Approaches Which Address Issues Brought to Career Counseling

Over the past decades people have been talking about their career. Their goals and success, the salary they earn and the lifestyle they live. All put into one as a successful career, a lifestyle which reflects the value of success and achievement. But how do we really define career.  Career is defined as the process of which the person goes through life through different processes such as lifestyle, learning and the series of work related experience. However, Nathan (2006) stated that, often individuals are driven by the pressure to succeed or may perceive as a failure by their families, friends or the community as well as support everyday means of survival such as providing for basic needs and maintaining a decent lifestyle. These factors often leave individuals frustrated about life and painful personal issues may arise. Therefore, career counseling helps individuals gain a better understanding of themselves. Career Counseling helps them understand, cope and accept the changes that may affect their personal life’s values. Burwell (2006) describe career counseling as helping individuals to be effective in their chosen career and be able to effectively use solving problem skills to help them cope with the demands of an everyday life vocation. Individuals seek career counseling when they realized and identify that the issues they are experiencing in their lives are caused by the career they have chosen. Therefore, Nathan (2006) suggested that in order to help clients identify the appropriate answer to career related issues, clients need to understand their career problems in perspective to their lives. He then presented eight (8) reasons individuals are frustrated with their career.

·         The desire to a more interesting job is reflected by a life stage or episodes not related to their work.

·         Problems are linked such as a problem at home aggravates a crisis at work.

·         Problems that have been tolerated for a long time becomes intolerable.

·         Lack of career development or advancement.

·         Frustrations towards the organization or policy may have lead to a feeling of being controlled or manipulated.

·         Realistic constraints may contradict the need to focus on a personal difficulty.

·         Lack of self esteem which resulted from job dissatisfaction or career attainment.

·         Choosing a career due to large monetary rewards which may have caused an unsatisfying job for a long time.

 In regard to this, the following text will discuss the issues being brought to career counseling and the approaches that are used to address it.

 PROBLEM CLARIFICATION

Nowadays, the work place creates a higher demand for performance which causes great pressure for employees to compete and perform well. Nathan (2006) recommended that counselors must be help the client identify whether the induced stress is related to their career. In addressing career related issues, other factors are to be considered such as choosing a career base on the understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses, their values and interest as well as their choice of job and their lifestyle.

Counselors must always bear in mind that by presenting common problems that are experienced everyday and providing information about the factors that may have caused it will prevent isolation which would allow and encourage your clients to express the issues that they are dealing with. These are the common questions that clients may ask:

• Can you help me decide? I feel like I am at a crossroad in my career.
• My life is redundant. Can you help me make a plan for my future?
• How can I assess my strengths and build up my confidence?
• I am dissatisfied with my career. Can you help me find suitability?
• Can you help me decide whether to stay on my job, change my career or change my employer?
• Nothing excites or makes me happy can you help me identify something that would motivate me?
• Can you help me gain more perspective and a satisfying balance between my home life and work?
• How would I know if I am aiming too high or I just needed help in improving how I perceive myself?
• I know what I want, but there is no change for me to start.

Counselors must always remember that individuals who come for counseling have different answers to their questions and their aspirations, needs as well as their opportunities depends on their individual factors such as gender, class, race, disability and age. Also, fundamental principles must also be considered that although the problems they are facing are common, they must be allowed to find solutions to their own problem. In her article “Building a Solution-Focused Strategy into Career Counseling” Miller noted that in order to identify the factors that cause the problem and for the counseling therapy to create a positive change; the counselor must respect the client’s needs to voice out his/her problem and also create a good working relationship with the client. She also noted that on the first stage of the counseling therapy, it is important for the counselor to point out key question such as:

·         What would you want to achieve from the counseling session?

·         What do you think is the benefit of coming here today?

·         What is your goal of coming to the therapy today?

·         What do you think about your goals?

It is also important, whoever to consider individual differences when it comes to helping clients develops energy and motivation for it is the client who will make decision and manage their problems. Nathan (2006) suggested considering the following question when dealing with individual differences in managing career-related issues.

·         What is the apparent is the clients problem and how common are it related within the clients, gender group, age group, and cultural type?

·         Within the client’s gender group, age group and culture group, what other conditions are related to, or bring about to the clients current problem?

