Barriers to Adult Career Change

Adults have unique problems in making career changes. They face crucial economic, educational, and psychological barriers that require special guidance services. In this article, barriers to adult career change are identified and a five-county regional learning service using paraprofessionals is described. Results in working with more than 200 adults making career changes is reported. Suggestions for overcoming some of the problems adults face in making career changes are explained.     

Testing a calling model of psychological career success in Australian young adults: A longitudinal study

Theory-based longitudinal research on career calling is sparse. In a two-wave, cross-lagged panel design we assessed Hall and Chandler's (2005) calling model of psychological career success using 216 young adults (M age = 20.44 years, SD = 2.54). We tested if changes in career calling over time were associated with changes in goal-directed effort (work effort and career strategies) and psychological career success (life meaning and career adaptability) over time, and if goal-directed effort mediated between career calling and psychological career success over time. The standard causal model showed a better fit over the base, reverse, and reciprocal causation models. T1 career calling predicted T2 work effort, career strategies, life meaning, and career adaptability. Only career strategies mediated between T1 career calling and T2 life meaning and T2 career adaptability. Limitations and future directions are discussed.     

A longitudinal examination of career preparation and adjustment during the transition from high school

Preparing for an adult career and incorporating a career into one's identity is a key task during the transition to adulthood (Erikson, 1968), and completing developmental tasks is considered a major factor in adjustment (Havinghurst, 1972). Previous research has established associations between overall career preparation in high school and adjustment soon after high school graduation. Differences in the developmental patterns of career preparation dimensions (indecision, planning, and confidence) following high school graduation also have been found. The current study builds on that prior work by examining associations between changes in the dimensions of career preparation and changes in 3 aspects of adjustment (emotional stability, social adaptation, and self-actualization) from 12th grade in high school to 4.5 years after high school graduation in a sample of 454 youths, using latent growth curve analysis. Results showed that career preparation both predicts and is predicted by adjustment. Career confidence was a particularly important predictor of adjustment. Both 12th grade career confidence and changes in confidence over time predicted changes in adjustment and adjustment 4.5 years post-high school. In an alternative model, an increase in emotional stability was predictive of higher career confidence and lower indecision. Results are discussed in the context of developmental theories and the notion that adjustment and career are interrelated processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

The role of problem-solving appraisal in the process and outcome of career counseling

Because problem-solving appraisal has been demonstrated to be a critical variable in psychological adjustment, this study examined its potential role as both a static and dynamic client attribute influencing the process and outcome of career counseling. Participants were 151 adults who received an average of five sessions of naturally occurring career counseling; data were collected before, during, and after counseling. The results indicated that: (a) in line with a static attribute model, clients' pre-counseling problem-solving appraisal scores predicted post-counseling career and psychological outcomes as well as career decidedness even after partialling out clients' pre-decidedness scores; (b) in line with a dynamic attribute model, clients who experienced positive changes in problem-solving appraisal in counseling were more likely to have more positive career resources to use in their career transitions as well greater goal directedness; (c) participation in career counseling related to positive change in problem-solving appraisal scores at a level similar to problem-solving training workshops; and (d) clients' changes in problem-solving appraisal related to changes in the working alliance over time.     

Emotion: An Absent Presence in Career Theory

This article couples a review of some of the recent UK literature on careers and career interventions with arguments for greater attention to be given to the role of emotion in career development. In the United Kingdom, changes in the employment context have led career theory to become more concerned with understanding adult work-role transitions, and somewhat less emphasis is now given to initial occupational entry. Accordingly, the aims of career interventions have been extended to promote “career management” skills as well as career decision-making skills. It is argued that ideas from the literature on emotion can be employed to elaborate current notions of career management to take more account of the feelings and emotions underlying career transitions. In particular, examining sequences of cognition, affect, and behavior seems to be a promising way forward in further understanding changes to individuals' psychological contracts with their employing organizations. The literature on emotion generally and on emotional labor also has potential in understanding the dynamics of career counseling and in developing narrative approaches to counseling. An examination of the provision of career interventions in organizations shows how attending to the emotional dimensions of practice highlights some of the challenging political issues inherent in this context.     

