Vocational Counseling

Vocational counseling helps ensure students plan for the career best suited for their unique personality traits and their interests. Vocational counselors use a variety of assessments and methods to help students realize those careers that seem to be the best fit for them. Vocational counselors are trained to help students through all steps of the career planning process and if they are able, students should take advantage of the expertise of these professionals.

Keywords Assessments; Career Planning; College; Continuing Education; Counseling; Counselor; Forensic Science; Gestalt Theory; Internship; Myers-Briggs Inventory; Person-Centered Counseling; Personality Trait; Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy; Self-Analysis; Teaching; Values Cards Sort; Vocation; Work

Overview

There are some people who don't have to do the research at all. Instead, they simply fall into the family business or the same type of job a parent or family member was involved with and it turns out to be a satisfying career for them as well. Others may get hired to do part time work while in high school or college and find themselves never leaving the industry. In reality though, career choice should not be left to chance or luck and students should choose their future career purposefully and in an informed fashion (Rayman, 1993).

In a perfect scenario, everyone would know immediately the type of career they would enter after graduating from high school or college. They would know what college or university, or other type of trade school they would need to attend, the major they would need to be accepted into, and the coursework to successfully complete in order to seamlessly enter their field of choice - whatever that may be. In fact, the myth says that those of us who have things best organized in our heads have well-thought-out goals for our lives at every turn (Lewis & Gilhousen, 1981). For most of us of course, that's not the case. Many high school and college students aren't sure at all of their future vocation -the career or profession they will ultimately enter - and they need all the help they can get as they gather information and seek out possible choices.

Those who do begin to think seriously about their future career options often don't even realize they don't have the necessary background information to make an informed choice. Making any type of lifelong decision without having all of the facts can create problems - college students often take classes in fields they only think they are going to pursue. Once they learn what the field is really about, they may decide it's not for them (Lewis & Gilhousen, 1981). By conducting career research in this hit-or-miss fashion, students have arguably wasted valuable time studying something they won't end up ultimately pursuing. Instead, the career development process should be deliberate and aided by trained professionals in the vocational counseling field.

As they move through their high school years, most students think in general terms of types of careers they may be interested in. At this stage of their development, students tend not to decide on one particular career and their broad choices usually lean in wide directions: those that need a college degree, those that don't need a college degree, industries with a heavy emphasis in science and technology, and non-technology-linked careers (Lewis, 1977). Career possibilities at this time may also often reflect the popular jobs and industries of the time period. Students in our contemporary times often favor the fields of forensic science or information technology-two career areas that are referred to and glamorized regularly in the today's media. In the past, this type of popular career interest was often in the areas of engineering, teaching, law, and business (Astin & Panos, 1969). Students will typically have an interest in a particular career but won't know how to go about getting into the industry or really anything about the job, except that something about the work intrigues them.

Students who aren't sure what career field they will pursue often find themselves in a state of confusion and doubt. Solid information about careers, the type of work each entails, and the coursework necessary to get into that line of work is crucial at this early stage of career planning and development. The students also need information about the best route to get into their field of choice. This is not always easy to figure out without professional guidance (Bogenschutz, 1994).

The Vocational Counselor

Career planning is a process. In order to figure out the right career to pursue, students need to understand that their career decisions are evolutionary- over time they will hone their initial ideas and set personal goals to eventually end up where they really want to be (Bogenschutz, 1994). High school and college students do seem to know intuitively that they need to begin thinking about and researching their future careers but in most cases they don't really know how or where to begin (Lewis & Gilhousen, 1981).

Enter the vocational counselor. The job of the vocational counselor is to make available counseling and career information to students in schools - from elementary through postsecondary settings. The counselor's goal is to provide all students, even those with special needs, particular academic strengths and weaknesses, or varying levels of social comfort with sound career advice (US Department of Labor, 2006). The vocational counselor assesses each student client and offers ideas and strategies to help each hone in on their best career choices. Information provided by the vocational counseling office about a wide range of industries, jobs, and careers is both critical and empowering and helps students as they think about their next step in career planning (Bogenschutz, 1994).

