Career
    Counselling

... research resources for counselling students

Web Destinations

Key Sites for Practitioners

Career and Educational Guidance Library: Career Exploration Links
Created by the University of California at Berkeley, the site provides resources for exploring a variety of careers, as well as resources for those who are undecided about their career choice. It links to a number of government sites, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
http://www.uhs.berkeley.edu/Students/CareerLibrary/Links/occup.cfm

ERIC/CASS: Educational Resources Information Center/Clearinghouse on Counseling and Student Services
ERIC/CASS is one of the most useful sites for career counselors. As its name implies, it is a clearinghouse for information on all aspects of counseling and student services, but the career area is one of its strongest features. A virtual library looks at recent publications in nine areas of career counseling, including computer assisted career development. There are good links to the major job search websites and excellent resources for parents.
http://www.eric.ed.gov

National Career Development Association
The National Career Development Association is a division of the American Counseling Association (ACA). The site follows their mission statement, which includes promoting career development over a person's life span. Also at this site is information on educational books and videos, newsletters, and a link page to other career oriented sites. The NCDA is an ideal location for career counselors to discover the latest in career counseling thought. NCDA's website contains information about their annual conference, a career resources store, and links to other websites and listservs.
http://ncda.org

National Center for Research in Vocational Education
Hosted by the University of California at Berkley, the National Center for Research in Vocational Education advocates research and development of work-related education. The website contains organizational information, publications, programs and projects, an events calendar, and links.
http://vocserve.berkeley.edu

Occupational Outlook Handbook
After 50 years in print, the Occupational Outlook Handbook has made its way to the Internet. This handy resource is intended to assist counselors as they look at current trends in relation to trends projected for the twenty-first century job market. A keyword search of the Handbook makes it easy to find information in a particular area. It is updated every two years.
http://www.bls.gov/oco/

O*Net
The Occupational Information Network is a comprehensive government resource site for occupational information. Included are databases and job analyses based on the O*Net skill-based structure. There are also links to related websites.
http://online.onetcenter.org/

Key Sites for Client Information

In the past few years, a number of major online employment agencies have become established. Employers post jobs that are available worldwide. On many of these sites, it is possible to e-mail employers, send a resume, and search job opportunities in a particular field. Many of the sites cater to business and Internet technology jobs. Job seekers can learn what firms are really paying, and students can see which fields have the most opportunities. Many of the sites include help in writing resumes and choosing careers. The first 10 sites listed below are focused on job listings. These are commercial sites; thus some may have fees for job seekers.

America's Job Bank
America's Job Bank links state employment service offices, providing job seekers with a listing of one of the largest groups of available job opportunities. In addition to the Internet, the job openings found in America's Job Bank are available on computer systems in public libraries, colleges and universities, high schools, and other places of public access.
http://www.ajb.dni.us/

Career.com
A unique feature of career.com is the virtual job fair, a real-time opportunity for employers and job seekers to get together.
http://www.career.com

Careerbuilder.com
Careerbuilder.com is an excellent classified job site. The site hosts over 400,000 jobs, with multiple search options. It also provides visitors with an extensive advice and resources page to aid in career decisions.
http://www.careerbuilder.com

CareerShop.com
This site has news and information about job markets, along with the ability to post resumes and search job opportunities. There is the opportunity for two-way video conferencing between job seekers and employers.
http://www.careershop.com/

CollegeView
A free online database of over 3,500 two-year and four-year institutions of higher learning. The site also offers information on financial aid and making a career choice. A chat area is provided to talk with college seekers with similar interests. There are starting points for students, parents, and counselors. The site also includes a virtual tour of many campuses and the ability to get information about college websites and information by e-mail.
http://www.collegeview.com

FlipDog.com
Flipdog's unique spin is that it mines and lists employer job postings from company websites.
http://www.flipdog.com

Monster.com
Monster.com is a listing of thousands of job openings worldwide.
http://www.monster.com

Quintessential Careers
A comprehensive and free job-hunting and career resources guide that includes expert job advice and career articles, job hunting, and a fairly inclusive list of the best jobs.
http://www.quintcareers.com/index.html

Recruitment Resources
This site is a central source that links and rates the major job sites such as Monster.com. http://www.recruitmentresources.com

Ten Step Career Exploration
Career Paths Online is a Canadian site containing a ten-step self-help tool that leads the visitor through interactive career planning steps. Information automatically tabulates after each step and the results are stored in a personal results page. You must register to enter the ten steps exploration section.
http://www.careerpathsonline.com/

Professional Development

Professional Organizations

American College Personnel Association Commission for Career Development (VI)
ACPA's Division VI publishes Career Watch, a newsletter for career services professionals in the student affairs field.
http://www.acpa.nche.edu/comms/comm06.htm

Career Planning and Adult Development Network
The network is a nonprofit organization of career counselors, researchers and educators. They publish the Career Planning and Adult Development Journal.

Career Planning and Adult Development Network
4965 Sierra Road
San Jose, CA 95132
Telephone: (408) 559-4946
FAX: (408) 559-8211

National Career Development Association
The National Career Development Association is a division of the American Counseling Association (ACA). The site follows their mission statement, which includes promoting career development over the life span. Also at this site is information regarding conferences, educational books and videos, newsletters, and a link page to other career oriented sites. The NCDA is an excellent location for career counselors to discover the latest in career counseling training and print resources and to contact fellow professionals. NCDA publishes the Career Development Quarterly, a professional journal of research, theory, and practice in career counseling.

