Workplaces Archives
Skills-Based Hiring: A Game Changer for Job Seekers
By Telma Sullivan
Skills-based hiring, which focuses on a candidate’s abilities and competencies rather than educational background, removes barriers for many job seekers and helps employers find the best talent. Career practitioners can be invaluable partners in this evolving hiring landscape, guiding job seekers to communicate their transferable skills, identify their top talents and competencies, and increase their knowledge base.
Complete Article >Teaching Transitioning Military About Interviewing: The AI Factor
By Mary Rydesky
Like most career processes, interviewing has changed due to the development of AI technologies. Knowing how technology impacts candidates’ interview preparation, interviewing, and post-assessment helps career practitioners (CPs) translate non-military hiring practices for transitioning service members (TSMs), spouses, partners, and veterans.
Complete Article >Rethinking Work: Essays on Building a Better Workplace
Book Review by V. Casey Dozier and Sarah Pearson
This collection of essays imagines new workplace structures and policies that promote decent and fair work for all, especially the most vulnerable is society. This book offers thoughtful suggestions for innovative work arrangements, strategies for rethinking work life, and recommendations for institutional and systemic changes. Reflective analyses with unique solutions provide direction and context in a complex world of work.
Complete Article >Empowering Mothers: The Benefits of the Professional Gig Economy
By Sarah Kelly
The gig economy has emerged as a viable option for professionals seeking flexibility, autonomy, and alternative income streams. For many mothers, juggling the demands of parenthood with a traditional job can be challenging. This article will explore promising solutions, empowering mothers to balance responsibilities more effectively.
Complete Article >Working with Neurodivergent Clients, Part 2: Navigating Conversations Around Disclosure and Accommodations
By Ashley Cross
Disclosing a neurodivergent (ND) condition and requesting accommodations can be intimidating and challenging for professionals and job seekers. This article prepares career practitioners to assist ND clients in advocating for themselves throughout their job search and careers, expanding upon the concepts and best practices covered in Working with Neurodivergent Clients Part 1: How Career Practitioners Can Support the Job Search (Cross, 2023).
Complete Article >Board Service: A Career Advancement Tool for Clients
By Laura Johnson
Board service for early-, mid-, and senior-level career professionals is a conduit for personal career progression, skills development, and leadership opportunities. This article emphasizes the role of board service in career advancement, outlines the types of boards and evolving skills required, and describes how career practitioners can guide clients in securing and excelling in board roles.
Complete Article >Helping Clients Overcome Their Fear of Networking
By Kristen McLaughlin
Networking is an important piece of career development, yet an activity many clients may be reluctant to engage in practicing. Career practitioners can help clients overcome their fear of networking by creating a strategy that reflects their needs and interests so they can achieve success in their career goals.
Complete Article >Implementing Retirement-focused Career Services in a Workplace Setting
By Andrea Updegrove
Individuals in the workplace today face retirement options that include continued employment. This article discusses workplace-based career services that can prepare individuals for this evolving nature of retirement, integrating career development theories and recommended practices to help make the transition to retirement smoother.
Complete Article >Working with Neurodivergent Clients, Part 1: How Career Practitioners Can Support the Job Search
By Ashley Cross
Neurodivergent (ND) clients navigate and perceive the world differently than neurotypicals, especially regarding social nuance, communication, executive functioning, and sensory processing. This article explains how career practitioners can better utilize their knowledge of ND-specific traits to support clients throughout the job search and interview process.
Complete Article >Assessing a Company’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging
By Ruby Swann
In recent years, a company’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) commitment became a sought-after work culture by employees. However, the focus on company DEIB programs has begun to decline. This article outlines six elements that career development professionals can use to help clients evaluate a company’s commitment to DEIB.
Complete Article >Helping Highly Sensitive Persons Navigate the Work Environment and Thrive
By Tiffany Greene
This article examines the significance of understanding highly sensitive persons (HSPs) in career exploration and development to help them thrive in the workplace. It addresses the traits of HSPs and their impact on work, providing insights for practitioners to effectively support this unique population’s career success. Strategies for accommodating and maximizing their potential to thrive in the workplace are discussed.
Complete Article >Integrating Career Theories for Military Spouse Employment: Unleashing Hope in the Chaos
By Candina Janicki
Through integrating the Chaos Theory of Careers (CTC) and the Hope Action Theory of Career Development (HATC), career practitioners can empower military spouses. Emphasizing hope, self-reflection, goal setting, and adaptation, equips military spouses to overcome challenges, pursue meaningful careers, and navigate the unpredictable job market with newfound confidence.
Complete Article >Positioning Clients for Success in Their Encore Careers
By Norma Dávila
Clients considering encore careers – professional endeavors undertaken while phasing out of employment into retirement or returning to the workforce after retiring – can find it challenging to take action when they are focused on their concerns instead of their possibilities. This article discusses how career practitioners can address those trepidations through coaching questions and strategies for moving forward.
Complete Article >Helping Clients Navigate Their First 90 Days on the Job (and Beyond)
By Telma Sullivan
Once a client secures employment, career practitioners can still play an active and important role in their professional development. During the first 90 days and beyond, practitioners can support clients as they manage their self-care, learn new skills, build internal and external networks, and seek ongoing advancement in the professional world.
Complete Article >Strategies that Guide the Mentor Selection Process
By Debi Ayliffe
A mentoring relationship can play an important role in guiding and supporting a person’s career journey. Selecting a suitable mentor is critical to ensuring that the relationship is beneficial and enhances a client’s professional and personal goals. This article shows how career practitioners can support clients in this process.
