towards self and others, is determined by the
degree to which a crisis in each of Erikson's eight stages of development is successfully
mediated.
 Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development
Dev’tal Stage Crisis Career Concern
Infant Trust vs Mistrust Needs maximum comfort with minimal uncertainty to

trust himself/herself, others, and the environment
Toddler Autonomy vs Shame Works to master physical environment while

and Doubt maintaining self-esteem
Preschooler Initiative vs Guilt Begins to initiate, not imitate, activities; develops

conscience and sexual identity
School-Age Industry vs Tries to develop a sense of self-worth by refining skills
Child Inferiority

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Adolescent Identity vs Role Tries integrating many roles (child, sibling, student,
Confusion athlete, worker) into a self-image under role model and
peer pressure. Central to the definition of occupational
identity.
Young Adult Intimacy vs Isolation Learns to make personal commitment to another as
spouse, parent or partner
Middle-Age Generativity vs Seeks satisfaction through productivity in career, family,

Adult Stagnation and civic interests.
Older Adult Integrity vs Despair Reviews life accomplishments, deals with lossand
preparation for death
 The degree of successful resolution of the crisis in one stage affects the ability to resolve
the crisis in the next stage resolution of a crisis is never complete, and issues related to
its resolution may surface any time during the life course.
 For Erikson, most crucial stage of development is number 5, during which the crisis is
that of Identity vs. Identity Confusion. This is the transition from childhood to adulthood.
How an individual resolved the crises in the first four stages affects how the crises in this
and subsequent stages will be resolved
 Applying Erikson's theory to career counseling: His theory has influenced more
career theorists than any other. In terms of all the psychodynamic theories, this one is
the one most frequently applied to career development and adjustment in counseling.
The counselor should keep the eight stages in mind and listen to the client's narrative for
signs of unsuccessful resolution of particular stages, especially the fifth stage. The client
and counselor should work on achieving resolution where it is indicated.
4. DEVELOPMENTAL TASK THEORY – ROBERT HAVIGHURST
 A life – long process consisting of a six – stage process. Certain tasks need to be mastered
at certain times of ages in order to mature successfully.
 A developmental task is that "which arises at or about a certain period in the life of the
individual, successful achievement of which leads to his happiness and to success with
later tasks, while failure leads to unhappiness in the individual, disapproval by the
society, and difficulty with later tasks" (Havighurst 1953, p. 2)
 There are other tasks, however, that arise from the unique cultural standards of a given
society and as such, may be observed in different forms in varying societies or,
alternatively, may be observed is some cultures but not in others. One such task would be
preparing oneself for an occupation. An individual who belongs to an agricultural
community, for instance, might make the preparations for an occupation such as
becoming a farmer at an early age, possibly in middle childhood or in adolescence. A
member of an industrialized society, on the other hand, requires longer and more
specialized preparation for an occupation, thus, embarking on this developmental task
sometime during early adulthood. Other culturally-based tasks include achieving gender-
appropriate roles and becoming a responsible citizen.

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 Partial List of Havighurst’s developmental tasks
1. Infancy and Early Childhood – birth to 5 years

 Learning to walk
 Learning to control bodily wastes
 Learning to talk
 Learning to form relationships with family members
2. Middle Childhood – 6 – 12 years

 Learning physical skills for playing games
 Developing school-related skills such as reading , writing, and counting
 Developing conscience and values
 Attaining independence
3. Adolescence – 13 – 17 years
 Establishing emotional independence from parents
 Equipping self with skills needed for productive occupation
 Achieving gender-based social role
 Establishing mature relationships with peers of both sexes
4. Early Adulthood – 18 – 35 years

 Choosing a partner
 Establishing a family
 Managing a home
 Establishing a career
5. Middle Age – 36 – 60 years

 Maintaining economic standard of living
 Performing civic and social responsibilities
 Relating to spouse as a person
 Adjusting to physiological changes
6. Later Maturity – over 60 years

 Adjusting to deteriorating health and physical strength and retirement
 Meeting social and civil obligations
 Adjusting to death or loss of spouse
 Stages of Vocational development
1. Identification with a Worker (5-10) – The concept of working becomes an essential
part of the ego-ideal.
2. Acquiring the basic habit of industry (10-15) – Learning to put work ahead of play
in appropriate situations.
3. Acquiring identity as a worker in the occupational structure – Choosing and
preparing for an occupation. Getting work experience as a basis for occupational
choice and for assurance of economic independence.
4. Becoming a productive person – Mastering the skills of one’s occupation. Moving
up the corporate ladder with one’s occupation.
5. Maintaining a productive society – Civic responsibilities attached to one’s job are
given priority. Paying attention to inducting younger people into stages 3 and 4.
6. Contemplating a productive and responsible life – The person is retired from
work or is in the process of withdrawing from the worker’s role.
5. SELF-DEVELOPMENT THEORY (INDIVIDUALISTIC APPROACH) - TIEDEMAN

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 Tiedeman's approach to career development and decision making is the assumption

that one is responsible for one's own behavior because one has the capacity for choice
and lives in a world which is not deterministic.
 In Tiedeman's theory, an instrumental cause behind one's behavior is the experience or

anticipation of discontinuity and discomfort which precipitates purposeful action and
decision making. Effective resolution of life's discontinuities leads to increased control
over one's behavior, or a "sense of agency", and the eventual expression of one's
identity through a personally-determined career.
 In the process of making a decision, an individual progresses through seven sequential

stages: (1) exploration, (2) crystallization, (3) choice, (4) clarification, (5) induction, (6)
reformation, and (7) integration.
 Decision-making styles may be: planning, intuitive, impulsive, agonizing, delaying,

paralytic, fatalistic, and compliant. Planning is viewed as the most effective style with
intuitive sometimes being effective. Another classification, reflecting various degrees of
personal responsibility and individual utilization of rational planning strategies, is: (1)
planning, (2) intuitive, and (3) dependent.
 Career is a process, not an outcome.