National Career Development Association
Department L-1847
Columbus, Ohio 43260-1847
Telephone toll-free: (888) 326-1750
Fax: (614) 326-1760
http://ncda.org/

Codes of Ethics

On the websites of the professional organizations listed above, none indicate a separate code of ethics for career counseling. Counselors should consult the American Counseling Association's ethics web page at: http://aca.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=resources_ethics#ce

Annotated Bibliography

Foundational Works

Ginzberg, E., Ginsburg, S. W., Axelrad, S., & Herma, J. L. (1951).
Occupational choice: An approach to general theory. New York: Columbia University Press.

Ginzberg and associates advanced the first developmental theory of career choice. They identified stages of career choice, beginning with fantasy in childhood. Their approach was empirical but has been criticized because of its failure to include ethnic minorities and females.

Holland, J. L. (1959). A theory of vocational choice. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 6, 35-44.
John Holland was clearly one of the parents of career counseling. His theory of occupational choice involves finding a match between personality traits (realistic, artistic, investigative, social, enterprising, and conventional) and congruent work environments. This article describes his theory as it was originally developed. His theory has continually been refined since the publication of this early work. Several major assessment instruments rely on this theory, including the Self-Directed Search and The Strong Vocational Interest Blank.

Roe, A. (1956). The psychology of occupations. New York: Wiley.
Ann Roe's work is foundational to career counseling because it emphasized the importance of family relationships in the development of personality, which eventually led to career choice. Following the psychodynamic influences of the times, she emphasized the role of early childhood experiences and parenting styles as the precursors to adult personality. In this work, she divided all occupations into person-oriented (e.g., teaching) and non-person-oriented careers (e.g., science). Then each occupational group is further divided into a hierarchy from menial to professional. Roe's theory was more of an explanatory one than a predictive one. More recently, she has modified her theories. Still, this early work stimulated interest and research in career choice.

Super, D. (1974). Measuring vocational maturity for counseling and evaluation. Washington DC: National Vocational Guidance Association.
Super's interest in career development began in the 1940s. This work is among the most important because it focuses on the career needs of adolescents. A key element of Super's approach is the development of self-concept over the life span. As physical and cognitive growth progress, vocational self-concept grows on a parallel path. Earlier, he had indicated that most adolescents were vocationally immature and virtually unable to make good career choices. In this book, he identifies states of readiness for career decision making based on how well one has developed a consistent self-concept. This work has direct application to counseling since it suggests that clients must be helped to move systematically through developmental tasks.

Williamson, E. G. (1939). How to counsel students: A manual of techniques for clinical counselors. New York: McGraw Hill.
Williamson's book had a significant effect on the direction of career counseling. He described a six-step model: analysis, synthesis, diagnosis, prognosis, counseling, and follow-up. Williamson's early approach was diagnostic and discovery-oriented. Later, it became the basis for trait-factor approaches to counseling. Williamson became involved in testing, but despite impressions to the contrary, he always viewed assessment as only one part of career counseling.

Key Current Works

Bowlsbey, J., Dikel, M. R., & Sampson, J. P. (1998). The Internet: A tool for career planning. Columbus, OH: National Career Development Association.
This is the first book on how to do career planning through the Internet. It addresses assessments, lists websites, and discusses ethical and practical problems associated with the new medium.

Feller, R., & Walz, G. (Eds.). (1996). Career transitions in turbulent times: Exploring work, learning, and careers. Greensboro, NC: ERIC/CASS.
The sections of this book are: Foundations Revisited, Turbulence in Career Development, How Career Development Is Responding to Different Client Populations, Innovative Tools and Techniques, and A Look to the Future of Career Development. The authors of individual chapters include John Krumboltz, Norm Gysbers, Sunny Hansen, Nancy Schlossberg, Sam Osipow, and David Tiedman, to mention only a few. It is a present-oriented book that outlines the newest thinking while also paying tribute to the history and foundations of the profession.

Hansen, L. S. (1997). Integrative life planning: Critical tasks for career development and changing life patterns. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Hansen's book introduces a new approach to career development that she calls integrative life planning (ILP). ILP takes a different look at career planning by considering it within the context of family, work, learning, and leisure. She believes that career choice and satisfaction are interconnected with these factors. Based on the work of Super (and probably Adler), Hansen explores six "Critical Tasks," including Finding Work That Needs Doing in Changing Global Contexts, Weaving Our Lives into a Meaningful Whole, Connecting Family and Work, Valuing Pluralism and Inclusivity, Exploring Spirituality and Life Purpose, Managing Personal Transitions, and Organizational Change. Especially important are Hansen's insights on gender issues in career development.

Kapes, J. T., Mastie, M. M., & Whitfield, E. A. (1994). A counselor's guide to career assessment instruments (3rd ed.). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
While not very current, this is a very useful book for the counselor. More than 40 major instruments are reviewed, and 125 others are briefly described. Since the first edition, new innovative tests have been reviewed and critiques of more established tests have been added.

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