Complete Article >How to Help Clients Combat Burnout and Feel Engaged at Work
By Kristen McLaughlin
Burnout in the workplace is on the rise, as employees face higher expectations and strive for a better life-work balance. Career practitioners can help clients combat burnout and feel more engaged in their work through self-reflection and strategies to lean into their strengths.
Complete Article >Managing Up Includes Speaking Up
By Barb Girson
By speaking up in the workplace, clients can define their brand, refine their voice, and ward off “quiet firing” by employers. With preparation and practice, clients can feel more comfortable speaking up, whether it is to ask for a promotion, present a proposal, or express concerns during conflict with a team member.
Complete Article >Helping Clients Get Their Finances in Order Before, During, or After Job Loss
By Kimberly Zimmerman Rand
When working with clients who have experienced job loss, career practitioners have a variety of resources in their toolbox to offer career support. However, clients may benefit from financial conversations beyond the usual salary negotiation assistance during a job search. This article provides tips for practitioners to help support clients’ financial well-being.
Complete Article >Matching, Trust, and Symbiosis for High Quality Mentoring
By David Hosmer
Successful workplace mentoring comprises complex interacting factors beneath the surface. This article describes the impact that matching, trust, and symbiosis have on mentoring programs supported by an organization. Use the suggestions provided for creating and nurturing high-quality relationships.
Complete Article >Helping Clients Incorporate Self-Care During Job Loss
By Vonya Hodrick and Elyse Pipitone
When clients suffer job loss, there are greater impacts beyond the loss of income and stability, such as the decrease of one’s confidence and the onset of grief, sadness, and anger. Career practitioners support clients’ career transitions, which include healthy daily functioning. This article provides suggestions for addressing the emotional aspects of job loss, including tips for developing a self-care plan.
Complete Article >Using Career Assessment to Help Bullied Clients
By Dean R. DeGroot and Liz Willis
Workplace bullying is a common practice that harms employees and organizations. By employing career assessment strategies, career practitioners can increase both their own and clients’ understanding of workplace bullying dynamics. This benefits clients by enhancing their self-awareness and hope for the future.
Complete Article >Helping Clients Overcome Obstacles to Virtual Meetings
By Ken Meeker
Virtual meetings are an excellent platform when clients are equipped with the knowledge and tools to use them. Career practitioners can help differently abled clients and others who find virtual meetings challenging to build their confidence in these platforms and positively impact their careers.
Complete Article >Understanding the Needs of First-Generation Professionals
By Amanda Carcione
First-Generation Professionals (FGPs), those who are first in their families to enter professional employment, face unique challenges throughout their careers which can result in feelings of exclusion and impede the navigation of career ladders. Career practitioners have an opportunity to provide support for FGPs by addressing the challenges of these diverse individuals.
Complete Article >Discover One’s Ikigai when Considering Retirement and Other Career Transitions
By Jocelyn Chan
Many employees view retirement as the great reward after years of hard work: a time to finally enjoy life. However, several countries with the longest-lived people instead focus on discovering their ikigai (pronounced ee-kee-guy), “a sense of purpose to life.” This article shows how career practitioners can guide their clients to find their ikigai.
Complete Article >Sparked: Discover Your Unique Imprint for the Work that Makes You Come Alive
Book Review By Melanie V. Buford
Financial and social inequity, and the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, have challenged modern workers’ relationships with work. Jonathan Fields tackles workers’ discontent in his new book, Sparked: Discover Your Unique Imprint for the Work that Makes You Come Alive. This review explores Fields’ solution - the Sparketype assessment - and its strengths and limitations.
Complete Article >Tips to Address Workplace Microaggressions
By Marie Haraburda
Microaggressions are a form of prejudice that negatively impact an organization and can happen daily in the workplace. Practitioners can coach clients to recognize and effectively combat microaggressions while promoting a sense of belonging, trust, and inclusion for all workers, impacting the organization in positive ways.
Complete Article >Embracing the Reality of Trauma and its Impact in Career Development
By Paola A. Barriga
Career practitioners need to be aware of how clients’ trauma related behaviors may impact their career development. In order to create awareness and change, career practitioners can advocate for more workplaces to develop trauma-informed plans as well as determine when to refer clients to a therapist.
Complete Article >The Importance of Internal Employee Networks in Career Development
By Melinda DiBenedetto
Internal employer-sponsored networks, often known as Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), have many benefits for individuals and organizations. This article highlights ways that employees can research and make the most of their organization’s ERGs for social connection and professional development.
Complete Article >Getting Back In: Helping Relaunchers Return to Work
By LaShawn Randolph
Finding the right job after an extended leave can be difficult, yet possible. Knowing how to market oneself and how to find and use resources are important factors in making a successful transition. Career professionals can help Relaunchers build strong resumes, share resources, and break the stigma around career breaks.
Complete Article >Executive Level Challenges Fueled by the Pandemic
By Bob Tiell
By virtue of being in a leadership role, executives face challenges of great importance for organizations now operating in crisis conditions, specifically the covid pandemic. Any organization going through an executive transition during a pandemic likewise faces special challenges. This article briefly touches on several examples of major executive level challenges that often have career management implications.
Complete Article >Post-Pandemic Job Search Documents: Can Format Change the Negative Opt Out Effects?
By Gina Gridley
Many parents lost their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic often because of childcare and school closures. Research has shown gaps in employment to care for children have negative effects on parents trying to reenter the workforce. Common job search documents with traditional formats have been preferred by employers, however research has not explored those with employment gaps. Could changing formats on the job search documents change the negative effects for opt out parents?