Vocational counseling is often referred to as career counseling (Bechtel, 1993). Students can begin the career counseling process with preconceived thoughts about the career consideration-and-decision path. They may sometimes believe, for example, that identifying a possible career path is going to be arduous and dull (Lewis & Gilhousen, 1981). The frustrating truth is that most students are not interested in devoting innumerable hours to exploring and investigating the type of work they will be doing for the next 40 or 50 years, day to day, and week to week (Rayman, 1993). There is plenty of career planning information available today and to its target audience, the catalogs, books, brochures, posters, and DVDs are in fact sometimes thought of as boring and not worth reading (Rayman, 1993). These ideas often impede or otherwise affect the students' ability to make good decisions about the career that may be best for them (Lewis & Gilhousen, 1981) so the vocational counselor's challenge is to somehow adapt and incorporate this often-lackluster information into other types of media and get them interested, reading, and considering. The vocational counselor's mission is to create an individualized plan to help the student realize a fulfilling job and eventual success in their chosen career. Vocational counselors are able to help students throughout this entire process (Bogenschutz, 1994). The task is complex but also rewarding and satisfying to both the counselor and the student, especially when a lifelong career match has been accomplished (Kimbrough & Salomone, 1993).

Career Assessments

Research shows that correlating a career with an individual's particular interests will help ensure satisfaction and success in that field (Rayman, 1993). The career assessments students take at this point of their career planning are no passing vocational counseling fad. In fact, for over a hundred years students have been using assessment instruments to learn more about themselves and to analyze their personality characteristics. These types of assessments are widely used in the vocational counseling field and help students and counselors make informed decisions about the best types of jobs and industries for individual students (Rayman, 1993).

Evaluating Strengths & Weaknesses

Vocational counselors at both the high school and secondary level will typically first assist students in evaluating their strengths, weaknesses, talents, abilities and personality traits.

Most people will seek a field of work that highlights their unique personalities once they really know what these traits are. The theory is that when there is a good fit between an individual and his or her work environment, that individual will be happier than if the job was chosen for another reason (e.g., the location is convenient, a friend works there, the dress code is relaxed). Generally there are defined types of personalities and work settings. These include:

• The realistic environment,

• The investigative work environment,

• The artistic workplace,

• The social-type industries,

• The enterprising career, and

• Conventional jobs (Heppner & Johnston, 1993).

Assessments taken at the beginning of the vocational counseling process will identify the individual characteristics and how they fit with these typical work settings. Possible matches can be made based on analysis of those assessments.

Student Self-Analysis

The student client must also engage in self-analysis to learn more about his or her individual traits. Self analysis means to think about and identify the broad and particular areas of an individual's interest. These unique characteristics can include a person's skills and abilities, hobbies, disposition, values, beliefs, and other personality traits. The more of these types of attributes that can be identified for a particular person when comparing the results to career assessment data, the better the chance for a good career fit. Students and vocational counselors are able to scrutinize lists of careers and college majors to compare which would work best with the group of identified personality traits (Bogenschutz, 1994).

All information gathered in the self-analysis is crucial to the students making sound career choices. To this end, counselors make use of interest evaluations, aptitude tests, counseling sessions, and interviews to first see which career fields would be best to steer each student and then help guide students toward particular careers they seem best suited for (US Department of Labor, 2006). Vocational counselors will often use a process that involves additional assessments such as the Myers-Briggs Inventory, the Values Cards Sort, personal introspection, and professional assessments so students are able to find out as much about their personal self as they are able (Bogenschutz, 1994). The results of these assessments often indicate that a student's personality traits may mesh well with a particular field previously not considered.

Vocational counselors will use theoretical practices when it can foster students' decision making and help them to become more informed. Proven techniques that have been shown to provide positive results are invaluable to those working with clients (Ryder, 2003). Those vocational counselors who don't use these important advising components tend to be putting those students they work with at a disadvantage (Heppner & Johnston, 1993).

Using the Results Effectively

Communicating the results of these assessments effectively with career-counseled students is tantamount to future planning success and often traditional counseling theories are implemented, to include Carl Rogers' person-centered counseling, Frederick Perls' gestalt theory, and Albert Ellis's rational emotive behavioral theory, which encourages students to get rid of illogical thoughts (Ryder, 2003). Vocational counselors often find that assimilating the work of these developmental theorists is advantageous to an individual's process (Heppner & Johnston, 1993). Counselors will then help students process the information garnered as they assist them in researching, gathering, and assessing information about potential careers. Good career information is found in career resource books, career websites, college catalogs, and talking with those in an assortment of fields. Comparing self-assessment data with that gleaned about careers can help students as they begin to consider specific careers and their opportunities for success and fulfillment in their fields (Bogenschutz, 1994).

When students take an interest inventory and find careers they hadn't considered now suggested to them, counselors should encourage the students to research and think about each one (Lewis & Gilhousen, 1981). In reality, students may have certain generalizations about some of these targeted careers or industries and these may cause them to initially discount their possible entry into that field. The vocational counselor's role then should be to attempt to identify and challenge those generalizations or stereotypes that may cause a student to not look further into a field that he or she seems through their interest and ability assessments to be well suited for (Lewis & Gilhousen, 1981).