·         What influenced the client’s problem? (society’s attitude towards the clients gender group, age group, and cultural type) How free is she/he to choose what career and lifestyle she wants and the extent to how she will adopt and adjust personally and socially?

·         How does the client’s social, physical and cognitive development at this stage affect what counseling techniques and processes is suitable?

Common Issues Brought to Counseling

·         Life-Span Problems (the twenties, age 30 transition, the thirties, midlife transition, forty five plus.

·         Balancing Personal Life and Work

·         Decision Making Problems

·         Problems in Implementing a Decision

·         Problems caused by change in an Organization

·         Performance related problems

·         Relationship Problems

·         Expressing Creativity

 Career-Related Issues and Implication for Counselors

Life-span Theory

Normal events and changes that happen during the life-span may be perceived or mistakenly taken as a serious emotional problem. Therefore, Nathan (2006) noted that it is important for counselors to note possible areas of concern that the clients are expressing as of the moment. It also important to consider that stability merge with crisis within our lifespan is part of human development and shouldn’t be considered pathological. Talking to clients about the Life-span theory will make them understand that changes in a person’s personal values changes according to events and experiences that a person goes through life. Here are events that may affect a person’s values:

·         Bereavement

·         Redundancy

·         Divorce

·         Long term unemployment

·         Injury or diseases which may cause temporary or permanent disability

·         Recovery from addiction

·         Being home after a long period of travel

·         Coming home to “civilian life” after being in the uniformed service.

·         Having children

·         Children leaving home

Balancing Life and Work

The client must be encouraged to a make a decision about the balance between work and life that is appropriate for the person’s situation. The counselor must be aware of his/her own beliefs and bias and must not allow it to influence the counseling. The counseling may take a long time. However, talking about lifespan stages and what is common to arise can help clients in knowing their alternatives. Also it is important to acknowledge the need for financial support and the availability for support services for low income families.

Decision Making Problems

Clients who come for counseling are those who need help with self esteem. They wanted to know their strengths and weakness to be able to make a decision for themselves. However, Froggrat (2005) stated that it is important for counselors to consider that a person’s behavior and feelings are affected by his biology and that there is a limitation to how much a person can change base on personal beliefs inherited throughout his/her lifetime. Nathan (2005) also suggested use the “scaling technique”.

The key points to using this technique:

-          The client determines his/her position on the scale.

-          Focuses on strengths and resources available to the client rather than their weakness.

-          It is more specific

-          It gives the client independence to make small step towards achieving the goals set by the clients.

-          Defines success through observable differences.

During the session, other decision making problems may arise such as:

-          Pressure to follow a particular path to conform to a third party.

-          Conflict between the creative self and the conventional self.

-          Fear of taking risk

-          Avoid the responsibility of making a decision.

-          Conflict between career and personal needs.

-          Fear of failure

On the other hand clients would come the counseling with a specific choice. However, the choice is not attainable due to various reason such economic stability and unrealistic goals. Therefore, it is important to identify external from internal constraints.

Issues in Implementing a Career Decision:

-          Unrealistic aspirations

-          Holding back in fear of rejection

-          Ineffective self presentation which arises from low self esteem due to lack of oral and written skills.

-          Conscious or unconscious discrimination

-          Not enough financial resources to support more training

-          Intervention of adversity

-          ‘Career ceiling’ limited advancement in a particular career stage.

-          Unrealistic wish to fulfill and reach a goal on a “quick fix”

To address these issues, it is suggested that counselors allow clients to air powerful feelings of anger due to rejection to be able create a future plan for action. Also a counselor may also need to consider legal or financial guidelines for minorities or clients who were discriminated to lack financial support. Clients must also explore constraints which may be blocking them and determine between attainable and unrealistic. Counselors must also help clients become clear of what they want. Some clients are unconsciously “sabotaging” themselves because the career choice they have may not be their own.

Problems due to Change in the Organization

Change in an organization can cause people to seek career counseling whether a personal choice or referred to by their employee. The following includes changes that may cause issues due to change in the organization:

-          Need to reapply for a previous job due to departments being restructured.

-          Change in the nature of the job.

-          Technology update

-          Downsizing which may lead to more pressure in high demand for performance.

-          Change of a new boss

-          Change in organizational values.