Complete Article >Career Development Activities are a Key Contributing Factor to an Employee’s Commitment to the Organization
By Keli Bussell
Conversation over the past few decades has shifted the responsibility of career development from organizations to employees. However, recent research shows career development provided by organizations has an impact on employee commitment. Career pathways, mentorship, and training are three activities organizations and career development professionals can implement to increase employee commitment.
Complete Article >The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Why We Should Care About It
By Ann Nakaska
The fourth industrial revolution is bringing great change to industries and the workplace. This article focuses on why the fourth industrial revolution deserves attention, what practitioners need to know about it, and how it will provide career opportunities.
Complete Article >Making Sense of Skills using the Global Skills Taxonomy
By Ann E. Schulte
Skill requirements are changing so fast that most job descriptions cannot keep up…not to mention job seekers, career services providers, and employers. The World Economic Forum has recently released a global skills taxonomy to enable more efficient collaboration and signaling between education, employers, governments, learning providers and job seekers.
Complete Article >What is Your Greatest Weakness? A TWIG May Help Clients SOAR into the Job!
By Sean Lybeck-Smoak
SOAR and STAR are effective interview techniques. The use of acronyms to explain the techniques contribute to their effectiveness because they remind clients exactly what they need to do in the interview while also describing how to create compelling stories. When answering the weakness interview question, the more effective acronym is TWIG.
Complete Article >Gig Economy Jobs – A Good Fit for the Baby Boomer Generation
By Page Vincent
For many older Americans, prolonging or changing the professional window will become paramount. Yet the workplace presents challenges to workers over 50 years of age. How do we, as Career Services Providers, support this critical and growing population of job seekers? The “Gig Economy” provides great opportunities.
Complete Article >Rethinking Performance Reviews: Implications from a Global Pandemic
By Sofia Kospanos
Work performance has been impacted by the circumstances surrounding COVID-19. Employers may need to consider adapting their performance reviews after this years' loss of “normal” work. As a result of the global pandemic, should performance reviews be different this year and how might employees be better helped to succeed?
Complete Article >LGBTQ+ Microaggressions in The Workplace
By Jonah Friedman
The LGBTQ+ community faces discrimination as a result of sexual and gender identity marginalizations. This article examines the workplace microaggressions encountered by the population. Explored are coping mechanisms, workplace impact, and potential for career counselor intervention in future research and intersectional queer experiences.
Complete Article >Reflections on the Past: What We Learned from 9/11 and the 2008 Recession
By Mason Murphy and Melanie Reinersman
It is easy to forget how career services professionals created a sense of reassurance after other world crises due to being so caught up in the present pandemic. Reflecting on the lessons learned in 2001 and 2008 is critical to assisting workers everywhere now and more important, moving the field of career development forward.
Complete Article >Supporting Internal Interview Success Through Selling Techniques
By Carol Sommerfield
At times, internal candidates are the right fit for open positions and yet they fail during the interview process. This is a loss for the company and for the employee. Why do internal employees fall short in interviews and how can Human Resource professionals help them communicate their unique fit for a position? One solution is to teach employees selling techniques to help them overcome interview pitfalls.
Complete Article >Navigating the Transition Wilderness: a Model for Coaching Veterans and Other Humans
By Paulette M. Risher
Career development practitioners are often called upon to support those in the throes of major life transitions. The nonprofit, Still Serving Veterans (SSV) uses an adaptation of William Bridges three-phase transition model as a framework for sense-making, dialogue, and action for their Veteran clients.
Complete Article >How Introverts and Extroverts Can Survive and Thrive in the Virtual Workplace
By Jane Finkle
Faced with adjusting to the virtual workplace, introverts and extroverts can be equally challenged but may respond to this environment in different ways. This article examines these challenges and provides both types with tips on how to best cope in the remote world of work.
Complete Article >Artificial Intelligence and the Future: A Book Review of A World Without Work: Technology, Automation, And How We Should Respond
By Charles J. Lehman
While the current health crisis is having a tremendous impact on jobs, there is a much larger, long-term threat that could, over time, result in a permanent loss of work. A new book foresees how this is likely to happen and how society should adapt.
Complete Article >[Recognition Award Winner] What Career Counselors Need to Know About Refugees
By Shadin Atiyeh
In response to the negative stereotypes of refugees, the crisis in Syria, and the wavering commitment to increase arrivals to the United States, the career counseling profession has a role in advocating for and serving refugees. This article offers a background on the refugee experience and how career counselors can respond. [Editor's Note: This article was recognized by NCDA in 2018 for the author's contribution to the web magazine. Career Convergence is re-running the article in July 2020 in honor of all award winners typically recognized at the annual NCDA Global Career Development Conference.]
Complete Article >Managing Through the Uncertainty of COVID
By Cathy Bamji and Donna Godfrey
COVID-19 has exacerbated and expanded issues already existing in the current age of remote working. Organizations with remote/tele-working employees from across industries have been dealing with fluctuating productivity, trust, communication, and resources. Pausing to look at the common issues and using some commonsense basics can put leaders and workers back on track.
Complete Article >Supporting Clients during COVID-19: Role Expansion and Skill Improvement
By Jesse Brady
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, non-profit organizations that provide support to clients with a variety of personal and occupational needs have had to alter services. Career services providers can learn adaptive techniques and role expansion from their colleagues in mental health fields. This not only supports the clients but aids in all workers' career development.
Complete Article >Exploring and Addressing Generalized Anxiety Disorder in the Workplace
By Eda Talushllari
Most recently, the population has been dealing with the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. Due to the uncertainty and fear in the world from the Coronavirus, it is natural for individuals to experience higher anxiety levels. It is important for career counselors to understand the impact that anxiety and anxiety disorders have on clients to best assist them during this stressful time in history.
