Careers

an organisational perspective
4th e
Schreuder, A.M.G.
Coetzee, M.

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 CHAPTER 4

Career choice and counselling

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Introduction
• Career choice refers to the decision that people need
to make/remake about their careers and work.
• Career counsellors guide clients in the decision-making
process, commonly known as career counselling.
• Career development theories offer a framework for
career counsellors to examine and explain career
behaviour.
• A career counsellor must be well conversant with the
existing and emerging career theories, their strengths
and weaknesses, and how to apply them in career
development and choice.
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 Introduction
• Career counselling is a one-to-one interaction, usually on
going, by application of psychological theory, with the focus
on helping the client to make career-related decisions
• Career development theories - offer a framework for
career counsellors within which individuals career
behaviour can be explained
• Each theory offers a specific map to the career process,
some better at explaining:
 specific choice points
 the developments of career interest,
 explaining the external factors

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 Overview of major career theories
Career theories Examples

Trait-and-factor/person environment –fit - Parson’s trait-and-factor theory

theories - Holland’s theory of personality and
occupational types
- Jung’s theory of personality types
-
Life-span development theories - Super’s career development theory

Cognitive-behavioural theories and - Krumboltz’s career decision-making theory

approaches -Mitchel, Levin and Krumboltz’s
happenstance approach theory
-Hackett and Betz’s theory of self-efficacy
Relational approaches to career development - Roe’s theory of parent-child relations

Post-modern perspectives Savidkas’s career construction theory

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 1. Trait-and-factor/person-environment-fit
theories
• These theories developed from the measurement
movement as they focus on the assessment of the
characteristics of both the person and the job.
• Term Trait- refers to the characteristics of the individual
that can be measured through testing
• Factor- refers to characteristics required for successful job
performance.
• The underpinning assumption is that individuals have
unique patterns of ability and/or traits that can be
objectively measured and matched with the requirements
of the various types of jobs.

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1.1 Parson’s trait-and –factor theory
• The approach is aimed at helping young people to
make wise decisions and become employed.
• Consists of a three-pronged approach

Self knowledge,
including their Obtaining knowledge Integrating individuals’
aptitude, interest, about the job traits to the job

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1.1 Parson’s trait-and –factor theory
(cont’d)
• The characteristics measured for career guidance are
– mental abilities – include intelligence and aptitude
 Intelligence - combination of various factors that represent
judgement, reasoning, problem-solving and learning ability
 Aptitude – potential to acquire skills through training and
experience – such as artistic, musical or mechanical

– personality characteristics – dominance, emotional

stability, introversion or extroversion

– Interests – preference for certain occupations

– Values – such as economic, political, social, religious,

financial security

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1.1 Parson’s trait-and –factor
theory (cont’d)
• There are some limitations in using the instruments
developed around this approach, namely;
– reliability and validity of the test;
– professional expertise and orientation of the
individual administering the instrument;
– prevents interaction between the client and the
counsellor;
– instruments underpinned by this approach are
mechanistic in the sense that man is reduced to a
mere variable; and
– instruments are viewed as more static rather than
developmental.

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1.2 Holland’s theory of personality and
occupational types (RIASEC model)
• Main assumptions:
– individuals choose situations and environments that satisfy their
personality orientations;
– people search for environments that will help them use their skills and
abilities, express their attitude and values, and take on agreeable
challenges and roles.
• The theory classifies people into six personality types, namely;
– Realistic (R);
– Investigative (I);
– Artistic(A);
– social(S);
– enterprising (E); and
– conventional (C).
• There are also six modal-occupational orientations in line with the
six-modal-personal orientations.

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1.2 Holland’s theory of personality and occupational types
(RIASEC model)

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 Holland’s hexagon
Doers Thinkers

Organizers Creators

Persuaders Helpers
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 1.2 Holland’s
Personal orientation
Hexagonal
Themes
model
Occupational environments
Personal orientation Themes Occupational environments
Well-ordered systematic handling Realistic Technician, engineers,
of tools, attached to the concrete
Well-ordered systematic handling Realistic Technician, engineers,
of tools, attached to the concrete
Analytical, cautious, independent, Investigative Statisticians, Economist, advocate,
reserved, intellectual physician
Analytical, cautious, independent, Investigative Statisticians, Economist, advocate,
Free, unsystematically,
reserved, intellectual intuitive, Artistic Musician,
physician designer, fashion designer
create arts

Free, unsystematically,
Friendly, intuitive,
generous, responsible, Artistic
Social Musician, designer, fashion
Nurse, occupational designer
and speech
create
helpfularts
and show insight therapist, psychologist

Adventures, domineering, self- Enterprising Business people, marketing

confident, pleasure seeking managers, insurance brokers
Conscientious, efficient, inflexible, Conventional Office workers, financial experet,
practical accountant