The Next Steps

Honing Job-Seeking Skills

Many career-seeking students erroneously believe that the most attractive jobs are always held by the most competent and skilled workers available in that field. However, such positions are often held by those who have the most honed job-seeking and job-attaining skills. After assessing their strengths and weaknesses and researching the types of careers opportunities available to one with their qualifications and personality traits, vocational counselors continue to work with these job-seekers to help them learn ways to market themselves well and eventually get the job they desire. In this way they are able to find the best job for each student client and since the students should treat their job search as a personal marketing mission, both the vocational counselor and the student client can ensure it is the best job for them (Rayman, 1993).

As student clients move from the examination stage of their career development search to the formation stage, their knowledge of both the work world and themselves becomes critical to the search (Rayman, 1993). Students need to compare their interests with the predicted job market for their desired fields and the majors and course requirements that will groom them adequately for that industry. They also need to know the expected entry level positions where they will begin their career and the paths they will expect to take as they rise in the field. Students need to look into the possibilities and likelihood of advancement and whether the salary range is one they would be satisfied with. They also need to consider any unique demands and restrictions on their lifestyle, such as late working hours, working on holidays, travel, or having to work some or all weekends, that may be a part of this career (Bogenschutz, 1994).

Choosing Higher Education & Internships

Students then can begin planning for their further education for entry into that field. Working with the vocational counselor, they need to assess colleges and universities that offer the field of study they are interested in, the major they would be entering, course requirements, prerequisites for entering that major, and the other career options for those pursuing that major (Bogenschutz, 1994). They also need to consider their likelihood of being accepted and then actually attending that school.

Students in the career planning process always benefit from knowing how much a particular career helps others, how much independence they may have in the job, the income they will derive from the work, how their interests mesh with the job, the prestige associated with the job, and the variety of skills and tasks they will be performing as part of the job (Rayman, 1993). This information is gleaned not just from catalogs and online resources, but also from actually spending time at the job. Students need real world experience and this is generally one of the next steps in the career counseling process: internships and work experiences where they can see what really goes on in a particular career (Thompson, 1976). The vocational counselor is able to arrange these types of career experiences for interested students. The counselor will also eventually assist students with resume writing, the actual job search, and interview techniques (US Department of Labor, 2006).

It should be noted that most vocational counseling information makes basic assumptions about the student client's work personality and the research is often skewed in the direction of white middle-class students. Often these theories and practices don't adequately address the life and career opportunities of some minority job seekers. Since the values and assessments are often written for the majority, vocational counselors must be aware of the possible cultural differences unique to particular groups. Those vocational counselors who are able to individualize what they do and have an understanding of the unique restrictions of some groups of people will be most successful as they seek to find the best career path for all of their clients (Kimbrough & Salomone, (1993).

Not all school districts have a vocational counselor on staff, but in those that do this person is invaluable to students in need of career planning direction (Cheek & Christiansen, 1977). Regardless of how intensely the vocational counselor works with students, the two of them are still just a part of the vocational development network, which includes many other people and variables (Sparta, Watts, Baumgarten, 1978). An effective school vocational counseling program also includes the input and support of teachers, other counselors in the school, high school principals, and school administrators (Cheek & Christiansen, 1977). All faculty and staff at a school can be helpful to students as they strive to make important career decisions. They can do this by deliberately encouraging students, establishing and keeping to reasonable expectations for all and acting as a student advocate whenever they are able (Moore & Amey, 1988).

Conclusions

Knowing what is available, being able to effectively assess student clients' values, interests, abilities in certain areas, interests, and motivation is what makes the vocational counselor's job so important as they strive to offer high-quality career development advice and tactics (Rayman, 1993). To be as effective as possible, it is important for vocational counselors to stay on top of the career development field. To that end, continuing education courses and workshops are available throughout the country. Counselors should be sure to take courses, seminars, and workshops that apply directly to the theories and practices that are driving vocational counseling today and read journals and current research about the vocational counseling and career fields. When counselors stay current in the strategies and ideas adopted by these professionals, they are empowered to do their best work for the clients whom they serve (Ryder, 2003).

Students usually aspire toward future careers that involve helping others, that offer a feeling of some sort of independence, suit their interests and hobbies, have a certain amount of prestige, have a good variety of tasks, and have an income level that ensures they will live comfortably (Rayman, 1993). Vocational counseling can ensure students will find the career they want and one that is best for them.

Terms & Concepts

Continuing Education: Continuing education is the process of taking courses, reading, going to workshops, and otherwise attempting to keep current in a particular professional field or career.

Forensic Science: Forensic science applies scientific, technical, or other knowledge to areas relevant to the law.

