Counselling is a broader term that refers to the process of assisting an individual by providing proper guidance, exploring solutions for the problems he or she is facing, and providing moral support. Career counselling focuses on an understanding of a person, his skills, abilities, and interests, as well as work trends. This information is used as a foundation for making an informed decision about professional and educational careers. It is used to manage a diverse range of problems, for instance, poor time management, trust issues, lack of concentration, motivation, and commitments. Moreover, it can help a person to build trust and a worthy relationship with their family, such as parents, children, and spouses. There are many theories and techniques used to understand career counseling in better ways. Here, we will discuss the essential elements of career counselling processes and methods. A career counsellor needs to have essential knowledge and skills to help people and solve their long-term problems. Career development refers to managing the career of a person within the organization or among different organizations. For career development, a person would need proper training, skills, and attitude to accept higher responsibilities, and accept new challenges.
It could be both in the organization and moving to different organizations to avail of better opportunities. Here, we will discuss theories related to career development and the holistic approach to career development. There are many theories that discuss this process. However, we will highlight the holistic approach and career construction theory. This theory states that how a person chooses and uses work. It presents the vocational behavior of a person across the life cycle and the methods and materials which are used to make choices regarding an individual’s career and personal development. Vocational personality means the abilities, skills, needs, interests, and values of a person related to his or her career. The personality of a person is also influenced by his career; for instance, a police officer develops a more strict personality both in his professional and personal life. At the same time, a doctor or other health-related professionals are found to be soft-hearted, kind and caring.
Being a teacher, I have set my own career goals and focused on my career development; though there were certain hurdles and challenges in the initial career level, however with the passage of time, I gained experience and certain skills which have raised my career to the next level. Leadership skills are an important skill for a good teacher, besides that, strong communication skill is required for a good teacher (Hearne & Galvin, 2015). I have learned different skills and polished my behaviour accordingly during my job and training conducted by the school for its teachers.
The holistic approach to career development will be highlighted to learn about the process and techniques involved in career development. Holistic means that there is more to our lives than just our career, and our career is not limited to earning a living (Zunker, 2015). A career has a deep influence on our lifestyle, behaviour, status, our family, and community. All human beings are seeking to do some meaningful work in life to feed their souls and accept challenges to learn and feed their minds (Ismail et al., 2016). There are certain external factors as well which can influence our careers, such as our family, culture, labour market, and economic conditions. There is a strong connection between mind and body and how our thoughts can influence our reactions inside our body and our decisions. In the holistic approach, we recognize how our decisions can affect ourselves and our dependents in both negative and positive ways. Career counselling practitioners can help their clients to work and live more holistically. We are part of a system, and our system is a part of a larger system, and all these systems are interconnected. There are four basic needs which every employee seeks to fulfil, such as physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional needs. When these needs are met, they will produce fruitful results in terms of job satisfaction, loyalty, optimism, and higher engagement. Here, we will discuss some holistic approaches which can help an individual pursue their career development.
Meaningful Work:
Finding a new job which we are passionate about, and which can give us meaning and good for our soul. In our dream jobs, we are more satisfied and can produce better results. A person who has an interest in teaching, so in the banking sector or corporate sector he can not execute his better services. It can give a sense of connection and purpose.
Participate In Physical Activities:
Physical activities have a positive impact on our career development and our professional career. Because it can reduce our stress level, reduce the risk of diseases, increase our energy, and boost our mood. A physically fit person can perform better and produce better results for the organization. Most organizations prefer a physically fit person for promotion and hiring, and they believe that a healthy person has more health issues and laziness.
Professional Development And Learning:
A person should continue the process of learning new skills that can benefit the organization. It can not only feed the mind but also assist our clients in strengthening their careers. The promotions and career development depend upon our learning and commitment.
In the holistic approach, we consider a person as a whole, not one aspect of his life, but the whole system associated with that person. We analyze how many core needs are met and also consider external driving forces. Career is a broader term, which is synonymous with the job and occupation, it represents all the facets and roles of the life of a person. All individuals have a career, and the career of a person could be by choice or due to some external forces. Career development is a long process and it takes years and decades. However, a person can achieve more success when he is clear about his future plans and goals. Career development is a unique process that can vary from person to person. If there are two-person with the same qualification, they would have set different goals, and they would have different priorities related to their professional and personal lives.
It depends on the person, and he can play an active role in constructing his career. The attitude of a person can influence his career and the way he is committed to his career. Paid employment is one of the important elements of a career, and it is an essential consideration when we have an opportunity. However, in the long run, the salary is not the only factor which can influence our decision and keep us motivated. So, a good work environment, learning opportunities, and other benefits are important factors that can influence our decision to change our existing organization. It is a long-term process of managing work, learning new skills and abilities and leisure to move toward a personally determined future.
Various theories explain career development, however, none of these theories have explained the complexity of this field. The theory of content is important in this regard, it refers to the trait and factor tradition which is used to determine the influences on career development. For instance, factors such as abilities, interests, values, and personality have a greater influence on our career path and our professional career. There are certainly broader and macro influences such as geographic location, socio-economic conditions, and the market trend, however, these factors had received little interest.
Career construction theory was proposed by Savickas; it focuses on how people use the theory of vocational personality to get a sequence of changes in jobs, be faithful to themselves, and be recognized by others (Chan et al., 2015). I am a maths teacher, I had started my career after getting a masters degree in this subject, and got a job in a school ten years back. I was a junior teacher, and I was supposed to assist a senior teacher. I had limited authority, my salary was low, and there were the least opportunities in that school for me. I spent three years there as per my initial job agreement, and I have completed that tenure. I got another opportunity where I was hired as a senior teacher, and I was provided a chance to teach higher classes. I continued that job for the next five years, where I had achieved many milestones, and my salary, skills, and learning soared. According to this theory, the focus is on occupational choice and work adjustment, which interrogates various aspects of vocational behaviour. The career construction theory refers to the people who build their careers by implementing meaning in their vocational behaviours. The life theme of this theory addresses the fundamental factor of work-life, and it focuses on the reason for certain vocational behaviours. It emphasizes the interpersonal processes through which people impose meaning on their vocational behaviour.
References
Chan, K. Y., Uy, M. A., Moon-ho, R. H., Sam, Y. L., Chernyshenko, O. S., & Yu, K. Y. T. (2015). Comparing two career adaptability measures for career construction theory: Relations with the boundaryless mindset and protean career attitudes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 87, 22-31. edition). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Hearne, L., & Galvin, J. (2015). The role of the regular teacher in a whole school approach to guidance counselling in Ireland. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 43(2), 229-240.
Ismail, S., Ferreira, N., & Coetzee, M. (2016). Young emerging adults’ graduateness and career adaptability: Exploring the moderating role of self-esteem. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 26(1), 1-10.
Zunker, V. G. (2015). Career Counseling: A Holistic Approach. 9’th
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