 The goal of career development is not to enter a job but to make out the meaning of life =
existential approach
 Increased self – awareness is key in the decision – making process.
 Four Aspects of Anticipation / Preoccupation:
1. Exploration
2. Crystallization – selecting options
3. Choice
4. Clarification – making further decisions
 Three Aspects of Implementation / Adjustment:
1. Induction – get into the system
2. Reformation – what you can do to the system, vis-a-vis
3. Integration – adding a part of one’s self into the system
 Tiedeman also introduced 8 types different types of decision making , but Harren (1976)
categorized into 3:
1. Planning – Recognizes responsibility and anticipates consequences. Actions are
deliberate and logical.
2. Intuitive – Relies heavily on emotional factors. “What feels right”. Reasons for
making the decision often cannot be verbalized.
3. Dependent – Relies heavily on other people’s ideas and actions. Least responsible.
Driven by other people’s expectations.
6. DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY OF OCCUPATIONAL ASPIRATIONS – LINDA GOTTFREDSON
 Core concepts:
 In contrast to the established notion that choice is a process of selection, Gottfredson
theorized that career choice and development could instead be viewed as a process of
elimination or circumscription in which a person progressively eliminates certain
occupational alternatives from further consideration.
 Self concept in vocational development is a key factor to career selection. People want
jobs that are compatible with their self-images
 Determinants of self – concept:

 Social Class
 Level of Intelligence

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 Experiences with Sex Typing

 Career choice follows a developmental trajectory, is self-expressive and is ultimately
determined through cultural socialization.
 Goal of counseling is Self – Insight

 According to her Circumscription and Compromise Theory, four developmental
processes guide the person – job match:
1. Cognitive Development – Children start from thinking intuitively in preschool,

then begin to have concrete thinking in elementary and eventually to abstract
thinking in adolescence. As they become older, they are able to understand and
analyze larger amounts of information, allowing them to make subtler distinctions
among people and occupations. By adolescence, they are able to have a cognitive
map of occupations
 Role of counselors: Enhance learning by simplifying information they
provide to counselee, since there are individual differences in the ability to
learn and comprehend
2. Self – Creation – Vocational interests are results of genetically-influenced

personality characteristics and abilities. The activities that would stimulate these
innate abilities as distinct vocational interests are not available for people. Some
adolescents lack sufficient experience and validation to know their vocational
interests and talents.
 Role of counselors: Optimize experience by providing a diverse array of
career development activities to young people to promote self-agency in
seeking out formative experiences.
3. Circumscription (you are in-charge of your options) –Vocational choice proceeds

as a process of elimination. Children become aware of occupational differences.
They rule out work sectors based on sex type, prestige and field of work basing on
how acceptable or unacceptable the occupation is to their self-image.
4. Compromise (you are limited by job opportunities) – Not all suitable job choices
are accessible, often people make compromises. The theory argues that people
will choose to work in a different field within their social space rather than
compromise either prestige or sex type of work. Accessibility is limited by the
labor market conditions, cost and effort of locating opportunities for education,
training and employment.
 Developmental model / Four Stages of Circumscription

1. Stage 1: Orientation to Size and Power (3 – 5) – The child perceives occupations as
roles taken up by big people (adults)
2. Stage 2: Orientation to Sex Roles (6 – 8) – Sex role norms and attitudes emerge as
defining aspect of a child’s self-concept. The child evaluates occupations according to
whether they are appropriate to one’s sex, and eliminates further consideration
alternatives that are perceived to be gender-inappropriate (i.e. wrong sex type).

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3. Stage 3: Orientation to Social Valuation (9 – 13) – As social class and status

become salient to a child’s developing self-concept, the emerging adolescent
eliminates further consideration of occupations that are too low (i.e. high prestige
occupations beyond one’s self-efficacy level) in prestige.
4. Stage 4: Orientation to Unique Internal Self (14 and Above) – Internal and private
aspects of the adolescent’s self-concept, such as personality, interests, skills, and
values, become prominent. The young adolescent considers occupations from the
remaining pool of acceptable occupations according to their suitability or degree of
match with one’s internal self .
* Challenge for counselor: prevent inappropriate circumscription, by promoting self-insight.
* Source: Leung, S. A. (2008). The Big Five Career Theories. International Handbook of Career
Guidance
7. ADULT CAREER DEVELOPMENT THEORY/TRANSITION THEORY – NANCY SCHLOSSBERG
 Career decisions based on the interplay of:
1. Social expectations
2. Functions of life stages to functioning age
3. Sex differences
4. Identity, intimacy and generativity
 Transition - any event or non-event that results in changed relationships, routines,

assumptions, and roles”
 3 types:
1. anticipated / event – something that happened which you expected, such as

getting married, getting a job
2. unanticipated – something that happened with you did not expect, like getting
pregnant while in college
3. nonevents – something you expected but did not happen, like getting a job
promotion
 Four factors that determine how will a client can cope with transition (4S):
1. The situation itself – the timing, the impact, and the amount of control one has in the
situation.
2. Self– personal, demographic & psychological resources
3. Strategies – Coping modes
4. Support – people, agencies, and financial capability
 Major groups of personal and career support for networking:

