Summer 2016 Guidance 1/Psychology 5 Part 2 - Lecture |
Harness Your Workplace Savy: Scope Out the World of Work |
During Part Two of this course, you will begin to understand the "world of work" (bottom half of the Career Diamond). Again, career planning involves learning about yourself and the world of work -the melding of the two will lead you to a career decision point. You will be expose to information regarding occupations, job availability, training requirements, trends, forecasts, labor market, economic forces, etc. As you begin to read articles, journals, news papers, web sites, etc. you will find that there is only one fact about the world of work that we know for sure: it is always changing!
Please take special note of the information provided this week because it thoroughly covers all factual and technical areas that must be considered when evaluating the world of work as it relates to career planning. The reading and web reviews will enhance your understanding of the workplace. Focus on opportunities. Your goal during this phase is to increase awareness, it's not to decide on a final career path, but to identify possibilities and opportunities that excite you . |
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| Work is divided into different categories. Review the possibilities using UC Berkeley's web site: (https://career.berkeley.edu/InfoLab/CareerFields) . According to Dr. John Holland, renowned psychologist who developed a theory on work environments and personality, found that people tend to gravitate toward environments that match their work personality: consequently, academic and work preferences tend to cluster around six common personality types. Your Holland Code identifies your top three preferences or interest patterns. The SII survey provided you with your Holland code and career suggestions. Many of the skills assessments, including the Eureka use Holland's theory. Go back to the Eureka occupational list and continue exploring possible options.
Most occupations that you will find as you research web sites are categorized according to work environments or industry clusters . Knowing your preferred work environment will help you will seek a short list of careers that will match your Holland Code. The sequence of the Holland code ranking can and will change as you transition in life. Usually interests can gravitate to the work environment next to the dominant environment. Very rarely does an individual's interest move across Holland's hexagon.
Research careers in all your codes and neighboring codes. For more information visit this web site. As a review, here's a summary of Holland RIA-SEC codes and possible majors - these were identified on the SII and Skills Confidence Assessments you completed during Part 1 of this course:
When you are researching your career, if you find that your career choices are predicted to have a slow employment growth, do not give up on your interests. You need to understand that slow growth just means that you will have a lot of competition for the few jobs available. My question for you is: How do you prepare yourself now to be the best candidate for the position you strive to have in your future, knowing that you will have tough competition? You can also look at related occupations within your interest areas (use the above categories or your SII or Eureka profiles) to look at options within your preferred work environment and see what type of growth is projected. Before the end of this section of the course, you will need to increase your awareness on the short list of careers you would like to investigate further. Use the outcomes of the assessments to direct your research. Explore fields of study, work environments, career clusters identified in your surveys- you can use all the web sites provided in this class, in the text, and any other information you have collected.
The task for you is to match your self-concept with work environments. Dr. John Holland, psychologist, defined the satisfactory match between self-concept and work environment as congruence. When you experience congruence, you will excel because your career choice is compatible with your life style leaving you quite satisfied. This congruence will lead to a career that you want and enjoy and it will complement well with your personal life and values.
Look at all the results of your assessments (MBTI, True Colors, SII, and Skills Confidence). Do you see a pattern? Here's a table that will help you understand the relationships between the results of the various assessments you have completed. I HAVE A MAJOR, BUT WHAT JOB WILL I GET? For those of you who have identified a major but are unsure what you will do in terms of a career path, view these sites titled: What can I do with a major in? from Berkeley's perspective. A specific career area will have many possible job titles. Here is an example of what I mean:
Each of the above job titles all have their unique job descriptions, salary ranges, and qualifications in terms of experience. In other words, choosing a career in accounting has many opportunities for you and you can find the niche that suits you best. Here is another example for a popular major, Business.
