INTRO TO CAREER

• Why do we work? - the most obvious answer seemed to be to make money
• Why do we work? - work encompasses more than just financial security
• Why do we work? - careers matter to us and may have a profound impact on how we see ourselves and how happy we are in our lives
• Warren Bennis - Work really defines who you are. So much of a person’s self-esteem is measured by success at work
• Hall and Las Heras - in some cultures, work and career are closely tied to individual identity and help define one’s sense of life purpose. It is a means to fulfill one’s potential
• Three components: “external summons” - feeling drawn to do a particular type of work
• Three components: “meaning or purpose” - connecting work to a life purpose
• Three components: “prosocial motivation” - contributing to the well-being of other
• Two Different Perspectives: The Subjective Perspective - derived from an individual sense of meaningfulness regarding a career
• Two Different Perspectives: The Objective Perspective - focusing on what others often identify as key indicators of success
• Moore, Gunz, & Hall - the word “career” in reference to a path of employment was not used prior to the nineteenth century, and it did not come into common usage until the twentieth century
• Two Key Elements: Time - refers to how a career evolves during an interval
• Two Key Elements: Space - addresses the scope of what a career entails
• Gilley, Eggland, & Gilley - career development is a process requiring individuals and organizations to create a partnership that enhances employees’ knowledge, skills, competencies, and attitudes required for their current and future job assignments
• Career Development - the process of acquiring and experiencing planned and unplanned activities that support attainment of life and work goals
• Historical Context - our current connotation of “career” is relatively recent, and the phrase “career development” was not used extensively until the 1950s according to Pope (2000) or the late 1960s, as noted by Herr (2001)
• Vocational Guidance - more likely to be the traditional terminology in the earliest years
• Career Counseling - terminology likely to be used later as that field rose into prominence
• Historical Context - Coming to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the industrial revolution in the US and in Europe prompted the need for vocational training to match the needs of the newly emerging manufacturing-based economy
• Frank Parsons - credited with originating the phrase “vocational guidance”
• Frank Parsons - He was an early proponent of matching individual interests and skills with job requirements
• Frank Parsons’ Three Basic Tenets:

  1. understanding oneself
  2. recognizing what different types of work require
  3. coordinating those two factors to find a suitable job
• Three Types of Instruments:

  1. ability or intelligence testing
  2. aptitude or technical competence testing
  3. interest or personality testing
• Career Counseling Training - saw an upswing in the 1940s and 50s in colleges and universities, verifying its place as a profession
• Factors contributing to Changed Career Landscape

  1. economic turmoil
  2. technological advances
  3. a more diverse workforce
  4. governmental policies
  5. societal influences
• The connection of career development to HRD officially began with Patricia McLagan’s 1989 assignment of three sub-areas to HRD
• Along with training and development and organization development, career development was identified as an integral component of the HRD field
• Competencies

  • career development models and theories
  • career resources
  • career counseling for individual and group work
  • career assessment
  • career development for diverse populations
  • ethical career counseling practices
  • technology related to career planning
  • developing and implementing a career development program
• Career practitioners also must be knowledgeable about ways to help individuals continue to develop their careers throughout their lives (Herr, 2001), because the current (and future) uncertain career environment puts individuals in control of setting their own career paths
• Competencies - reinforce the importance of recognizing career development as a critical part of HRD that requires a depth of knowledge and skills not always addressed in the HRD curriculum