 Personal relationships - Family, friends, professionals
 Professional relationships - Colleagues, clients, consultants, customers
 Organizational Affiliations - Professional associations, volunteer organizations,
licensing bodies
 Opportunistic network examples - Random acquaintances

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III. THEORIES OF CONTENT
 Theories that explain WHY people choose specific careers

 Highlights the characteristics of the individual that influences his career choice and/or
development
1. SELF – DIRECTED SEARCH – HOLLAND

 Also called the Theory of Vocational Choice, Holland’s career typology or the Person-
Environment fit theory
 Grounded on the “modal personal orientation” or a developmental process = individuals
are attracted to a particular occupation that meets their personal needs and provides
them satisfaction
 Postulated that vocational interest is an expression of one’s personality, and that
vocational interests could be conceptualized into six typologies, which are:
 Hexagonal model (RIASEC) - Provides a visual presentation of the inner relationship of

personality styles and occupational environment coefficients of correlation
 The 6 environments:
1. The Realistic Environment

 Requires explicit, ordered, or systematic manipulation of objects, tools, machines,
or animals
 Encourages people to view themselves as having mechanical ability
 Rewards people for displaying conventional values and encourages them to see
the world in simple, tangible, and traditional terms
2. The Investigative Environment

 Requires the symbolic, systematic, and creative investigation of physical,
biological or cultural phenomena
 Encourages scientific competencies and achievements and seeing the world in
complex and unconventional ways
 Rewards people for displaying scientific values
3. The Artistic Environment

 Requires participation in ambiguous, free, and unsystematized activities to create
art forms or products
 Encourages people to view themselves as having artistic abilities and to see
themselves as expressive, nonconforming, independent, and intuitive
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 Rewards people for the display of artistic values
4. The Social Environment

 Requires participation in activities that inform, train, develop, cure, or enlighten
 Requires people to see themselves as liking to help others, as being understanding
of others, and of seeing the world in flexible ways
 Rewards people for the display of social values
5. The Enterprising Environment

 Requires participation in activities that involve the manipulation of others to
attain organizational and self-interest goals
 Requires people to view themselves as aggressive, popular, self-confident, and
sociable
 Encourages people to view the world in terms of power and status
 Rewards people for displaying enterprising goals and values
6. The Conventional Environment

 Requires participation in activities that involve the explicit, ordered, or systematic
manipulation of data
 Requires people to view themselves as conforming, orderly, non-artistic, and as
having clerical competencies
 Rewards people for viewing the world in stereotyped and conventional ways
 4 Assumptions
1. People search for environments that will let them exercise their skills and abilities,
express their attitudes and values, and take on agreeable problems and roles.
2. Behavior is determined by an interaction between personality and environment.
Known to be a “person-environment fit” (PE fit) theory
3. Proposed that persons can be categorized as one of the following: Realistic,
Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising or Conventional.
4. There are six career environments: realistic, investigative, artistic, social,
enterprising and conventional.
 Key Terms
 Consistency - degree of relatedness between types; the closer types are on the
hexagon, the greater the consistency. Types opposite each other are more dissimilar
in terms of personality.
 Congruence - the degree of fit between an individual’s personality type and current
or prospective work environment
o High congruence – vocational satisfaction, stability; low congruence –
dissatisfaction, instability
 Differentiation – refers to whether high interest and low interest types are clearly
distinguishable in a person’s interest profile.
o Differentiated profile- person has crystallized interests
 Vocational identity - possession of a clear and stable picture of one’s goals,

interests, and talent

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 Calculus - Theoretical relationship between types of occupational environments

lend themselves to empirical research techniques
 Applying Holland’s Theory: Relies on assessment instruments used to measure

congruence, differentiation, consistency, and vocational identity:
 Self-Directed Search
 Vocational Preference Inventory
 My Vocational Situation
 Position Classification Inventory
2. CHANCE ENCOUNTER THEORY – BANDURA
 People arrive at an occupation, more by chance rather than through deliberate planning.
 This chance is influenced by, among others: environment, social class, culture, and other
conditions one is born or raised in; opportunities for education; and observation of role
models.
 Self-efficacy beliefs are the most influential predictor of career choice.
 Self-efficacy – the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of
action required to produce given attainments
 Self-efficacy is derived from 4 sources:
1. Personal performance - accomplishments, previous successes or failures
2. Vicarious experience – watching others, modeling, mentoring
3. Verbal persuasion – verbal encouragement or discouragement
4. Physiological and emotional factors – perceptions of stress reactions in the body
 Bandura’s Triadic Reciprocal Model of Causality

