Evaluating the Theories of Career Guidance - Paper Example

Bimrose (2009) asserts that there is a consensus regarding the inadequacies of all of the traditional methods that currently inform career guidance practice. In his account, he contends that the primary weakness is their tendency to claim universality for their concepts. For this reason, there is a uniform way of addressing career guidance regardless of the social and systemic influences as well as individual behavior. Further, regional differences have an influence on the choice of careers some of which are deep rooted in the cultural gender roles. Over the years, advice and counseling, especially in the western world have been significant in shaping future job opportunities for people in various sectors of the economy. However, it is the duty of the individual to actively engage in self-introspection and search for a career that would not only satisfy the societal standards but the individual aspirations for the efficient functioning of the economy, meaning that people must make their decisions with a lot of concern. This research paper seeks to address Bimrosess assertions on the universal inadequateness of the universal application of theories by analyzing the traditional approaches as well as the constructionist approach.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Individuals are therefore urged to seek assistance while engaging in their career path options. It is the responsibility of the counselor to provide the required aid in this issue. In the helping relationship, the counselor and the person seeking career guidance analyze individual interests and capabilities which are analyzed using various approaches that are deemed suitable for each case. It is, therefore, necessary to recognize that the individual can learn or understand themselves better by being helped to make progress towards the right choices in their lives. In facilitation of gradual and fruitful transitions, clients are tutored and mentored into gaining a productive employment and real returns, thus alleviating social harmony and reducing poverty.

The counselors have developed many theories serving to help in improving the career choice match the changing environments, especially in the 21st century where technology has advanced to the extreme levels. From a broader perspective, the traditional theories seem to be out of date as far as guidance in career path is concerned (Brimose, et al., 2006). Conversely, they are inadequate in addressing the notion and the reality of the current state of affairs. The development of guidance and counseling in career choice has to grow from the traditional approaches into a modern one which incorporates technology and entrepreneurial skills as significant considerations, bearing in mind the aspects of international relation. Many theories have been employed to guide people in discerning their career choice in the past few decades in the US and other parts of the world.

With regard to Bimroses contention, I agree with her that indeed, there is a need for change in career guidance and counselling approaches while regarding the traditional approaches with significance to the initial stages of transition from education to the job environment. Using the matching theory proposed by Parsons which is the foundation for career guidance and counselling, it is necessary to incorporate technology which makes it easier to match personalities and interests to the most suitable jobs. Similarly, although gender plays a significant role in modelling the uptake of jobs in societies, it should not be a limit to the potential of different people be they male or female.

The Theory of Work Adjustment

This theory is classified under the traditional approaches which emphasize on the individuality and the personal environment correspondence which views career choice as a continuous process of adapting and accommodating to the work. The individual seeks for organizations that suit their needs and expectations. This would be useful in my career search, understanding this will enable me to seek careers that will be fulfilling for art and painting professional. In addition, it prepares me to be able to accommodate the needs of my career. The criteria will also ensure that I am in a position to get the organizations that look for people with the abilities to satisfy their requirements. This theory is more of suiting the capabilities of employees. However, this method limits individuals with diverse skills since they would try to satisfy the criteria put across by the organizations rather than the personal characteristics that they possess.

An important characteristic of the theory is flexibility which will enable me to consistently become active in the quest to achieve my career goals. Flexibility will determine whether the chosen career will be easily satisfied or dissatisfied by the kind of work being done. Consequently, I will be in a position for crucial self-adjustments which involve dealing with work correspondence without having to alter the effectiveness and the ultimate results of the work being done (Aazh, 2016). On the other hand, perseverance refers to the ability and degree of resolving and coming to terms with adjusting and accommodating a lot of dissatisfactions before giving up. Conclusively, the theory of work adjustment explains the satisfaction and the adjustments that are to be elaborated regarding the case development, concerning a person and their related environment. Thus, when choosing a particular career path, this offers the required warning in order to identify the entry point in solving specific problems.