Complete Article >The Role of Financial Coaching: Powering Up Your Career Coaching Practice
By Gale Hemmann
Financial coaching is an expanding field, and many organizations are pairing career coaching and financial coaching services to offer holistic support for clients. This client-led process focuses on helping clients explore both daily and long-term money management. Career professionals may be able to utilize techniques of financial coaching in their practice to provide additional support for their clients.
Complete Article >Understanding Bias When Working with Multi-Cultural Populations
By Carlos Carter
One of the salient priorities of career services professionals is to understand the populations which they serve. This article briefly reviews implicit and explicit bias and how it impacts multi-cultural populations. Examining cultural identity helps career professionals develop an awareness of clients’ personal values, preferences, and characteristics, which is critical in serving diverse populations.
Complete Article >Traumatized Populations in the Workplace: Strategies for Working with Clients with Trauma History
By Krista Schmidt
Close to 70% of adults in the United States have suffered at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. Many trauma survivors will have lost or face losing their job due to the difficulties they experience following exposure which may negatively impact their career development and adaptability within the workplace. Career practitioners can assist trauma survivors through several concrete strategies provided in this article.
Complete Article >Opportunity Found: Chaos Theory for Military Spouse Employment
By Candina Janicki
With high unemployment rates for military spouses, creativity, open-mindedness, and adaptability are important skills. The Chaos Theory of Careers (CTC) considers that career paths are not linear and by utilizing CTC, career consultants can aid military spouses to develop a growth mindset and holistic approach to their career.
Complete Article >Fair Chance Policies and Career Development for Ex-Offenders
By Janice D. Rubin
New rules have been written to give job candidates with criminal histories a fair chance at employment. Read how practitioners can help ex-offenders prepare for a job search in light of Fair Chance policies. Additional actions can help neutralize stigma and reassure business owners who are considering hiring ex-offenders.
Complete Article >The Role of Career Services Professionals in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
By Ovan Oakley
Given the trends and challenges derived from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, workers need to be adaptable, creative, and innovative to shift into the 21st century world of work. Career services professionals may want to apply the Protean and Boundaryless career models to help workers succeed in the uncertain job market of the future.
Complete Article >Being Effective in a Multi-Generational Workplace
By Cathy Bamji
Generation-related data is everywhere, calling attention to generational differences, motivations and drivers, with warnings of dysfunction. But pausing to reflect instead of simply digesting the latest story provides the opportunity to see that the answer lies not with the generation or age, but with the relationships cultivated.
Complete Article >Women of Color Navigating the Career Environment: Using Male Dominated Strategies to "FuelForward"
By Vonya Hodrick and Vivian Blade
Overall, both men and women bring many skills, talents, and strengths to the workforce that are essential to progressing their career. However, studies on the progress of professional women show that women are often playing catch-up their entire careers. Women of color are even less likely to get access to the influencers and job opportunities that accelerate career advancement. This article illuminates the importance of strategic relationships in navigating the career environment, gender differences in relationship building, and strategies for practitioners to help women of color advance.
Complete Article >Career Development, Vulnerable Populations and the Lens of Scarcity
By Elizabeth Robertson
The concept of scarcity addresses the perception of having less than you need and how that shapes choices and behaviors. In career development, scarcity has potential to inform challenging repeat behaviors witnessed with clients. This article offers practical considerations for nonprofits to guide coaching and program considerations with a lens of scarcity.
Complete Article >A Unique Approach to Career-Focused Prison Reentry Programming
By Victoria A. Shivy
The career development of people returning from prison to society (reentrants) continues to be a focused area of research and practice. Prison-based equine-facilitated animal programming (PEP) is offered in many jurisdictions and, although controversial, may have unique effects when combined with more traditional reentry modalities. Results of a mixed-methods investigation of an existing PEP are discussed in the context of career development.
Complete Article >What is a “Stay Interview” and Why Should We Know This?
By Jim Peacock
Stay interviews, as opposed to exit interviews, are being used by many companies to improve retention. Asking employees what is working for them and what could be done to help them, improves communication, engagement, and hopefully retention.
Complete Article >How to Attract Millennials to Your Workplace
By Nidal Khaznadar
There are various critiques, myths, facts, and studies written about the millennial generation in the workplace and how they are reshaping the way we work, play, buy and even think. Yet very few leaders know how to approach this generation and attract them to work for and stay with their companies. Learning opportunities, social impact and feedback are the primary factors millennials consider when choosing a workplace.
Complete Article >Integrating Three Toastmasters Concepts into Your Presentations
By Laura Lane
You probably make presentations to clients, students, colleagues, stakeholders... Are you making the best presentation possible? This article will explore three specific techniques and a resource for taking your presentation skills to the next level.
Complete Article >Recruiting Gen Z Women into STEM Careers
By Leigha Compson
Careers in STEM fields offer competitive jobs yet women tend to be underrepresented. A review of the top career values of women and Generation Z reveals significant overlap, and many of the values align closely with opportunities in STEM fields. Strategies to recruit women into STEM are explored.
Complete Article >Talent Management: The Crusade to Retain Employees
By Bret Anderson
Employees are organizations' most valuable resource. The Certified Career Service Provider credential equips practitioners with the tools to assess employees' satisfaction and employability skills. Through meaningful questions, employees are retained and engaged in their careers.
Complete Article >Relational-Cultural Theory: A Social Justice Perspective of Career Development in the Workplace
By Lawrence L. H. Richardson, Tonya R. Hammer, Christian D. Chan
Traditional career development theorists rarely acknowledge the importance of relationships and culture. Relational-cultural theory (RCT) is a new perspective from which career development practitioners can work with their clients. Career practitioners may use RCT to explore critical issues that affect people’s career development in the workplace because all individuals have complex identities.