1. Personal attributes (gender, race)
2. External environmental factors (culture, family geography)
3. Overt behavior (learned experiences)
 These 3 influence efficacy & outcome expectations
 Efficacy expectation – an estimate that one can successfully execute the behavior
required to produce the outcomes sought
 Outcome expectation – a person’s estimate that a given behavior will lead to
particular outcomes
* Efficacy & outcome expectations will shape people’s interests, goals, and actions.
3. SOCIAL COGNITIVE CAREER THEORY / SCCT (LENT, BROWN, AND HACKETT)
 Outgrowth of Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory

 Thinking processes and beliefs control and direct a person’s activities rather than focusing
on the behaviors themselves

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 4 building blocks of career choice:

1. Self-efficacy – Can I do this?
2. Outcome expectations – If I do this, what will happen?
3. Goals – How much do I want to do this?
4. Contextual factors (barriers) – How will the environment treat me if I try this?
 Continuous involvement and success leads to SELF – EFFICACY
 Through a process of intervening learning experiences that shape further one’s abilities,
one’s vocational interests, choices and performances are shaped and reshaped – SCCT is
dynamic.
 Major Tenets:
1. Some people eliminate possible occupations due to faulty self-efficacy beliefs and
outcome expectations.
2. The greater the perceived barriers to an occupation, the less likely is the person to
pursue that occupation.
3. Modifying faulty self-efficacy and outcome expectations can help people improve new
successful experiences and open their eyes to new career options
 Personal agency / human agency
 ‘a combination of human intention and action and results in making things happen’
 The ability of a client to take ownership of his or her own life-career choice
 Counseling strategies using SCCT:
1. Identify foreclosed occupational options.
2. Analyze barrier perceptions.
3. Modify self-efficacy beliefs
 Interventions derived from SCCT:
1. Expanding vocational interests
* Administer assessments (look for interest and aptitude match)
2. Develop plan to overcome barriers
3. Help clients develop new performance experiences to enhance self-efficacy
4. Build environmental support systems – to increase self-efficacy
4. LEARNING THEORY OF CAREER COUNSELING (LTCC) – KRUMBOLTZ AND NICHOLS
 Based on the theory of Social Learning

 Also called the Theory of Planned Happenstance
 Career decisions are largely determined by learning experiences
 Four main factors influence career choice:

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1. Genetic influences - sex, race, physical appearance, intelligence, abilities, and talents
2. Environmental conditions - cultural, social, political, and economic forces beyond

our control (availability of jobs, natural disasters)
3. Learning experiences (instrumental, or associative)
4. Task approach skills – skills/values the person have acquired (work habits,
problem-solving)
 Outcomes of the 4 factors:
1. Self-observation
2. Worldview generalizations
3. Learning theory of career counseling (Krumboltz & Nichols)
 Express preference for occupations and based upon our learned responses
 When positively reinforced (recognition, encouragement), more likely to express a
preference for it.
 When negatively or not reinforced (low grades, ridiculed, others unable to find work
in this area), less likely to pursue it
 Core part of the theory: unpredicatable social factors, chance events and environmental
factors influence client’s lives.
 Counselor role: help client approach these chance events positively. Clients must capitalize
on chance events and turn serendipity to opportunity.
 Must foster:
1. Curiosity to explore opportunities
2. Persistence to deal with obstacles
3. Flexibility to address circumstances
4. Optimism to maximize benefits from unplanned events
 Factors helpful in career management:

 Commitment to on-going learning/skills development
 Ongoing self-assessment
 Feedback from others
 Effective networking
 Financial planning to incorporate periods of unemployment
5. OCCUPATIONAL CHOICE THEORY – ANNE ROE
 Used Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs but gave emphasis on Esteem Needs.

 Major Tenets:
1. Occupation is potentially the most powerful source of individual satisfaction at all
levels of need.
2. Social and economic status depend more on the occupation of an individual than
upon anything else.
 Propositions
1. Early childhood experiences are at the root of career directions and satisfaction
2. Parenting styles provide emotional climate and affect the need hierarchy
 3 types of emotional climate

1. Emotional concentration on the child –overprotection OR overdemanding
2. Avoidance – rejection OR neglect
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3. Acceptance- causal OR loving
Emotional climate Parental behavior Career Orientation

Emotional concentration on the Overprotecting Towards people
child
Overdemanding Towards people
Acceptance of the child Loving Towards people
Causal Away from people

Avoidance of the child Rejecting Away from people
Neglecting Away from people
 Argued that there are two basic orientations, either toward or not toward persons. Both of
these are related to early childhood experiences and that they can be related in turn to
occupational choice.
 Occupations can be classified as either person-oriented or non-person oriented:
1. Person-oriented
1. Service
2. Business contact
3. Managerial
4. Arts/entertainment
2. Non-person oriented
1. Technology
2. Outdoors
3. Science
PERSON-CENTERED CAREERS
Career Tasks Job titles
1. Service Doing something for others Social worker, GC, helper
2. Business contact Persuading others for profit, sale of Account executives, insurance
commodities, real estate agent, real estate agents
3. Managerial Personalized person to person relations; Executive administrator
organization, efficient functioning
4. General culture Relates to the interest in human Educators, journalists,
activities, preservation and transmission linguists, humanities experts
of cultural heritage
5. Arts & Use of special skills in the creative arts & Movie stars, theater actors,
entertainment entertainment singers