国外生涯适应力研究述评

生涯适应力是个体因应生涯角色变化并与之保持平衡的能力, 被视为个体在快速变化的现代社会中获得生涯成功的关键能力, 是国外近年来生涯心理学领域的一个新理论生长点。在综合国外相关研究的基础上, 从生涯适应力的缘起、概念内涵、理论建构及实证研究等方面对生涯适应力的研究进行了综述, 以便人们更深入地体会其丰富的理论内涵和实践价值; 最后, 该文指出未来生涯适应力的研究应继续注重理论建构的丰富和完善、注意概念的文化适应性、关注其在生涯咨询实践中的应用以及加强对有生涯困境群体的研究。     

Functions of Career Resilience Against Reality Shock,Focusing on Full‐time Employees During Their First Year of Work

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of career resilience in coping with reality shock. Career resilience was defined as psychological traits that help individuals to cope with career risks and promote their own career development. It consisted of five factors: (a) ability to cope with problems and changes; (b) social skills; (c) interest in novelty; (d) optimism about the future; and (e) willingness to help others. Full‐time employees in their first year of employment (N = 233) participated in an online survey to measure career resilience, reality shock, and the degree of career development. The study found that coping with changes and being optimistic about the future could prevent the experience of reality shock. The result also suggested that good social skills prevented experience of reality shock from inhibiting career development.     

Career adaptability and career entrenchment

Career adaptability constitutes a resource that can help employees to effectively manage career changes and challenges. The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between the two higher-order constructs of career adaptability and career entrenchment (i.e., the perceived inability and/or unwillingness to pursue new career opportunities), as well as relationships among the dimensions of career adaptability and career entrenchment. We hypothesized a negative relationship between overall career adaptability and career entrenchment, and more differentiated associations among their dimensions. Data for this study came from 404 employees in Brazil. Results of structural equation modeling showed that overall career adaptability weakly negatively predicted overall career entrenchment (standardized effect = − .13), after controlling for age, gender, education, and job tenure. More differentiated findings emerged at the dimension level. Future research should examine the mechanisms and boundary conditions of the relationship between career adaptability and career entrenchment.     

Credentialing Career Counselors

The credentialing of career counselors is an important step in ensuring quality service to individuals entering the work environment for the first time as well as individuals making midlife career changes. With over 50 million jobs changing in the next two decades, the need for credentialed career counselors is expected to multiply.     

Retrospective Predictors of Successful Career Change Among Older Workers: Perceived Objective Success Versus Perceived Subjective Success

An increasing number of older workers are attempting career changes; however, little is known about the antecedents or outcomes of these changes. Results indicate that perceived objective and perceived subjective career‐change success are predicted by different combinations of variables. Implications for both future research and practice are discussed.     

The new career: Issues and challenges

The profound changes taking place in the way work is organised and structured mean that the traditional concept of the career needs updating to take account of the widening diversity of career patterns and experiences that are occurring. The papers in this symposium are concerned with examining key aspects of the new career. These include the development of theory, the study of how people are currently managing and developing their careers, and the types of career interventions that are most appropriate for the new career. They offer fresh perspectives on what is happening to careers and a range of insights about how the new career is qualitatively different from its predecessor     

Career Preparation: A Longitudinal, Process-Oriented Examination

Preparing for an adult career through careful planning, choosing a career, and gaining confidence to achieve career goals is a primary task during adolescence and early adulthood. The current study bridged identity process literature and career construction theory (Savickas, 2005) by examining the commitment component of career adaptability, career preparation (i.e., career planning, career decision-making, and career confidence), from an identity process perspective (Luyckx, Goossens, & Soenens, 2006). Research has suggested that career preparation dimensions are interrelated during adolescence and early adulthood; however, what remains to be known is how each dimension changes over time and the interrelationships among the dimensions during the transition from high school. Drawing parallels between career preparation and identity development dimensions, the current study addressed these questions by examining the patterns of change in each career preparation dimension and parallel process models that tested associations among the slopes and intercepts of the career preparation dimensions. Results showed that the career preparation dimensions were not developing similarly over time, although each dimension was associated cross-sectionally and longitudinally with the other dimensions. Results also suggested that career planning and decision-making preceded career confidence. The results of the current study supported career construction theory and showed similarities between the processes of career preparation and identity development.     

People Caught in Changing Career Opportunities: A Counseling Process

The article describes a counseling process to assist people who are caught in career changes. The process acknowledges the effect of changing labor market opportunities on the career decision making process.     

