Career Counseling: Five Processes of Career Planning: Part II
By Mimi Rothschild
Decision-Making
Decision-making has one dominant issue: How to select the most appropriate option from the range of alternatives discovered to date. Formal decision-making models and strategies may be useful; however, these strategies by themselves rarely leave clients with a good feeling for the decision. Most clients are more comfortable with decisions which "emerge" as a result of engagement in the career planning process. When initiation and exploration have been thorough, a "right choice" crystallizes for most clients. Formal strategies may then be used to confirm a choice, rather than determine a choice.
Uncertainty is a major obstacle to career planning Most clients need to recognize that a certain amount of ambiguity is associated with any decision. At this stage in the planning process, clients need to rely on their intuition to guide them to tentative choices. This may be encouraged by exploring how clients feel about alternatives they have encountered during exploration, and by using "what if" scenarios to prevent perceived barriers from prematurely ruling out options (e.g., "What if it was possible to ...?). The emotional response to an option may then be used as the catalyst for cognitive appraisal (e.g., a consequences matrix) and specific preparation.
Preparation
Preparation focuses on planning the specific steps required to implement the choices made earlier (including the choice to engage in further exploration). Preparation results in a detailed, concrete plan for goal attainment and involves two key issues:
- Developing an action plan which may include: Contracts between client and counselor that specify the next set of steps that will be taken by the client, and how those steps will be evaluated and reported; and time lines, or graphic action plans. A horizontal line is drawn across a page, with the word "Now" at the extreme left and the client's goal statement at the extreme right. Each major step required to achieve the goal is listed on the time line, with spacing proportionate to the estimated time needed. An opportunity web transforms the time line into a branching career path. For each major step, at least one alternative step is identified and plotted on the page as an intersecting line that produces a different path. The alternatives are identified by asking "What if for some reason you were unable to complete Step X - then what would you do?" Clients learn to prepare for uncertainty by thinking ahead and having a back-up plan ready.
- Developing prerequisite skills and resources for implementation. These may include: occupational (e.g., job searches); educational (e.g., study skills, applying for admission to educational institutions); personal (e.g., anger management, substance abuse). The means for developing prerequisite skills must be included in the overall action plan. Clients should also identify the resources available and the resources needed for implementation (e.g., obtaining funding for education).
Implementation
In implementation, the client carries out the action plan. Two strategies govern implementation:
- Developing support. Many decisions reached in the safety of the counselor's office are never implemented because of lack of support in the client's environment. Clients must learn both how to identify allies (as well as enemies) and how to nurture facilitative relationships.
- Developing systems for feedback and reward. Clients also need to develop ways to monitor and reward their progress. Merging the social support and feedback functions helps clients develop independence from counselors.
Summary And Conclusion
The five processes model has been used with a variety of groups (e.g., Native Canadians in northern communities, street kids in urban settings, inmates of correctional facilities, youth in schools, adults in transition). These groups often reported disenchantment and disillusionment with available career planning services. However, the initiation exercises excited them, increasing their hope and nurturing their dreams. This excitement led to vigorous and thorough exploration--even the most reticent clients were captivated by processes which allowed them to explore their passions in meaningful ways. Having found a focus for their passion, they were more committed to planning ways to realize their dreams and were more likely to follow through with their plans. Because they understood each process as it developed, they became less reliant on formal counseling. The seeds of self-sufficiency and adaptability were planted. The dynamic nature of the occupational scene demands a dynamic system for career planning interventions; one that attends to issues of client uniqueness and personal meaning. By focusing on the critical career planning processes, counselors allow themselves the flexibility to attend to unique client needs.
References Magnusson, K. C. (1991). "Career counseling techniques." Edmonton, AB: Life-Role Development Group.
Magnusson, K. C. (1992). "Five critical processes of career counseling." In M. Van Norman (Ed.), National Consultation on Vocational Counseling Papers: 1992 (pp. 217-227). Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
Miller-Tiedeman, A., & Tiedeman, D. (1990). "Career decision-making: An individualistic perspective." In D. Brown, L. Brooks & Associates (Eds.), Career Choice and Development (2nd Ed.) (pp. 308-337). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Super, D. E. (1985). "New dimensions in adult vocational and career counseling." ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 261 189.
Super, D. E. (1990). "A life-span, life-space approach to career development." In D. Brown, L. Brooks & Associates (Eds.), Career Choice and Development (2nd ed.) (pp. 197-261). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling mother, writer, children's rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of home education company Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of 28 years reside with their 8 children right outside Philadelphia, PA.
Rothschild launched Learning By Grace, Inc. because she believed that our nation's public school system has failed parents and students. Learning By Grace, Inc. offers online education through a multimedia-rich curriculum to PreK-12 children across the country and throughout the world.
An accomplished author, Rothschild has written books regarding education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Homeschooling News Café Blog consists of the most current and relevant education news.Electronic reproduction of this article is permitted if content is published unchanged, appropriate credit is given, and the article title links to corresponding article webpage.