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NON-PERSON CENTERED CAREERS
Career Tasks Job titles

1. Technology Deals with production, maintenance and Engineers, craft and
transportation of commodities & utilities machine operators,
technicians
2. Outdoor Focuses on the cultivation, preservation and Veterinarians, agriculturists
gathering of crops, forest products, animal
husbandry
3. Science Deals with the study and development of Physicists, pharmacologists

scientific theories, and application
 Roe’s Levels of Function for the Occupational Classifications:

1. Professional / Managerial 1: Independent
2. Professional / Managerial 2: Responsibility
3. Semi – Professional or Small Business
4. Skilled
5. Semi – Skilled
6. Unskilled
Occupational level Tasks/ Level of responsibility Education/training
1. Professional 1 Independent, varied responsibilities Higher educational level

(policy-making, top people)
2. Professional 2 Genuine autonomy ; medium level of Above bachelor’s degree, but
responsibility for self & others below doctoral level
3. Semi-professional Low level of responsibility for others High school or technical degree
& small business
4. Skilled Responsible for performance of task Special training or

assigned, with some amount of apprenticeship
autonomy/ initiative
5. Semi-skilled Same as skilled, but with less autonomy Some training or Experience,
and initiative lower than skilled
6. Unskilled Merely following simple instructions to No special training or
do repetitive action education needed
 Early childhood experiences play an important role in finding satisfaction in one’s chosen
field.
 Theory focused on the possible relationship between occupational behavior (not just
choice), and personality (Roe & Lunneborg, 1990)
6. COMPOSITE THEORY – ROBERT HOPPOCK

 Also sometimes called as the theory of occupational choice
 The function of a job is to satisfy personal needs.

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 Occupations are chosen in the belief that they would best meet the most dominant needs of
the individual.
 Once a person becomes aware of other jobs that could satisfy personal needs, then
occupational choices are subject to change.
 Job satisfaction depends upon the extent to which the job meets the needs that have been
identified. (Hoppock, 1967).
 Propositions:
1. Occupations are chosen to meet needs.

2. The occupation that we choose is the one that we believe will best meet the needs that
most concern us.
3. Needs may be intellectually perceived, or they may be only vaguely felt as attractions
which draw us in certain directions. In either case, they may influence choice.
4. Career development begins when we first become aware that an occupation can help to
meet our needs.
5. Career development progresses and occupational choice improves as we become better
able to anticipate how well a prospective occupation will meet our needs. Our capacity
thus to anticipate depends upon our knowledge of ourselves, our knowledge of
occupations, and our ability to think clearly.
6. Information about ourselves affects occupational choice by helping us to recognize what
we want and what we have to offer in exchange.
7. Information about occupations affects occupational choice by helping us to discover the
occupations that may meet our needs, what these occupations offer to us, and what they
will demand of us.
8. Job satisfaction depends upon the extent to which the job that we hold meets the needs
that we feel it should meet. The degree of satisfaction is determined by the ratio between
what we have and what we want.
9. Satisfaction can result from a job that meets our needs today, or from a job that promises
to meet them in the future, or from a job that we think will help us to get the job we want.
10. Occupational choice is always subject to change when we believe that a change will
better meet our needs.
7. THEORY OF WORK ADJUSTMENT (PERSON ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENCE THEORY) –

DAWIS AND LOFQUIST
 Highlights the relationship of the person (P) and his environment (E), which results to work
(W).
 Job stability and satisfaction are a function of the correspondence between the individual
and the work environment.
 Propositions:
1. Work = interaction between an individual and a work environment.

2. Work environment = requires certain tasks be performed; individual = brings skills to
perform the tasks.
3. In exchange, individual requires compensation for work performance and certain
preferred conditions, such as a safe and comfortable place to work.
4. The environment and the individual must continue to meet each other's requirements for
the interaction to be maintained = correspondence.
5. Work adjustment is the process of achieving and maintaining correspondence. Work
adjustment is indicated by the satisfaction of the individual with the work
environment, and by the satisfaction of the work environment with the individual--by
the individual's satisfactoriness.

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6. Satisfaction and satisfactoriness result in tenure (the principal indicator of work

adjustment).
7. Work personalities and work environments can be described in terms of structure and
style variables that are measured on the same dimensions.
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVITS THEORIES
 views career as a socially constructed process that reflects both individual actions and the
person's interactions with others
8. CONTEXTUAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT – YOUNG , VALACH, AND COLLIN
 Career is built by engaging in activities and then reflecting on the outcomes. Career may be
viewed as an interpretative construct built by a working person. Career is built by engaging
in activities and then reflecting on the outcomes.
 The term “decidedness” should replace “engagement” in work (despite uncertainty)
 Sometimes called action theory