Complete Article >Career Development Tools at Your Public Library
By Summer Greenwood
Public libraries have increased their scope of services to encourage collaboration, innovation and life-long learning within the community. Connecting with and utilizing your local public library will allow you and your clients to benefit from a variety of resources previously unavailable or only at a high cost.
Complete Article >Navigating Changes to the 180-Day Rule for Retiring Military
By Stacy Hojnowski
Retiring military service members should be aware of the 180 day rule if seeking civilian employment with the Department of Defense (DoD) immediately after retirement. This policy restriction presents a new landscape to navigate when helping our retiring military clients.
Complete Article >Best Practices in Working with Women Returning to the Workplace after a Career Break
By Pamela Weinberg
The job search process is typically challenging for women who have taken time off from work. Strategies, tactics and tips were used to generate a three-step process to help ease the back-to-work transition for women.
Complete Article >Maximizing the Use of a Free Career Development Resource
By Janet Wall
CareerOneStop, the free resource offered by the U.S. Department of Labor, includes a wide variety of tools and data for career planning, decision making and transition. Knowing what is available and how the information might help is easier through the sharing of these case examples.
Complete Article >When You Teach Job Seeking Classes, Weave a Fun and Delicate Tapestry
By Rob Seemann
A good job search instructor simultaneously informs and inspires newly unemployed adult students in the classroom. A long-time instructor of job seekers suggests following this ideal approach at the next non-profit workshop, which will build confidence in both the student and instructor. Because he has learned from his adult students as much as they have learned from him, he can weave a valuable class for all.
Complete Article >Introverts in the Workplace
By Kim Finnestead
The purpose of this article is to explore how introverts thrive and react in the workplace. The traits and differences between introverts and extroverts will be explored, and the neuroscience behind each orientation will be outlined. The article provides insights about suitable careers for introverts as well as a discussion of the unique ways introverts contribute to the culture of the workplace, including leadership roles.
Complete Article >Chaos and Complexity Theory Applied to Bullying at Work
By Nicole M. Amos
Bullying in schools is frequently in the news but workplace bullying is widespread and also needs attention. Environments impact the people in them and people influence change in their environments. This means small efforts can build momentum and lead to long-lasting and meaningful change. Employees and employers can harness this by implementing small changes that will make bullying unacceptable in the workplace.
Complete Article >The Importance of Labor Market Information in Career Guidance
By Liana Jindaryan
When clients seek career assistance, they are looking for information about themselves and the world of work. Having quality information helps them make educated and effective career decisions. This article emphasizes the significance and timely availability of quality information in the delivery of career guidance and counseling services.
Complete Article >Successful Integration of Individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome (Autism Spectrum Disorder) into the Workplace
By Deb Blankenship
Individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome are increasingly being hired in the workplace, often to fill positions requiring highly specialized skills. For these individuals to succeed, employers and co-workers must be educated as to the specific needs of each individual. This article is designed to help the career counselor educate an employer on the more common strengths of individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome and ways to accommodate them for a win-win employment solution.
Complete Article >When Clients Seek Second Careers in Healthcare
By Allison Peterson
Healthcare careers are growing at a fast pace and are attracting many newcomers pursuing a second career. What career professionals and their clients may not realize is that several features of the healthcare workplace can present unique challenges to second career workers. This article addresses two such healthcare challenges, describes options and includes guidance for addressing these issues with your clients.
Complete Article >Five Reasons AmeriCorps VISTA Could be a Great Fit for Your Client
By Elizabeth Matthews
Career coaches and counselors help clients navigate gap year and post graduate options, make career pivots, and discover encore careers. Read this article to discover the five reasons why AmeriCorps VISTA is a great tool to introduce to clients during the career exploration process.
Complete Article >Preventing Job Seekers from Being Scammed
By Sandi Sibilio
Scammers are becoming more sophisticated at conning job seekers. Being scammed can have significant negative consequences. Career counselors can proactively help clients to identify the tell-tale signs of a scam before the job search begins.
Complete Article >The Impact of Pre-employment Assessment on Wise Hiring and Employee Engagement
By Kent Noel
Pre-employment assessment, conducted ethically and thoughtfully, often results in companies and organizations getting it right the first time, hiring-wise. Additionally, this typically better ensures that those selected are also a good culture fit and thus more likely to be fully engaged from the outset.
Complete Article >Great Expectations: Providing Excellence in Reentry Programming
By Staci Parker
As professionals in the field of career development, how prepared are we to positively encourage high performance from a group that has historically not performed well? Compared to the standards to which we hold mainstream clients, what are our expectations for diverse groups?
Complete Article >What Career Counselors Need to Know About Refugees
By Shadin Atiyeh
In response to the negative stereotypes of refugees, the crisis in Syria, and the wavering commitment to increase arrivals to the United States, the career counseling profession has a role in advocating for and serving refugees. This article offers a background on the refugee experience and how career counselors can respond.
Complete Article >Helping Employers Utilize Their Human Talent/Capital: A Case for Internal Labor Markets
By A. Nelse Grundvig
For businesses, the crux of solving a skill shortage is finding someone with the right mix of skills, abilities, and proven experience. This article identifies how employers can develop the talent they have by using internal labor markets and creating career paths.
Complete Article >How to Accomplish Diversity and Equity Goals
By Yamonte Cooper
As career development professionals, we often discuss diversity. What tends to be missing is equity. It takes intentional interventions with measurable outcomes to create a diverse and equitable culture. The NCDA Committee on Diversity Initiatives and Cultural Inclusion highlights here some of our work within the organization that can be applied to multiple organizations and workplaces.