Your career path within that career will be unique to you. If you have narrowed down your fields of interest, here's a website that will help you identify the many career options within that field: www.khake.com . |
Making a career decision requires facing those issues, both internal and external, that may interfere with your chances of succeeding in the careers you may be exploring - we call these "career-related barriers". Sometimes these hurdles may stop you from proceeding with your career decision. Our personal beliefs and assumptions can also be very powerful, they will either energize you forward or paralyze you. Being aware of your career related barriers and having a plan that will address them will prepare you well to move toward the decision point of career planning. Internal barriers are inside of you, your thoughts and feelings. It can be your negative self-talk, the conversation you have with yourself about your abilities and potential. It could be feelings of fear, failure, anxiety, or stress. Some common internal barriers include:
External barriers are outside of you. External barriers can be the economic outlook, job requirements, discrimination and prejudice on the job, lack of resources to pursue an education/training, educational requirements, etc. The biggest challenge is
to accurately identify if the barrier is real or perceived. If
you can change it, then the barrier is likely perceived. Some view that their
cultural background, socioeconomic status, gender, religious beliefs, or
physical disabilities as possible barriers to career success. What you need to
know is that with proper information and resources you can develop a strategy to
deal with your career barriers. After identifying a barrier you need to identify
who can help you deal with the challenges. You may not have all the information
you need to help you address a barrier. Seeking out mentors, friends,
counselors, teachers, and/or family may enable you to view your barrier
differently and obtain the information and resources to mitigate or eliminate
the barrier. You may have to accept the fact that "you may not have all the
answers all the time". As noted in your text, gender roles have changed in the last two decades. The societal changes have allowed individuals to enter professions that are considered non-traditional. Nowadays, there are resources and assistance from a variety of sources so that individuals following non-traditional paths are successful. For many students, the external barrier of not having enough money for school is a very real barrier. Nevertheless, there are many resources from the state and federal government designed to address this barrier - it's called Student Financial Aid. Students have access to grants, loans, and scholarships. All of these resources are available for those who wish to pursue their career, vocational, or training goals and are willing to investigate options and develop a workable strategy to deal with barriers. Student Financial Aid may not be the appropriate strategy for all students who have identified the lack of funds as a career-barrier. For some students it will mean that they will work part-time while they study, for others it may mean that they work all summer, even if it means having two jobs to save money so that they can go to school during the academic year. There are no "cookie-cutter" strategies. Your strategy for dealing with your challenges will be unique to your circumstances. Your confidence level in your ability to overcome your challenges is important to your success. According to Dr. Albert Bandura, renowned psychologist, your level of confidence (self-efficacy) can be improved in four ways: by past experience; by watching; by encouragement; and by positive stress level. Here is an example to help you understand the concept of self-efficacy: Student identifies the internal, perceived barrier of not being a very good student because of prior school experiences, student has a low level of confidence (self-efficacy) to continue education and pursue an accounting career. Student identifies resources to address barrier (enrolls in a study skills class, schedules to attend free tutoring sessions, creates a study schedule, consults with a counselor regarding course selection, asks family and friends for support); Student watches how successful students prepare themselves in class and replicates behavior (learn by watching); Student gets encouraging and supportive remarks from instructors, family and friends (encouragement); Student although feels stressed and pressured, channels the feelings to study more hours (positive stress levels); Student completes the term with good grades and confidence level in abilities begins to shift in a positive direction. Self-efficacy level is improving. Student begins to believe that completing a training program in accounting can be a possibility (past experience demonstrates success, confidence level improves). The entire example, without the awareness of the barrier or having a strategy to deal with the barrier, can go the other way and confirm the original barrier, "I'm not a good student". It just depends on the individual and the direction the individual chooses to take. Where are you? How is your confidence level? What do you need to stay confident or to increase your confidence level as it relates to your career choice? We all need different things, you must be aware of what will work for you. Overcoming career-related barriers will give you the confidence to make sound and informed decisions. |
You have narrowed your career choices to three possibilities and you are now entering the Specifying stage of career development. At this stage you will further explore your three options and evaluate them for congruence. You will consider your values, talents, strengths, abilities, skills, barriers as they all relate to your vision of the work you wish to do as a career. You will make a tentative decision. Note: You are not being asked to make a "final decision". Final implies that changes will not occur. Is this reasonable knowing what we know about the world of work? Remember, individuals sometimes have up to seven careers within a life time. Being open to changing your mind opens the door to opportunities that may come about. You must also remember that as you gain experience and move through life stages, you will adjust your priorities, your values, your interests. You will complete a career analysis form for each of your top three career choices (Career Analysis form) to help you select the career that "fits" best with you. Use the resources you have used in this class (ONet; Eureka; other web sites provided) to learn more about the career so that you can accurately complete the career analysis. After completing the Career Analysis form, answer the question: How well are my talents/strengths expressed in this career? Look at the career that has the highest career points; ask yourself: Does this feel right for me? Do I feel happy with my choice? Do I feel confident with my choice? Does this career meet my lifestyle needs? Does it fit with my Mission statement? If the answer is "yes" for all the questions, then you have made a tentative career decision. |
You will gather a lot of information regarding the
work environment and learning to manage the information is a skill that you will
need to develop. To avoid feeling overwhelmed with the information you will
collect, I suggest you bookmark web sites and develop an organizing system to
help sort the data you collect. You will find yourself wanting to go back to
some of these web sites when you are ready to start looking for employment or
when you are ready to refine your direction. 
The Brick Wall ....Career-Related Barriers 