 Focused on purposive intentionality, contextual or situational factors
 Personal meaning = how people find their career paths
 People around us and the environment we live in constantly affect our career choices.
 Contextualism is a method of describing events or actions in an individual’s life and
the way as to how counselors understand a client through his environmental
interactions.
 Actions refer to the whole context in which a particular behavior was undertaken.
They are manifest behavior, are internal processes, they have social meaning.
 The study of actions is the major focus of the contextual viewpoint.
 Clients and counselors should focus on ‘meaning-making’ through intentional processes in

the on-going construction of their lives. Self/identity are constructs built by the person
through continuous reflection and revision.
 How people believe they are influenced by the events that they engage in

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9. CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY – SAVICKAS AND PEAVY (2005)
 The goal is to address the 21st Century question of how individuals can navigate a lifetime of
career changes without losing their sense of self. It is differential, developmental and
dynamic.
 Dynamic point of view: Life Themes – career is constructed based on the
interpretative and interpersonal processes through which individuals find meaning
and direction in their vocational behaviors. The meanings people attach to their
memories, past experiences and future aspirations become life themes.
 Differential point of view: Vocational Personality – Highlights how vocational

personality represents the collective abilities, interests, needs and values of an
individual.
 Developmental point of view: Career Adaptation – The ultimate expression of

career construction is career adaptation, which is defined by the implementation of
the person’s self-concept in his job through life transitions.
 Characteristics of a Career adaptive (healthy individual):

 Concerned about vocational future
 Increasing interpersonal control about future
 Displays curiosity in exploring self through life transitions
 Displays confidence in pursuing one’s aspirations
 Career Style Inventory – assessment tool in career construction theory (assesses career
adaptability)
 Five types of behaviors linked to career adaptation:

o Orientation
o Exploration
o Establishment
o Management
o Disengagement
10. GENERATIONAL TEMPLATE THEORY – ALEXA ABRENICA (2007)
Key concepts:
 Socialization - the career or occupation of the parents or others are observed at
close range thus the child is able to develop a mental schema that are imprinted in the
mind.
 Availability of Successful Models – highlights the influence of successful models in

shaping occupational behavior.
Ex. If your dad is a doctor, then it is highly likely that you will also become a doctor.
 Positive Experiences – the presence of successful models coupled by positive

experiences with their activities enables people to do self-evaluation. This leads to
increased confidence in such abilities.
IV. EMERGING THEORIES AND BEYOND THEORIES
1. VERNON ZUNKER’S THEORY – HUMANISTIC APPROACH TO CAREER COUNSELING
 Zunker asserts that the recent trend in career counseling places greater emphasis on
a humanistic approach designed to expand one's awareness of life, bringing greater
meaning to all aspects of life-style.

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 "In essence, the more an individual is aware of his or her potential and experience,
the greater the likelihood of self-assertion and direction" (Zunker, 1994, p. 13).
 There is always the need for continued research. Current theories need refining and
"new theories must be developed that address the needs of specific populations, such
as females, the gifted and talented, people of color, ethnic minorities, ex-offenders
and persons with disabilities" (ICDM, 1991, p. 4-6).
2. RICHARD NELSON BOLLES’ PARADIGM – LIFE OR WORK PLANNING APPROACH TO

CAREER
 Career theories, by their very nature, explore in depth and tend to focus on narrow
issues. They play an important role in understanding human nature however, it is
equally important to view the whole picture as the sum of its parts.
 Aside from theory, some career programs (systems) are based on philosophy. Richard
Nelson Bolles' life/work planning is such a model. His holistic process evolved over
the last twenty-five years and is continuously expanding. It encompasses the "total
person", taking into consideration physical, intellectual, mental, emotional, and
spiritual needs.
 In What Color Is Your Parachute?, Bolles writes about the importance of knowing
your mission, that is, finding purpose in life. He addresses how various life roles fit
into the bigger life/work picture. He says that we need to challenge all assumptions,
paying careful attention on two levels: the human level and the spiritual level. He
speaks to the fulfillment of our psychological needs as well as the importance of
addressing spiritual issues. In essence, there is both the trait and factor approach and
developmental schema in his process.
3. COGNITIVE INFORMATION PROCESSING (CIP) THEORY
 Cognitive Information Processing is applied to career development in terms of how

individuals make a career decision and use information in career problem solving and
decision making.
 CIP is based on ten assumptions:
1. Career choice results from an interaction of cognitive and affective processes

2. Making career choices is a problem-solving activity
3. The capabilities of career problem solvers depend on the ability of cognitive operations as
well as knowledge.
4. Career problem solving is a high-memory-load task
5. Motivation
Cognitive Information Processing Perspective (chart p.44-45)
6. Career development involves continual growth and change in knowledge structures.
7. Career identity depends on self-knowledge.
8. Career maturity depends on one’s ability to solve career problems
9. The ultimate goal of career counseling is achieved by facilitating the growth of
information-processing skills.
10. The ultimate aim of career counseling is to enhance the client’s capabilities as a career
problem solver and a decision maker.