Complete Article >It Takes a Village: South Dakota’s Collaborative Workforce Education Program
By Keley Smith-Keller
South Dakota has an innovative workforce education program which is a collaborative effort between private and public interests. This article describes the project and may offer ideas about how to do something similar in your state or region.
Complete Article >Helping Individuals with Disabilities Find Meaningful Work Through Discovery
By Lisa Kelley
Individuals with disabilities often have a more difficult time finding the right job than individuals without disabilities. This article provides a brief overview of a process called Discovery, which career professionals can use to help their clients find meaningful work.
Complete Article >Understanding the Career Development Journey for Native American Clients
By Jenna Crabb and Lamarita Vicenti
Little research has been done on how to effectively assist Native American clients on their career development path. The following article will address the career needs and suggestions for career advising/counseling the Native American client.
Complete Article >Three Reasons to Connect with Your Public Library
By Meagan Kittrick
Public libraries are community hubs, providing essential job seeking support services and resources. This article provides three reasons to connect to your public library: learn about career services, resources and programs offered, share your knowledge, and advocate and link career development initiatives.
Complete Article >Job Searching Considerations For Blind And Visually Impaired Individuals
By Mason Murphy
Clients who are blind or visually impaired encounter many unique challenges when conducting a job search. Those challenges can be hidden and external to the actual search process. This article is intended to bring awareness to factors that counselors may not have considered when working with this population.
Complete Article >Employment Coaching for the Veteran at Your Door: Practical Insights from a Non-profit
By Paulette M. Risher
Career development practitioners may be called upon to coach and counsel some of the 10.8 million veterans in the U.S. workforce (BLS, 2016). The non-profit Still Serving Veterans offers practical recommendations on the veteran population, their wants and needs, and how to forge relationships of trust.
Complete Article >Looking at Social Media From the Employer's Perspective
By Joe Bontke
Social media in the employment world is a relatively new form of risky communication. More employers are using the Internet to gather information about applicants. Using social networking websites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, employers can gain access to information that would be "off limits" during an interview.
Complete Article >How to Build a Leadership Culture
By Dominique Jones
Leadership programs are common in large, well-established companies, but they are just as important for smaller, newer organizations. Halogen Software, an HR talent management software company with just over 400 employees, has a robust leadership program and shares tips on how your company can create a strong leadership culture.
Complete Article >Career Support for Former Foster Care Students in Higher Education
By Christine Norton, Dawn Flores, and Naomi Valdez
Foster care agencies know that retention efforts are critical to prevent negative outcomes for former foster care students. Career counseling is an important retention tool to help provide direction for these students. This article examines the importance of career support to promote retention, graduation and financial independence with this population.
Complete Article >The Benefits of “Spirit at Work”
By Rhonda L. Norman
Cultivating spirit at work fosters a focus on meaning and purpose in the workplace, and has resulted in positive benefits organizationally and individually. Inspiring leadership is an organizing factor that aids in the development of spirit at work.
Complete Article >Focusing on Career Development with Inmates
By Amy Thul-Sigler
Assisting inmates with career development proves challenging for even an experienced counselor. There are additional barriers inmates encounter that prevent career opportunities. This article focuses on practical tips and resources beneficial for working with all inmates to develop skills needed for workplace transition.
Complete Article >Establishing a Network of Career Support
By Gaylen Osborn and Dre Manoni
With a grassroots effort, workplaces can create a program where individuals showcase their career journey. This network encourages employees to create personal connections, pursue their career development and advance the company's brand.
Complete Article >Internship Supervisor Training
By Cindy Lewis
Internship supervisor training is an understudied area. Many internship supervisors feel training is important and should be provided, but most supervisors fail to receive training except in the psychology field. This article discusses internship supervisor training in the workplace: the importance of training, who should provide it, and how it positively impacts the experience for all parties involved.
Complete Article >Navigating the Federal Hierarchy: Tips for Attaining Employment and Career Success
By Eraina Schauss
Unlike many positions in the private sector, the federal government has a very specific and lengthy process it uses to screen and identify potential hires. Career services practitioners can share these steps and tips with clients so as to achieve a fruitful federal career.
Complete Article >Supporting Transgender and Gender Non-binary Job Seekers
By Brandon L. Beck
Providing career counseling to transgender and gender non-binary clients provides unique opportunities. In this article, a few important questions to consider when working with this population along with some key tips and resources for career development are provided.
Complete Article >Moving for Work: The Difference a Career Professional Can Make
By Jennifer Bradley
The globalization of work has important implications for career service providers. Employees who move for work are a diverse group. This article discusses their evolving needs and the implications for career practitioners.
Complete Article >Corporate Careers: How Employees Get Stuck…and How to Help Them
By Mimi Brent
Why do employees in large organizations get stuck in their careers? Offering innovative career resources in the workplace encourages ongoing career exploration and increases employee engagement.
Complete Article >Managing Your Reputation
By Jessica Merritt
Do you know what your online reputation says about you? If you don't, it's time to find out. ReputationManagement.com's guides are free and designed to assist people in managing their online reputation. Career services professionals are encouraged to quote these resources, link to them, and pass the guides along to other professionals who can benefit from them.
Complete Article >Strategies for Helping the Hard To Employ
By Larry Robbin
This article focuses on strategies to increase employment motivation among people that are resistant to going to work. These individuals are the hard-to-employ. The article includes practical ideas that will increase their employment motivation.
Complete Article >Establishing a Veterans Center on Campus
By David W. Edwards, Sr.