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1.2 Holland’s Hexagonal model
• The four basic constructs used to provide a holistic picture of the
interaction between an individuals personality type and the
occupational environment, namely;
– Congruence – compatibility between a personality type and an
environment – if a person works in an diagonally opposite
environment
– Consistency-involves analysing the proximity of the individual's
two dominant Holland types with respect to the hexagonal
scheme. Adjacent types on the hexagon (e.g., Social and
Enterprising) reflect high interest consistency; opposite types
(e.g., Artistic and Conventional) reflect low consistency

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1.2 Holland’s Hexagonal model
– Differentiation – refer to which a person or
environment is clearly defined. E.g a person
who is more or less equally artistic,
enterprising and investigative –
undifferentiated. Need mor career guidance

– Identity – refers to the extent to which

person has a clear and stable perception of
his/her characteristic and goals and to the
degree of and stability
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Limitations of the theory
• Notable limitations of the theory are :
– although the theory presents a complex approach to
identifying interactions between individual’s
personality and environments , the results may be
misused due to the simplicity of its application;
– less experienced counsellors may use the results to
recommend clients to a limited number of career
choices; and
– personality-environment-fit approaches may not
always be applicable to the availability of jobs in the
job market.

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1.2 Jung’s theory of personality
types
• Main assumption:
– Psychological type is a major construct by which
personality can be understood.
• Psychological type is similar to personality type
as it refers to a personality pattern involving
certain psychological processes that determine
an individual’s orientation.
• The theory has been the foundation for two
instruments, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
and the Jung personality Questionnaire.
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1.2 Jung’s theory of personality
types
• The psychological types include two attitudes
and four psychological functions.
• The two attitudes are :
– Extraversion
– Introversion

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1.2 Jung’s theory of personality
types
• The first component of the Jungian learning
style dimensions indicates how learners
interact with the outside world. Extraverted
learners enjoy generating energy and ideas
from other people. They prefer socialising and
working in groups.

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 1.2 Jung’s theory of personality
types
• Some of the learning activities that benefit
extraverted learners include:
• Teaching others how to solve a problem
• Collaborative/group work
• Problem-based learning
• If you enjoy teaching others, participating in a
group and learning by experience, you are
probably an extraverted learner.
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1.2 Jung’s theory of personality
types
• Characteristics of Extravert people:
Learns best through direct experience
Enjoys working with others in groups
Often gathers ideas from outside sources
Willing to lead, participate and offer opinions
Jumps right in without guidance from others

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1.2 Jung’s theory of personality
types
• Introversion - prefer to solve problems on their
own. Introverted persons enjoy generating
energy and ideas from internal sources, such as
brainstorming, personal reflection, and
theoretical exploration.
• These learners prefer to think about things
before attempting to try a new skill. If you enjoy
solitary studying, individual work, and abstract
ideas, you are probably an introverted learner.
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1.2 Jung’s theory of personality
types
• Characteristics of Introvert Learners
Prefers to work alone
Enjoys quiet, solitary work
Often generates ideas from internal sources
Prefers to listen, watch and reflect
Likes to observe others before attempting a new
skill

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1.2 Jung’s theory of personality
types
• The four psychological functions are:
1. Sensation refers to our immediate experience of the
objective world, a process that takes place without
any kind of evaluation of the experience.
 Perceives objects as they are - realistically and
concretely.
 It fails to consider context, implications, meanings or
alternative interpretations, but instead attempts to
represent, factually and in detail, the information that
is available to the senses.
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1.2 Jung’s theory of personality
types
2. Thinking is a mode of evaluation that is
concerned with the truth or falsity of
experience.
It is based upon the intellectual
comprehension of things and, in particular, of
their conceptual interrelationships.
It is a rational, systematic process that seeks
to understand reality through analysis and
logical inference.
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 1.2 Jung’s theory of personality
types
3. Intuition refers to a deeper perception of inherent possibilities
and inner meanings.
ignores the details and focuses instead upon the general context
or atmosphere
It perceives (without clear evidence or proof) the direction in
which things are moving, the subtle inner relationships and
underlying processes involved, or the latent potentialities of a
situation
never directly reflects reality but actively, creatively, insightfully
and imaginatively adds meaning by reading things into the situation
that are not immediately apparent to a purely objective observer

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1.2 Jung’s theory of personality
types
4. Feeling is an affective, sentimental function. It
involves judging the value of things or having an
opinion about them on the basis of our likes and
dislikes.
Experiences are therefore evaluated in terms
of good and bad, pleasant or unpleasant,
acceptable or unacceptable.

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Contributions of the
measuring instruments
• Both instruments are useful in the context of
vocational guidance.
• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator :
– is helpful in the 21st century world of work as it
assumes a developmental component;
– individuals can adapt to new situations using all parts
of their personalities.
• Jung’s personality Questionnaire:
– is useful in selecting a suitable occupation in
accordance with the personality type measured.

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