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 Using these assumptions, the major strategy of career intervention is to provide learning
events that will develop the individual’s processing abilities. Client’s develop capabilities as
career problem solvers to meet immediate as well as future problems.
 The stages of processing information begin with screening, translating, & encoding input
into short-term memory; then storing it in long-term memory; and later activating,
retrieving and transforming input into working memory to arrive at a solution. The
counselor’s principal function is to identify the client’s needs and develop interventions to
help clients acquire the knowledge and skills to address those needs.
 The major strategy of career intervention is to provide learning events that will develop the
individual’s processing abilities. In this way clients develop capabilities as career problem
solvers to meet immediate and future problems.
 Career problem solving is primarily a cognitive process that can be improved through a
sequential procedure known as CASVE:
 Communication (identifying a need)-receiving, encoding, and sending out queries
 Analysis (interrelating problem components)- identifying and placing problems in a
conceptual framework)
 Synthesis (creating likely alternatives) formulating courses of action
 Valuing (prioritizing alternatives) judging each action as to its likelihood of success
and failure and its impact on others
 Execution (forming means-ends strategies) implementing strategies to carry out
plans.
 This model emphasizes that career information counseling is a learning event. This model is
unique to other social learning theory & cognitive models because the role of cognition is a
mediating force that leads individuals to greater power and control in determining their own
destinies. The client is viewed as one who has a career problem or a gap exists between the
client’s current situation and a future career situation. Counselors are to seek out the
problems and factors involved in this gap.
 Once the problems are identified the counselor develops problem-solving interventions.
Problem solving and decision making are valuable skills that can be used throughout the
lifespan. CIP—CASVE—Problem Solving:
 Problem Solving is considered to be a series of thought processes that eventually

lead to solutions of problems and remove the gap between a current situation and a
preferred one. The accomplishment of this goal (problem solving) involves
information processing domains such as:
1. self-knowledge,
2. occupational knowledge, and
3. decision making skills.
4. SUNNY HANSEN: INTEGRATED LIFE PLANNING (ILP)
 A Holistic Theory for Career Counseling with Adults

 Life Planning includes work/career but also multiple aspects of life and their
interrelatedness
 Holistic career-planning model that goes beyond a linear process of choosing a vocation to
viewing work in its relationship to other roles in life.

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 6 interactive, critical life tasks:

1. Finding work that needs doing
2. Weaving our lives into a meaningful whole.
3. Connecting family and work.
4. Valuing pluralism (diversity) and an inclusive worldview
5. Managing personal transitions and organizational change
6. Exploring spirituality and life purpose
CAREER TRENDS AND PRACTICES

1. People change careers 5-7 times in their lifetime – In this century, it is difficult to find a
lifetime career. Globally, there is a shift to employing “temporary” workers, destabilizing the
workforce and individual careers.
2. Careers are no longer gender specific – The entry of women into the workforce creating a
trend on non-exclusiveness. Barriers are eliminated allowing broader opportunities for
individuals of diverse sexual orientation.
3. The workforce has become global – The expansion of business and industries worldwide
created a global workforce that is competitive and profitable.
4. Careers has become unpredictable - Before, seniority predicts promotion. Now, it

depends on credentials, experience and qualifications creating drastic change in the
international workplace. There is high turnover of jobs since some jobs are outsourced or
contract-based.
CHANGES IN WORK: CAREER PRACTICES

1. Globalization - Increased competition and economic pressures worldwide
2. Technological innovations
3. Sociopolitical factors
4. Shifts due to mergers and downsizing
5. Global unemployment
6. Corporate downsizing
7. Dual careers
8. Work from home
9. Intertwining of work and family roles
10. Many job shifts
11. Need for lifelong learning
NEW DEMAND ON WORKERS: CAREER PRACTICES

1. Greater adaptability demanded
2. Ability to work with computers
3. Ability to work in groups
4. Commitment to life long learning
5. Change jobs and careers several times in a worker’s lifetime.
WAYS TO CONSTRUCT RESPONSIVE INTERVENTIONS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

1. View career decisions as values-based decisions
2. Offer counseling-based career assistance (move beyond assessment)
3. Provide multicultural career interventions
4. Focus on multiple life roles

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TYPES OF CAREERS:
1) Steady (expert)
2) Linear
3) Spiral
4) Transitory
CHARACTERISTICS OF FOUR CAREER PATTERNS
Career pattern Frequency of field Direction of Career pattern

change movement motives
1) LINEAR Infrequent Upward Power, competence,
Mobility mostly limited Individuals moves achievement,
to movements within a rapidly upward to recognition, self-
field position of higher development
authority
2) EXPERT No change Minimal upward Expertise, security,
Individual remains movement competence, stability,
within one field for Individual stays in one autonomy and
duration of career position or makes 2-3 achievement
moves upward within
a specialty or function
3) SPIRAL Every 5-10 years Lateral Personal growth,
Individual makes a Individual moves into creativity, developing
major change into a a new type of work others, prestige,
new field/occupation that builds on current recognition
skills and develops
new ones
4) TRANSITORY Every 2-4 years Mainly lateral Variety, independence,
Individual makes “Consistently creativity,
frequent moves into inconsistent” pattern involvement,
entirely new job/field achievement
 Traditional organizational culture favors spiral and transitory careers less.
CAREER COUNSELING
 Career development takes into account the interplay of several factors, among them: social,
physical, emotional, or educational and the application of certain basic principles of human
development. (Gibson and Mitchell, 2003);
 Career development should reflect the developmental tasks the different life stages.
 Environment plays a key part in career development.
 Positive influences should be accentuated while the negative ones should be given
intervention.
 Career planning and decision making

 All students should be provided with an opportunity to develop an unbiased base from
which, they can make their career decisions.
 The early and continuous development of positive student attitudes towards education is
critical.
 As a corollary to these previous points the students must be taught to view a career as a way
of life and an education as a preparation for life.
• Students must:
• be assisted in developing adequate understanding of themselves and must be
prepared to relate this understanding to both social and personal development and
career educational planning.