Establishing a Veterans Center on a college campus is vital to successfully attracting veteran and military students in attending that university. Four essential elements of the center include 1) the university makes it a priority; 2) the staff are committed to serving these students; 3) the VA Work Study program is utilized; and 4) constant communication between the center and the veterans.
Complete Article >Time Management Tips For Career Counselors
By Robert White
Effective time management can be difficult for many career counselors who freely give of their time and resources in order to help others. If you fall into this category, this helpful article provides a variety of tips and strategies for improving time management skills and increasing productivity. [Ed. Note: This article was originally published in Career Convergence in 2010 and is being re-run due to its value today.]
Complete Article >Boost Employee Engagement with Just One Role
By Mary Ila Ward
It is imperative for leaders and organizations to think about how to maximize talent in a way that leads to mutual gains. Implementing the role of career agent may be the key to flipping employee engagement statistics in a positive direction.
Complete Article >Transition Classes for Veterans: Analyzing Outcome Data for Evidence-based Approaches
By Krysta Kurzynski and Seth Hayden
The NCDA Veterans Committee is actively addressing the needs of service members transitioning to civilian life. One suggested activity on college campuses is a veteran-specific transition course. Based upon emerging research, practitioners could contribute career development activities in these courses to develop engagement with this population.
Complete Article >The Purpose of Career Counseling
By John D. Krumboltz
The prolific author, speaker and theorist John Krumboltz explains why he believes “career exploration should be a constant, thoughtful alternative.”
Complete Article >Comparing Career Transitions of Midlife and College Student Veterans
By Heather Robertson
Military members were surveyed regarding their experience transitioning to civilian employment, life satisfaction and demographic features. Specifically midlife veterans and college student veterans were surveyed. Findings include a discussion of group differences and transition variables. Implications for career practitioners working with veterans are addressed.
Complete Article >The HERO Method: Bringing Powerful Tools to Job Hunters Facing Challenges
By George Valentine
Are your clients facing roadblocks? Job searchers facing challenges to employment may need the HERO Method -- a bridge to see themselves, the employer and the job hunt itself differently.
Complete Article >Competency Assessments Provide as Many Gains for Individuals as Organizations
By Selena Rezvani
Competency assessment is a critically important, and yet often overlooked tool for career development practitioners who work with professionals employed inside organizations. This article examines the under-leveraged advantages of competency assessment for individuals and its use as an effective career management tool with benefits that can help individuals in their short- and long-term career development efforts. [Ed. Note: due to the importance of competencies, this 2009 article is being re-run now.]
Complete Article >You Can Be a Social Worker, Coach and Career Practitioner When Guiding a Homeless Veteran to a Successful Resume
By Brad Allen
This article is a discussion of how to guide a homeless veteran from the post-assessment phase of career development to the establishment of a solid resume. Positive results in this process hinge upon playing multiple service roles while addressing the housing crisis.
Complete Article >Labor and Employment: 2015 Policy Agenda Summary
By Jessica Carter, Zach McGrain and Aaron Sturgill
The GOP will hold majorities in both the U.S Senate and U.S. House of Representatives as the 114th Congress convenes. This means a Republican controlled congress will most likely expend energy on executive branch employment issues. The purpose of this article is to inform and update the reader on several agenda items that may affect labor and employment in 2015.
Complete Article >Avoid the Shell-Shock of Job Loss
By Louise Kursmark
Losing one’s job is never easy. Yet, career practitioners can help employees (and themselves) minimize the “shell shock” of getting laid off by following these suggestions. [Eds. Note: This article originally appeared here in 2012. Because of its value it is being reprinted now.]
Complete Article >Organizations 2014: Reflections and the Road Ahead
By Bryan Lubic
Throughout 2014, book reviews and articles connected career development practices, processes, and ideas to the organizational side of career development. Here’s a review of the critical themes from these important contributions and a look at the road ahead.
Complete Article >Job Skills and LinkedIn: Where's the Connection?
By Mike Parchinski
Industry-related LinkedIn groups can provide important information about the correct work skills required for a specific job. This article describes the author’s use of LinkedIn as part of a job search to indirectly interact with people currently working in a specific industry. The purpose is to show how a job seeker, particularly a college graduate, can follow a similar LinkedIn approach to obtain valuable information necessary for conducting a productive job search.
Complete Article >Encouraging Career Asset Building Among Low-Income Individuals
By Amy Johnson
Urging low-income adults to "get a job, any job" and creating programming based on this position is shortsighted and leads to poor job retention, welfare cycling, inadequate wages, and greater costs than investing in meaningful career exploration and choice. Service providers may be interested in an online comprehensive career development program for lower-income adults that focuses on career asset-building . [Eds. Note: This article originally appeared here in 2006. It is being repeated due to its high value.]
Complete Article >Public Libraries Providing Essential Support Services for Job Seekers
By Meagan Kittrick
Public libraries are community hubs, providing essential job seeking support services and resources. This article provides information on common career development resources at public libraries that may be available to you and your clients, as well as highlights how one library, Cuyahoga County Public Library, is leading this process.
Complete Article >The Loyalty Effect
By Bryan Lubic
The Loyalty Effect is a management strategy that focuses on finding and keeping the right people--customers, shareholders, and employees--in order to create business results. This article explains why this approach is critical to career development professionals and for career management, and shows how to incorporate this approach to support career and employee success.
Complete Article >Regional Workforce Development Success by Using a Sector-Based Workforce Intermediary Model
By Pauline O. Vernon
Sector partnerships are well-proven in providing positive regional workforce impact and are even identified in the Department of Labor’s new Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act as an area to be promoted. Non-profits can play a major role in these partnerships, whether acting as a workforce intermediary or by providing specialized support services.