Hollands Theory of Vocational Choice

Personalities in Work Environment: The theory denotes that the career interest of an individual is an indicator of one's character. The interest can be categorized into six types which include; artistic, social, enterprising, realistic, investigative and conventional (Holland, 2013) the artistic part suited me because I had been intending to become an artist even though I ended up being an art and craft teacher. A person's attributes have to conform to the concepts above, and in any case, it is then easier to access the abilities of a person. In summarizing a persons career, the interest of a person determines the choice being made. A persons primary interest type considered the kind of interest being examined and thus the kind of career that the individual will choose. The second consideration is the secondary interest which will determine the lesser and significant role in career choice process. Additionally, the selection of career mostly is determined by the taste of the person and the likes; this is the personality of any given individual that aligns them to what they like most.

Realistic

These are persons who like working in a real environment with tangible things and being engaged in the action physically. The person has excellent skills in using the hands and manual labor in actualizing the results of the actions being undertaken. The type of career is the one which practical skills are put into consideration, and many physicals power is involved. This denotes that the career choosers of this part must be people with physical fitness and can work by themselves in a realistic world.

Investigative

In the arena of inquiry, I probably find people who are more conversant with mathematics and science problems; they find facts on how things happen the easy they do and bring solutions where necessary. The category involves the scientific and intellectual people who depend on and believe in them. They always try to bring out new things on board and test them to ensure continuity of knowledge and technology.

Artistic

The artistic criteria are people who do creativity, the art peoples they craft things with many ideologies to mean a certain lesson to the society. They make creative writings to portray a message. This type of criteria helps people understands the deeper meaning of things seen or heard in everyday living. In this, they contribute to elaborate the lifes challenges and come up with solutions. They are original-minded intellectuals who are mostly independent due to their thinking and portraying them through art.

Social

The social aspects of socialists are the people who like intermingling with others and serving them. The nurses, teachers and even social workers fall under this category. They value helping individuals and the society as a whole. They trust themselves and portray themselves as influential persons in the society because of their nature of career. They are friendly and trustworthy individuals who are easily approachable and always ready to assist.

Enterprising

This type of category of career choice is those who are always in the forefront in persuading people to do things or buy things or even go places. They are individuals who dont critically look into issues in the more conversant way. They lead people and the value success more. They like leadership and are more involved in politics because of fame and popularity. They seem to be energetic individuals who are so ambitious and very sociable.

Conventional

This type is a type that likes order and works in a more dignified orderly manner in deliberating their duties. The order is depicted in a systematic way in which people showcase their structures. The types are those who value success and are orderly structured and time conscious people land liked to be counted, and others depend on them.

In my opinion, this theory applies to my career path since it deliberates on many aspects that touch on every perspective of career choice. The personality of the individual will determine the life skills and career choice that anyone takes or pursues in life. The theory has coordinated congruence and consistency in its modesty. Differentiation is also another idea that is illustrated by the theory. It shows the distinguishing factor between the highest and lowest interest type of an individual profile enabling me to gauge myself. These perspectives are considered by persons in readiness to engage in a career path, and they must choose according to their area of specialization in order to be productive in the career path. Due to the rise of vocational interest in many cultural contexts, this theory has helped me to realize the intensity and the values related to choosing the career wisely in order to be successful and fruitful. Holland's propositions in analyzing issues related to the type of characteristics of the work environment and the career interests. Moreover, in the US, many occupational and career and even educational opportunities have adopted the Holland codes in deterring the career paths of many people especially the youths (Reid & Oliver, 2014). This has enabled the US to determine their net worth regarding career pursuance and thus making policies that will help solve the alarming rate of wrong career path choices.

Self-Concept Theory of Career Development

The theory denotes that career selection and development are both critical processes in implementing a person's self-concept. Self-concept may be viewed a result of a complex mixing of many factors including mental, physical, and relational experiences and even environmental factors. The particular context of relationships of the human being is more elaborated by super's theory. The interrelation aspect is a more concise and important criterion being more focused on in this context. The postulation of super on the roles in life and the life of space shows that life at any given moment is a combination of functions of assumptions. Many at times, few of the assumptions can take place and depict the life functions, while many others may not even happen at all, and they consist of the living space. This is because they are at the sides of the actual...