3. Chapter one: Introduction
What is Career Counseling and Career Development?
• Career counseling is a service that helps people begin, change, or advance
their careers. It can include one-on-one conversations between a counselor
and a career seeker, as well as assessments, activities, and projects designed
to help career seekers make the most of their strengths.
• Career Counseling is a process that will help people to know and understand
people and the world of work in order to make career, educational, and life
decisions.
• The goal of Career Counseling is to not only help to make the decisions
needed to make now, but to give the knowledge and skills needed to make
future career and life decisions.
4. Career Counselor in the School setting
• Career Counselor Responsibilities : Helping students put their talents ,
attitudes and aptitudes. Along with providing counselling for students
they are expected to meet students regarding educational and
vocational matters .
• Help students with their critical thinking to their future steps relating
to education or vocation.
• Career Counselors are expected to have a good ability of researching
about potential job markets.
• In addition a school career counselor must make various items
available (Pamphlets, college applications, Job applications ,different
school catalogs and other documents)
5. The Historical Development of Career Counseling
The Historical Development of Career Counseling
• Career counselling gained significant traction in the mid-20th century
when society became more aware of the importance of job satisfaction
and personal fulfillment. The advent of aptitude tests, vocational
guidance programs, and educational reforms further contributed to the
growth of career counselling.
6. The Historical Development of Career Counseling
• Career counselling has a rich history that can be traced back to the
early 20th century. The practice emerged as a response to the
changing industrial landscape and the need to guide individuals in
making informed career choices.
• Frank Parsons is often regarded as the pioneer of career counselling.
In 1908, he published a book titled “Choosing a Vocation,” which laid
the foundation for the field. Parsons emphasized the importance of
matching an individual’s skills, interests, and values with appropriate
career paths.
7. The Historical Development of Career Counseling
• A career counselor is similar to a career coach in that professionals in
both roles can help you navigate your career path and understand
your career goals. Although these terms are often used
interchangeably, professionals may identify themselves as one or the
other and describe their services in very specific ways.
8. Chapter Two: Theories of Career Development
Trait and factor theory
Holland’s Theory of Type
Myers-Briggs Type Theory
9. Trait and factor theory
Frank Parsons developed the idea of matching careers to talents, skills and
personality
He is regarded as the founder of the vocational guidance movement. He
developed the talent-matching approach, which was later developed into the
Trait and Factor Theory of Occupational Choice. At the center of Parsons' theory
is the concept of matching.
Parsons states that occupational decision making occurs when people have
achieved:
• an accurate understanding of their individual traits (aptitudes, interests,
personal abilities)
• a knowledge of jobs and the labor market
• Rational and objective judgment about the relationship between their
individual traits, and the labor market.
10. Trait and factor theory
This three-part theory still governs most current practice.
• The trait and factor theory operates under the premise that it is possible
to measure both individual talents and the attributes required in particular
jobs.
• It also assumes that people may be matched to an occupation that's a
good fit. Parsons suggests that when individuals are in jobs best suited to
their abilities they perform best and their productivity is highest.
11. Trait and factor theory
• Parsons maintains that personal counsel is fundamental to the career search. In
particular, he notes seven stages for a career counsellor 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.
12. Trait and factor theory
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.
• Much of Parsons’ work still guides career counselling today, though it is not without criticism.
Matching assumes a degree of stability within the labor market. However, the reality is that
the market’s volatility means individuals must be prepared to change and adapt to their
circumstances.
13. Holland’s Theory
Holland’s theory posits that people can be categorized according to six
personality types—Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising,
and Conventional—known collectively as RIASEC.
14. Holland’s Theory
• REALISTIC
Realistic types generally like to work with things more than with people. They
are often described as genuine, sensible, practical, natural, thrifty, modest,
persistent, and honest.
• INVESTIGATIVE
Investigative types typically like to work with ideas more than with people or
things. They are usually described as logical, curious, exact, intellectual,
cautious, independent, quiet, and modest.
• ARTISTIC
Artistic types usually like to work with ideas more than with things. They are
usually described as open, creative, independent, emotional, impulsive, and
original.
15. Holland’s Theory
• SOCIAL
Social types typically like to work with people more than with things. They are
often described as helpful, understanding, responsible, warm, cooperative,
convincing, friendly, kind, generous, and patient.
• ENTERPRISING
Enterprising types generally like to work with people and ideas more than with
things. They are usually described as outgoing, adventurous, energetic,
optimistic, sociable, and self-confident.
• CONVENTIONAL
Conventional types generally like to work with papers and numbers. They are
typically described as practical, careful, thrifty, efficient, orderly, and persistent.
16. Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) (Myers et al., 1998).
• The MBTI has been developed to measure the assignment of
individuals into one of 16 personality types (derived from the
combination of four dichotomous attitudes or functioning styles:
Extraversion–Introversion,
Judgment–Perception,
Thinking–Feeling,
Sensing–Intuition
• Inspired from Jung’s (1921/1971) theory. The instrument has multiple
forms with different scoring formats. Rather than sum scores indicating
standing on an underlying trait, the scales provide type assignments.
17. Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)(Myers et al., 1998).
• The MBTI has been claimed to be ‘the most widely used personality
inventory in the world’ (McCaulley & Moody, 2008, p. 408). It has
been translated into more than 30 languages, of which over 10
versions are approved by the publisher.
18. Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)(Myers et al., 1998).
• The MBTI has not been widely used in psychological research but it
has been used very widely in business settings, for example, in
seminars aimed at improving employees' self-understanding and
understanding of each other. (McCrae & Costa, 1989).
• One shortcoming of the MBTI is that it loses a great deal of precision
by describing people in terms of only two levels of each characteristic
rather than in terms of a more specific score on each characteristic.
For example, consider a person who is slightly on the “extraverted”
side of the boundary between extraverts and introverts:
19. Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)(Myers et al., 1998).
Myers & Briggs Type Indicator
(Myers and McCaulley, 1985; McCaulley, 1990) comprises variables 139
to 146. McCaulley (1990) provides this description of the types.
The MBTI items are concerned with four bi-polar preferences; items
force choices between two equally valuable poles of each preference to
determine the relative preference of one over the other. The four
preferences are as follows:
1. Extraversion attitude (E) or Introversion attitude (I). In the
extraverted attitude (E), persons seek engagement with the
environment and give weight to events in the world around them. In the
introverted attitude (I), persons seek engagement with their inner world
and give weight to concepts and ideas to understand events.
20. Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)(Myers et al., 1998).
2. Sensing perception (S) or Intuitive perception (N). When using
sensing perception (S), persons are interested in what is real,
immediate, practical, and observable by the senses. When using
intuitive perception (N), persons are interested in future possibilities,
implicit meanings, and symbolic or theoretical patterns suggested by
insight
3. Thinking judgment (T) or Feeling judgment (F). When using thinking
judgment (T), persons rationally decide through a process of logical
analysis of causes and effects. When using feeling judgment (F),
persons rationally decide by weighing the relative importance or value
of competing alternatives.
21. Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)(Myers et al., 1998).
4. Judgment (J) or Perception (P). When the orientation toward the
world uses judgment (J), persons enjoy moving quickly toward
decisions and enjoy organizing, planning, and structuring. When the
orientation to the world uses perception (P), persons enjoy being
curious and open to changes, preferring to keep options open in case
something better turns up.
(McCaulley, 1990, paras 11–15)