Stylish Adaptation –career decision making styles and

adaptability dimensions

John Hannon

What’s my role?

Give them lots of information

Choices, choices….How do we adapt?

Values

But they’re only young…

Growing up and taking control

You can’t drive a parked car!

Transitions

Arnold (1997) ‘An event or non-event resulting in a change of assumption about oneself and the world, thus requiring corresponding changes in one’s behaviour and relationships”

Parkes (1971) - psychosocial transition Only a transition if so defined by the person experiencing itTo understand meaning we need to examine: Anticipated v unanticipated v non-event Perspective Context Impact

How are careers like this guy?

Career Adaptability The capability of an individual to make a series of

successful transitions where the labour market, organisation of work and underlying occupational and organisational knowledge bases may be subject to considerable change (Bimrose et al., 2011)

...individual’s readiness and resources for coping with current and anticipated tasks, transitions, traumas in their occupational roles that, to some degree large or small, alter their social integration (Savickas and Porfeli, 2010: 3-4).

What’s the moral of this?

Evaluative•Ongoing self - evaluation / self-appraisal (of needs, values, abilities...)•Approach - base decisions on emotional and practical considerations. Always learning... •Uncertainty and ambiguity•Feel able to start identifying longer term goals…and growing in confidence

Aspirational•Identify vaguely focused but distant career goals…happy to pursue interim goals/jobs to ‘get by’. •Goals often highly competitive / challenging… sacrifice is OK Approach - heart rules head. •Personal and career decisions intertwined

Strategic•Very focused. •Base decisions on assessment of options and like planning. •Approach - rational. •See career as something you rationally construct, have well-developed problem-solving skills.

Opportunistic•Take opportunities that present themselves, often unexpectedly. •Can cope with high levels of uncertainty/ambiguity.•Reluctant to close off options. •Approach - intuition, what ‘feels right’ and resist planning. •Flexible.

Career Decision Making Style

Bimrose et al. (2008)

Control

Decisive, self discipline + regulation, upbeat, negotiateSTRATEGIC – I don’t think anyone has influence over me...I can still try and get more experience, more qualifications and more of

everything...ASPIRATIONAL – ‘there’s lots of choice out there, I just don’t think it

applies to me. I’m kind of like stuck on this path because I want to be there’

EVALUATIVE –’trying to see around corners’. Procrastination?OPPORTUNISTIC –I am decisive but I am very unpredictable, I think

that’s the way. I need to kind of go yes, I will go for it. I don’t really go…oh no…..I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing.

CuriosityInquisitive, explore, seek info., experiment, future, reflectSTRATEGIC - So that was the only careers activities that I did because I was quite confident starting so I really didn’t bother to do anything else ASPIRATIONAL – ‘freaking out’ – very limitedEVALUATIVE – Very limited, thinking too muchOPPORTUNISTIC – Why? Sure it will happen anyway!

Confidence

• Self efficacy, overcoming obstacles/problem solving, learn new skills, SE coping with transition

• STRATEGIC – Absolutely! • ASPIRATIONAL – fate• EVALUATIVE – yes ...seems to improve for interview 2• OPPORTUNISTIC – yes some so much for one - issues

around feeling young, not ready...

Transitions Turning points (Levinson, 1986; Hodkinson and

Sparkes, 1997) Opportunity for growth and transformation Letting go of self, learning new roles (Schlossberg

and Goodman, 2012) River and raft metaphor – chaotic power beyond our

control v adventure requiring readiness and vigilance Contextual – meanings are personally constructed

out of experience

Where’s your role?

Someone else will do it for me

If I continue to sit in the car

Select bibliographyAmundson, N.E., Borgen, W.A., Iaquinta,M, Butterfield, L.D. & Koert, E (2010), Career Decisions

From the Decider's Perspective. The Career Development Quarterly, 58 (4) : 335 – 351Bimrose, J., Barnes, S.A., and Hughes, D.(2008) Adult Career Progression and Advancement: A

Five Year Study of the Effectiveness of GuidanceHodkinson, P., Sparkes, A.C. (1997) Careership: a sociological theory of career decision making.

British Journal of Sociology of Education, 18, 1: 29-44Inkson, K. (2007). Understanding Careers: The Metaphors of Working Lives. London: Sage

PublicationsPaton, K. (2007). Conceptualising ‘Choice’; A review of the theoretical literature. School of

Education, University of Southampton.Pryor, RGL, Pryor, JEH (2009) Applying Chaos Theory to Careers: Attraction and Attractors.

Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 71 : 375-400Savickas, M.L. (2013). Career Construction Theory and Practice in Lent, R.W. and Brown, S.D.

(eds.) Career Development and Counseling: putting theory and research to work (2nd edition). New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons : 147 - 183