Career Coaching and Counselling an overview

Career Guidance, Coaching and Counselling an overview

A range of terms are used to describe a number of forms of one to one career conversations, which we will book at in turn: career guidance, career counselling and career coaching. We will highlight points of similarity and difference between them.

The presentation ends with some questions for you to consider as you relate the ideas in this overview to your own practice.

1Career guidanceAssociated with initial career choice and young peopleInfluenced by Frank Parsons 1909 work Choosing a vocation and a talent matching processLed onto, and developed in tandem with, trait-factor or matching theories of occupational choiceVery influential in the evolution of statutory services in the UK

Origins of career guidance. Initial career choice, young people, vocational guidance. Frank Parsons was the founder of the vocational guidance movement. His seminal work Choosing a Vocation was published posthumously in 1909, with the key idea about how people choose jobs being initially referred to as the talent matching approach (Parsons, 1909). This later developed into what became known as the trait and factor or matching theory of occupational choice, generally located within differential psychology Developed in tandem with career development theories. Strong emphasis on assessment and on lmi. Matching/diagnostic developmental

2Key assumptions of a test and tell approachIndividual talents and aspects of a job can be objectively measuredThe practitioner is expert, with privileged knowledge of the labour marketGoal = reduce indecision and enhance congruenceAlec Rodger (1952) seven attributes: physical characteristics, attainments, general intelligence, specialised aptitudes, interests, disposition and circumstances (originally for use in selection) and John Holland (1966, 1973, 1985, 1992).

3Developing approaches to guidanceDevelopmental, learning and constructivist theories on career development have emerged

So, too, have person-centred approaches to guidance with an emphasis on self-actualisation and lifelong career developmentPerson centered approaches own much to the work of Carl Rogers, who we will discuss later in the theoretical perspectives section.

These approaches are more subjective, practitioner as facilitator not expert. From fit to enablement, integration of work with rest of life, a preference for autobiography and meaning-making.

Learning focus. It is the clients who determine prominent themes and stories in their lives, and the practitioner helps them to process and make sense of these elements.

The aim of guidance should be:whether the client has been stimulated towards learning and whether the client has been helped adjust to the constant changes in the world of work (Mitchell and Krumboltz, 1996, p.263).

Should also be noted that the value of this sort of non-directive guidance robustly criticised by sociologically informed theories advocates focus on information and placement.

4Guidance within a broader service contextCareer guidance often offered alongside a wider range of services, e.g. vacancy handling, information resources

Often conceptualised as a continuum

Information AdviceGuidanceCounselling

In its association with statutory services, linked to educational institutions or public employment services, guidance is often based within a wider service context so sitting alongside vacancy management.

IAGC continuum

Making distinctions between these areas has been important in managing access to resources, or in determining pay and qualifications for those offering different elements.

5Activities of Guidance (OECD, 2004)InformingAdvisingCounsellingAssessingEnablingAdvocatingFeeding backTeachingNetworkingSystems change

OCED activities of guidance shows a conceptualisation that is wider than one to one work. Used to argue for guidance practitioners holding wider roles. Seen as a public good.

6Career CounsellingDefinition of counselling from BACP website:

Counselling and psychotherapy are umbrella terms that cover a range of talking therapies. They are delivered by trained practitioners who work with people over a short or long term to help them bring about effective change or enhance their wellbeing.

Use with career reflects trend away from test and tell to person-centred approaches to career help

Career Counseling (note spelling) as dominant language in the USThe second term we will consider is

Origins of counsellingA therapeutic response and regulated profession through BACPCounselling and psychotherapy are umbrella terms that cover a range of talking therapies. They are delivered by trained practitioners who work with people over a short or long term to help them bring about effective change or enhance their wellbeing.So when conjoined with career its a focus on using one to one dialogue to support people in career developmentCareer Counseling is the dominant language in the US Usage of counselling not guidance Reflects the trend outlined earlier away from test and tell to more developmental and humanistic (ie person centred approaches) to one to one work

7Guidance and CounsellingAli & Graham (1996) a counselling approach to careers guidance

Jayasinge (2001) outlines how counselling has become integral to careers guidance

Nathan and Hill (2006) see counselling as overlapping with guidance as help for individuals making choices with directive and prescriptive connotations (2)

Different writers use terminology differently and draw different distinctions:e.g. Nathan and Hill career counselling focus on career and approach rooted in counsellingsee guidance as help for individuals making choices with directive and prescriptive connotations(2)and coaching as development of current career.Overlaps with personal counselling as career involves personal concerns

8Coaching

Coaching comes from a completely different direction.Coach something which carries a person on a journey or through a process. Then applied to sports coachingCox et al argue that it as difficult to define in ways that accurately distinguish it from training, counselling, mentoring. See it as underpinned by adult learning. Has moved from a instructional to a facilitative approach.Other forms of help have been rebranded as coaching (Rogers , 12)Has evolved from more directive to non directive understandings.

9Coaching and CounsellingCoaching more future oriented Counselling often reviewing the past

Coaching more goal oriented

Likely to be accessed differently

Another way of thinking about this is clients routes to it: career guidance through a public service relating to work, therapy through mental health distress, coaching through an organisation or privately

Coaching literature is very broad and incorporates exec coaching, performance, life coaching, line manager as coach, team coaching and peer coaching.

A continuum has developed, from directive to non-directive, which we will exploreBeing used in career contexts

Ive observed career coaching language being adopted. Sometimes means a simple shift of how one to one is managed. E.g. a move to repeat appointments, or a more goal oriented approach. IN HE careers work this is often part of the management of resources. Pressure to meet demand and respond to client needs has led to shorter drop in appointments rather than have long waits for longer interventions.

10Career Coaching one of the most focused, results oriented forms of coaching (Cox et al, 2010: 311) . Linked to organisational literature on career developmentmid career?Adoption of new models?Commodification?Privatisation?Ongoing vs one off?

More present with organisational contexts, and has more connections with the organisational literature on career develop than with vocational psychology or sociologye.g career coaching chapter in Cox et al. Does not cite major theoristsCoaching might also reflect the commodification of career help, given the trend to see career development as a private and individualised process. It is easier to marketise and has more currency than guidance.mid career issues become more prevalent changes in career patterns which require lifelong career management and the handling of transition.

Linked to organisational literature on career development, e.g. boundaryless and protean careers

Has been used in HE to refer to shorter but repeat appointments

11Questions to considerWhat terminology is used in the practice settings you have encountered, as a practitioner or a client?Which language do you feel most comfortable with, and why?On a continuum from directive non-directive, where :a) do you have to operate?b) would you like to operate?Questions as you work through the material12ReferencesAli, L. and Graham, B. (1996). The Counselling Approach to Careers Guidance. London: Routledge.Cox, E., Bachkirova, T. and Clutterbuck, D.A. (2010). The Complete Handbook of Coaching. London: Sage Hazen, B & Steckler, N (2010) Career Coaching in E. Cox, T. Bachkirova, and DA Clutterbuck, The Complete Handbook of Coaching. London: Sage Jayasinghe, M. (2001). Counselling in Careers Guidance. Buckingham: Open University Press.Nathan, R. and Hill, L. (2006). Career Counselling. London: SageOECD (2004) Career Guidance and Public Policy: Bridging the Gap. Paris: OECD.Parsons, F (1909) Choosing a Vocation. Boston, MA: Houghton-MifflinRogers, J (2012) Coaching Skills: A Handbook. Maidenhead: Open University Press Rodger, A (1952) The seven-point plan, in B Hopson and J Hayes, (eds) The Theory and practice of vocational guidance: A selection of readings Oxford: Pergamon press

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