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• be provided with an understanding of the relationship between education and

careers.
• understand where and why they are at a given point on the educational continuum at
a given time.
• have career oriented experiences that are appropriate for their level of readiness and
simultaneously meaningful and realistic.
• have opportunities to test concepts, skills, and roles to develop values that may have
future career application.
• The role of the counselor
1. Career Counseling – Counseling parents, group counseling, establishment of the
school’s career education program
2. Career Assessment – The use of standardized and non – standardized tests as aids to
self and career awareness.
3. Resource Person and Consultant – Use of varied media, counselor as resource person
and consultant (third party).
4. Linkage Agent – Counselor as collaborator within the community.
 Techniques in career planning and decision making

• Self – Awareness – learning about aptitude, interests, values and personality
• Educational Awareness – awareness of relationship between self, educational and

world of work
• Career Awareness – awareness of relationship between lifestyle and careers
• Career Exploration – planned inquiry and analysis of career
• Actual Career Planning and Decision Making - narrow down career possibilities
and make decisions; taking control of one’s career /life
• Placement and Follow – Up

o Educational Placement (placing students in appropriate courses)
o Environmental Placement (placing students in appropriate OJT)
o Follow – Up

Module 2 - Career Theories

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Module 2 - Career Theories

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1

I. THEORIES CONCERNED WITH THE COUNSELING PROCESS

1. TRAIT AND FACTOR THEORY – Frank Parsons

 Established by Frank Parsons in 1909

 Proposed that there are 5 basic traits:

 Proposed 3 key elements of career selection:

 10 career counseling principles that counselors should remember:

 Seven stages for a career counselor to work through with clients:

SMU RGC Review: CAREER GUIDANCE Page 2

Parsons, F, ‘Choosing a Vocation’, accessed December 2008,

TRAIT AND FACTOR THEORY – EDMUND GRIFFIN WILLIAMSON (1939, 1949)

 Williamson was a prominent advocate of trait-and-factor counseling. He developed what is

* Adapted from: http://ww2.odu.edu/~eneukrug/therapists/williamson.html

SMU RGC Review: CAREER GUIDANCE Page 3

2. VALUES BASED CAREER DEVELOPMENT – Duane Brown

 For all clients, counselors must assess whether:

II. THEORIES CONCERNED WITH THE DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESS

 Depicts career as a series of stages that individuals undergo or pass

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1. DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY - GINZBERG, GINSBURG, AXELRAD, AND HERMA (1951)

 Stages of Career Development

 Capacity (12 – 14) - the individual begins to be aware of the importance of

SMU RGC Review: CAREER GUIDANCE Page 5

 Exploration - The individual at this stage tries to acquire experience and

 Crystallization - the time when the vocational patterns of the individual

 Specification - This stage represents the final point of career development,

2. LIFE SPAN THEORY – DONALD SUPER

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 Maxi-cycle – a cycle through the stages of growth, exploration, establishment,

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Stage Age Characteristics

Adolescence Early adulthood 25- Middle adulthood Late adulthood

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 Visualization of how individuals go through the maxicyle and mini-cycles.

3. PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT – ERIK ERIKSON

 Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development

Dev’tal Stage Crisis Career Concern

Infant Trust vs Mistrust Needs maximum comfort with minimal uncertainty to

Toddler Autonomy vs Shame Works to master physical environment while

Preschooler Initiative vs Guilt Begins to initiate, not imitate, activities; develops

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Middle-Age Generativity vs Seeks satisfaction through productivity in career, family,

4. DEVELOPMENTAL TASK THEORY – ROBERT HAVIGHURST

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 Partial List of Havighurst’s developmental tasks

1. Infancy and Early Childhood – birth to 5 years

2. Middle Childhood – 6 – 12 years

4. Early Adulthood – 18 – 35 years

5. Middle Age – 36 – 60 years

6. Later Maturity – over 60 years

5. SELF-DEVELOPMENT THEORY (INDIVIDUALISTIC APPROACH) - TIEDEMAN

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 Tiedeman's approach to career development and decision making is the assumption

 In Tiedeman's theory, an instrumental cause behind one's behavior is the experience or

 In the process of making a decision, an individual progresses through seven sequential

 Decision-making styles may be: planning, intuitive, impulsive, agonizing, delaying,

 Career is a process, not an outcome.

6. DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY OF OCCUPATIONAL ASPIRATIONS – LINDA GOTTFREDSON

 Determinants of self – concept:

SMU RGC Review: CAREER GUIDANCE Page 12

 Experiences with Sex Typing

 Goal of counseling is Self – Insight

1. Cognitive Development – Children start from thinking intuitively in preschool,