职业乐观对组织承诺、求职行为的影响:有调节的中介模型

职业乐观是影响个体职业适应的重要因素之一。尽管以往文献大多认为职业乐观是有利的,然而职业乐观的个体也会出现求职行为,导致对现有工作的专注程度降低的负面影响。为了探讨职业乐观的双刃剑效应及其边界条件,通过2个时间点问卷调查法对581名企业员工进行调查,结果发现:(1)职业乐观对求职行为和组织承诺均有正向影响;(2)易变职业生涯定向在职业乐观对求职行为影响中起中介作用,工作归属感在职业乐观对组织承诺影响中起中介作用;(3)心理授权在职业乐观对易变职业生涯定向的影响中起负向调节作用,在职业乐观对工作归属感的影响中起正向调节作用。     

Fostering networking behavior,career planning and optimism,and subjective career success: An intervention study

The present study evaluated personal resource-oriented interventions supporting the career development of young academics, working at German universities within the STEM fields. The study sought to foster subjective career success by improving networking behavior, career planning, and career optimism. The study involved a quasi-experimental pre-post intervention with two intervention and two control groups (N = 81 research associates). Participants of the first intervention group received networking training; participants of the second intervention group received the same networking training plus individual career coaching. Participants of both intervention groups were female. Participants of the control groups (i.e., male vs. female group) did not participate in any intervention. As expected, path analyses, based on mean differences from pre-test to post-test, revealed an increase in career planning and career optimism within the networking plus career coaching intervention group, that was indirectly positively related to changes in subjective career success. Contrary to our expectations, the networking group training alone and in combination with the career coaching showed no effectiveness in fostering networking behavior. Results are discussed in the context of career counseling and intervention effectiveness studies.     

Exploring types of career orientation: A latent class analysis approach

Career literature has been discussing the decline of the traditional career. Despite this debate, systematic information on the prevalence of contemporary career types is lacking. Two studies with large samples of employees aimed to determine types of career orientation, to explore their prevalence, and to validate these types by testing hypotheses relating each of the career orientations to work attitudes and sociodemographical variables. In study 1 (N = 835), we identified four types of career orientation – traditional/promotion, traditional/loyalty, independent, disengaged – applying exploratory latent class analysis. These were confirmed in study 2 (N = 737) with confirmatory latent class analysis. The variables associated with the career orientation types mostly followed the predicted pattern. Almost two thirds reported a traditional career orientation, while one fifth each expressed an independent and a disengaged orientation. This finding shows that people’s career orientation does not reflect the changes that many authors argue have been occurring.     

the influence of workplace attraction on recruitment and retention

Economic changes have made the topics of recruitment and retention key issues for career development and human resource professionals. In this article, a model of workplace attraction is presented as 1 way of better understanding the match between workers and workplaces. Many contextual variables such as age, culture, and gender influence the attraction process. Workplace attraction must be regarded as a career developmental process and as such, regular attention is needed through all career phases.     

Effects of career exploration on career undecided reentry women: An intervention and follow-up study

This study examined the effects of two different career interventions on career undecided reentry women. A total of 34 women were randomly assigned to either a Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) or a Vocational Card Sort (VCS) treatment program. The effects of treatment were assessed 3 weeks after the interventions and again 6 months later. The domains assessed included vocational needs, treatment satisfaction, career indecision, and career choice change. Statistically significant effects were found for both treatments, with the women experiencing less career indecision following the interventions. The career choice changes that were found suggested that the interventions were equally effective, and the women expressed equal satisfaction with both treatments. The results overall support the usefulness of both the SCII and VCS with reentry women. These results are discussed along with their implications for counseling practice as well as future research.     

Protean career orientation,vocational identity,and self-efficacy: an empirical clarification of their relationship

There is a large interest in how people can be more protean in their career development, exhibiting a self-directed striving for personally valued career outcomes. However, existing research on the protean career needs to better address issues of antecedents and outcomes as well as unique effects of a protean career orientation (PCO). We present two studies investigating how PCO is related to vocational identity clarity and occupational self-efficacy. Study 1 reports a 1-year, three-wave cross-lagged study among 563 university students and established that PCO preceded changes in identity and self-efficacy—but not the other way around. A 6-month longitudinal study of 202 employees, Study 2 showed that identity clarity and self-efficacy mediated the effects of PCO on career satisfaction and proactive career behaviours. PCO only possessed incremental predictive validity regarding proactive career behaviours. However, we could not confirm specific direct or mediated effects of PCO on job satisfaction. These results imply that PCO is closely related to vocational identity clarity and self-efficacy because it enhances these career attitudes. Moreover, identity and self-efficacy mediate some, but not all of the effects of PCO on important career outcomes.     

Career Counseling for Families (and Other Multi-Age Groups)

This article presents a model for career counseling of families. Parents need to have skills to help their children and young adults make good career decisions. Children can also help their parents clarify their goals for either reentering the labor market or making career changes. The model can also be adapted for other groups whose members' ages differ widely. The differing ages representing people in different stages of career development provide a dynamic element, which can increase effectiveness. Laramore provides a summary of counseling sessions to assist the counselor in working with groups of this type.