Gestalt Theory: The Gestalt Theory, developed by Frederick Perl, uses strategies to help clients become more self aware: what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how to accept and value what it is they are involved with.

Myers-Briggs Inventory: The Myers-Briggs Inventory is a personality assessment designed to allow the user to see what broad personality category he or she falls into.

Person-Centered Counseling: Person-centered counseling was developed by Carl Rogers and says that people should take responsibility for their own lives.

Rational Emotive Behavioral Theory: The rational emotive behavioral theory developed by Albert Ellis says that the individual holds beliefs that may be responsible for his or her own displeasure.

Values Cards Sort: Values Cards Sort is a set of cards arranged as a survey to help users identify their work-related and life values.

Bibliography

Astin, A. & Panos, R. (1969). The educational and vocational development of the college student. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.

Bechtel, D. (1993). The organization and impact of career programs and services within higher education. In New directions for student services. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Bogenschutz, M. (1994). Career advising for the undecided student. In Issues in Advising the Undecided College Student. Columbia, South Carolina: National Resource Center for the Freshmen Year Experience - Division of Continuing Education, University of South Carolina.

Byrne, J. S., & Shufelt, B. (2014). Factors for personal counseling among counseling trainees. Counselor Education & Supervision, 53, 178–189. Retrieved November 12, 2014 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=97654111

Cheek, J. & Christiansen, J. (1977). Perceptions involving the role of the vocational counselor. Journal of Educational Research, 70 , 281-285. Retrieved October 7, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=5006715&site=ehost-live

Gysbers, N. C. (2013). Career-ready students: A goal of comprehensive school counseling programs. Career Development Quarterly, 61, 283-288. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=90154603&site=ehost-live

Heppner, M. & Johnston, J. (1993). Career counseling: a call to action. In New directions for student services. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Herr, E.L. (2013). Trends in the history of vocational guidance. Career Development Quarterly, 61, 277-282. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=90154602&site=ehost-live

Kimbrough, V. & Salomone, P. (1993). African Americans: Diverse people, diverse career needs. Journal of Career Development, 19 , 265-279. Retrieved October 7, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=16572463&site=ehost-live

Lewis, M. (1977). Career planning in high school. In Educating for careers. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.

Lewis, R. & Gilhousen, M. (1981). Myths of career development: A cognitive approach to vocational counseling. Personnel & Guidance Journal, 59 , 296. Retrieved October 7, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=6458594&site=ehost-live

Littman-Ovadia, H., Lazar-Butbul, V., & Benjamin, B. A. (2014). Strengths-based career counseling: overview and initial evaluation. Journal of Career Assessment, 22,403–419. Retrieved November 12, 2014 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=98367843

Moore, K. M. & Amey, M. (1988). Some faculty leaders are born women. In Empowering women: Leadership development strategies on campus. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Raque-Bogdan, T. L., Klingaman, E. A., Martin, H. M., & Lucas, M. S. (2013). Career-related parent support and career barriers: An investigation of contextual variables. Career Development Quarterly, 61, 339-353. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=92775746&site=ehost-live

Rayman, J. (1993). The changing role of career services. New directions for student services. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Ryder, B. E., (2003). Counseling theory as a tool for vocational counselors. Journal Of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 97 , 149. Retrieved October 7, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=9276475&site=ehost-live

Sparta, S, Watts, A., & Baumgarten, L. (1978). Vocational planning: The great swindle. Personnel & Guidance Journal, 56 , 316. Retrieved October 7, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=6475639&site=ehost-live

Thompson, A. (1976). Client misconceptions in vocational counseling. Personnel & Guidance Journal, 55 , 30. Retrieved October 7, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=6461958&site=ehost-live

U. S. Department of Labor (2006). Occupational outlook handbook. Indianapolis: JIST Works.

Suggested Reading

Brown, D. (2006). Career information, career counseling, and career development. Boston: Allyn and Bacon Publishing.

Brown, S. (2004). Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Publishing.

Gordon, M. ed., (1994). Issues in advising the undecided college student. Columbia, South Carolina: National Resource Center for the Freshmen Year Experience - Division of Continuing Education, University of South Carolina.

Hansen, J. T. (2014). Talking about counseling: a plea to return to humanistic language. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, 53, 22–33. Retrieved November 12, 2014 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=95322626

Hatherleigh Guides. (1998). The Hatherleigh guide to vocation and career counseling. Long Island City, NY: Hatherleigh Publishing.

Rayman, J. ed. (1993). New directions for student services. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Schiro-Gest, C. (1990). Career counseling for special populations. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Publishers.

U. S. Department of Labor (2006). Occupational outlook handbook. Indianapolis: JIST Works.