-          Reorganization

In dealing with issues due to organizational change, client must understand the concept of transition. The counselor also provides appropriate or the best job match and job-hunting techniques. Also the degree the negative feeling the clients feel should be considered to be able to consider the present situation rationally and plan for the future. The counselor must also point out the stages in the “transition-curve” and that the clients need to understand that the stages are not time bound and it can happen again at a certain point.

Stages of Emotional Adjustment to Change:

-          Shock, Denial

-          Euphoria

-          Pining

-          Anger

-          Guilt

-          Apathy

-          Acceptance

-          Future flows

Counselors must allow the clients’ time to process these feelings although it is advised that a referral can be made for clients who are depressed. It is also appropriate to consider other losses such as a structured routine, loss of social outlet and self esteem.

Performance Related Problem

The most apparent issue in career counseling is the performance related problem. Some individual may feel that they fail if they path to success is temporarily interrupted. And since career achievement is perceive as success, a counselor is expected to bring that individual to the right track. There are two factors of which a performance related problem may arise. First, Individual may feel that they are a failure or soon to fail. Second, an organization may imply that the individual’s performance may have failed.

Here are some performance related presenting problems:

-          Dismissal

-          Poor performance appraisal

-          Failure of promotion

-          Promotion was “past over” to another person

-          Poor results compared to colleagues

-          Criticized by significant others

-          Rejection

-          Changing locations or country in order to escape failure

-          Reaching a “career plateau” which may cause loss of motivation and effectiveness.

In the case of redundancy, the clients presenting feelings such as depression, demoralization, anger, shame and panic should be address. It is also important to identify the nature of the problems which may include: mismatch between the person’s job and his/her capabilities, promotion have been block due to unavailability of promotion availabilities or the individual’s relationship to the manager. And low performance due to the person’s lack of interest to the job. So, in this case it is important that the counselor give a full attention and give feedback and assessment of the person’s abilities, strength and weaknesses. The counselor may give a series of aptitude test or self assessment exercise which may produce more information about the individual’s natural talent and abilities.

Relationship Problems

Relationship problems may often cause individuals to seek career counseling.  Although it may not be a direct issue when it comes to career related problems, however such problems may cause dilemma due to some factors and underlying needs.

These are some of the relationship problems brought to the counseling:

-          Abrasive relationships at work

-          Finding it difficult to motivate people at work.

-          An individual change to progress by taking a different task. However lack the skills to do it.

-          Hard time dealing with authority

-          Low self esteem and finding it hard to handle criticism.

-          Disappointments

-          A sense of strong competition among peers expressed through “put-downs”

To address this issue, the counselor can reach a positive outcome by using a solution-focused coaching or therapy or the use of personality test which will help them identify their own personal style. Also the counselor may have to identify other underlying factors which cause the relationship issues at work. The client can also learn assertive skills and other skills useful in dealing with situation at work.

Expression and Repression of Creativity

Often creativity issues happen in midlife when a career becomes a “serious” business and often individuals find themselves lacking the ability to express creativity. So for clients whose creative side has been repressed, the counselor may have to encourage them to explore and revive a hobby. Self assessments and the use of personality assessment are a useful tool for clients to identify their interest and the result of the assessment would often encourage and provides them confidence to pursue their interest in their own context.

In conclusion, Burwell (2006) stated that the focus of the counseling it help clients become an active participant of solving their own problem and to independently address issues that are affecting their vocational and their everyday lives. Therefore it is essential for the counseling process to focus on a positive change and that clients learn to make choices that would fit their lifestyle and career. Burwell (2006) also added that there should be a goal orientation and that there are solutions to a problem, there are more than one solution to a problem, solutions can be constructed, the client and the therapist construct the solutions, and that solutions are created or invented and not discovered.

 REFERENCES

Burwell, R. and Chen, CP (2006). Applying the Principles and Techniques of Solution Based Therapy. Counseling Psychology Quaterly. June 2006.  19 (2): 189-283

Nathan, R. and Hill. L. (2006). Counseling in Practice. Sage Publication LTD. P. 13-33

Miller, H.J. (1999) Building a Solutions-Focused Strategy into Career Counseling. Workshop Presented at New Zealand Board of Counselors. P.4-7

Savickas, M.L., Nota, L., Rossier, J. (2009). Life Designing:  A Paradigm for Career Construction in the 21^st Century. Journal of Vocational Behavior. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2009.04.004