(DOWNLOAD) "Beyond the Self: External Influences in the Career Development Process." by Career Development Quarterly # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free

eBook details

Title: Beyond the Self: External Influences in the Career Development Process.
Author : Career Development Quarterly
Release Date : January 01, 2009
Genre: Business & Personal Finance,Books,
Pages : * pages
Size : 281 KB

Description

The purpose of this article is to explore the wide spectrum of external influences that affect career decision making across the life span and, in particular, how these factors may directly or indirectly alter one's career trajectory and the extent of one's work volition. Career development practitioners are encouraged to respect externally oriented frameworks, explore the social influence of career choice alternatives faced by clients, encourage clients to voice their emotional responses to external constraints, and use career decision-making strategies that seek an optimal balance of internal and external influences. Within the field of vocational psychology, several major theories have emerged to explain the process by which individuals make career choices. According to some of these theories, person-environment fit is most critical, whereby an individual's unique interests, values, and skills are ideally matched with a certain job setting (Dawis & Lofquist, 1984; Holland, 1997). Other theories view individuals as being in a constant state of development, in which the optimal career is one that best facilitates the implementation of a person's current self-concept (Savickas, 2002; Super, 1990). Theories that emphasize social learning and cognition have also been advanced. According to these theories, an individual's learning experiences about work and perceived ability to perform particular tasks necessary to succeed in a certain career are vital to decision making (Krumboltz, 1996; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). Although these theories differ in substantive ways, all focus primarily on the influence of an individual's internal goals, needs, and pursuit of satisfaction in career decision making. This commonality carries an implicit assumption that individuals making career decisions have the volition to do so and are primarily seeking their own satisfaction. However, recent work throughout the social sciences has demonstrated that these assumptions may be unfounded, because decisions are often made with limited options or in a collectivist context (e.g., Blustein, McWhirter, & Perry, 2005; Jackson, Colquitt, Wesson, & Zapata-Phelan, 2006; Oyserman, Coon, & Kemmelmeier, 2002).