Complete Article >Employee Ownership in Career Development: The Role of the Organization
By Steve Knight
Although individual workers inside organizations know that career development is mostly a “do-it-yourself” activity these days, smart companies understand the value of supporting employee career development for increased productivity, retention and employee satisfaction. [Eds. Note: This article originally appeared in Career Convergence in 2010. Because of the value of this article, it is being reprinted now.]
Complete Article >Faith and Career Development: Complementary Tools in Reaching Teens
By Roger Wilcoxen
Could a career counselor and youth religious program leader use the same tools to achieve a faith-based, purpose-driven life? Yes! And these tools successfully reach teens. [Eds. Note: This article originally appeared in Career Convergence in 2007. Because of the uniqueness of this article, it is being reprinted now.]
Complete Article >Emotions and Employability: A focus on the soft skills of women offenders
By N. Jonas Ohrberg
While incarcerated, women offenders have an opportunity to pursue an education and improve career related skills. Although programs available to them may provide educational opportunities, they often ignore the development of effective interpersonal skills. This article stresses the need for programs that will teach women offenders about emotional awareness and help them develop effective interpersonal skills. [Eds. Note: This article originally appeared in Career Convergence in 2008. Because of the uniqueness of this article, it is being reprinted now.]
Complete Article >Advocating, Educating, Inspiring: The Expanding Role of Career Professionals
By Angela Londoño-McConnell
The role of social justice in career development is, once again, becoming a central focus (Borgen 2005; Arthur et al, 2009). Historically, career development, social justice, and advocacy have been intrinsically intertwined. The founder of vocational psychology, Frank Parsons, advocated for the poor and disadvantaged; worked against discrimination and oppression; and believed in justice and social change. But, does social justice matter? [Eds. Note: This article originally appeared here in Sept 2012. It is being repeated in celebration of Career Convergence's All Conference issue. See NCDA NEWS for more details.]
Complete Article >Career Development Opportunities Can Be Found by Looking at Own Job
By Maggie McCormick
Ongoing career and professional development is critical for all workers today. Such development demonstrates initiative, flexibility and a commitment to one’s growth. Yet many workers aren’t sure how to continue growing in the job they currently hold. This article offers strategies for identifying development opportunities that are very close at hand - within one’s current job. [Eds. Note: This article originally appeared here in November 2010. It is being repeated in celebration of Career Convergence's All Conference issue. See NCDA NEWS for more details.]
Complete Article >Military to Civilian: Assisting Transitioning Army Personnel in Navigating the Civilian Job Market
By Natesha Smith
The U.S. Army as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has an active role in providing transition assistance programs to discharged or retired soldiers. Due to the stressful life of transitioning personnel, unanswered questions and uncertainty may be brought to the attention of civilian career practitioners. This article addresses such topics as culture shock, transferable skills and tools for exploring the market for the post-military population. [Eds. Note: This article originally appeared here in August 2008. It is being repeated in celebration of Career Convergence's All Conference issue. See NCDA NEWS for more details.]
Complete Article >The Second Machine Age
Book Review by Charles Lehman
This well researched and wide-ranging book argues that accelerating automation will result in a second major transformation of society as great as the Industrial Revolution. The authors explain the processes well underway and the impacts on workers and work itself. They provide policy recommendations to handle the forthcoming challenges.
Complete Article >Helping the Homeless
by Chris Hogg
Quite often, being successful in helping homeless people find meaningful work and start (or re-start) careers is as much about the counselor as it is about the client. [Eds. Note: This article from March 2006, is being re-run, in light of the value and timelessness of the message.]
Complete Article >Offender Workforce Development: The Past, Present, and Future
By Imants Jaunarajs
One segment of the workforce comprises of ex-offenders; what efforts have been put into place to help these individuals, and what career development facilitators should know to effectively guide the successful reentry back into the world of work. This article will serve as a general guide to those professionals who have recently began working in workforce development or private practice.
Complete Article >Future Jobs: Solving the Employment and Skills Crisis
Book Review by Pat Nellor Wickwire
Edward Gordon’s ultimate objective is to help everyone reconsider the choices we will need to make in order to successfully resolve the education-to-employment dilemma. As he writes in his book, “the time for action is today, before other skilled foreign competitors take away our future.” Career development specialists are well-positioned to understand, advocate for, and implement the changes Dr. Gordon describes to prepare and develop the workforce of the future.
Complete Article >M-HRDI: Workforce Development Solutions
By Aaron Leson
Michigan State AFL-CIO Human Resources Development, Inc. (M-HRDI) provides employment and training services to unemployed Michigan residents. Although the organization offers a variety of services to its constituents, they have found the most success by focusing on providing business services to employers and by utilizing on-the-job-training. This article provides an overview of these services.
Complete Article >Career Moves: Be Strategic About Your Future
Book Review By Bryan Lubic
This book effectively integrates sound career management principles and workplace trends with a professional competency model to provide an outstanding resource for training and development professionals to manage their careers.
Complete Article >Find Your Federal Job Fit
Book Review By: Lindsey Marx
This book review analyzes Janet Ruck and Karol Taylor’s book Find Your Federal Job Fit. The book includes five sections that offer self-reflection tools and straightforward career preparation advice for the federal job seeker.
Complete Article >Management Development Can Be a Captivating Experience for Non-Profits!
By Ellen Manning
As reported in last month’s Career Convergence, Quest, Inc., helps people with developmental disabilities achieve their dreams of going to school, having a job, living on their own, and experiencing summer camp. Through more than 650 team members, Quest makes a difference in the lives of over 1,100 people each day. This month, we will review Quest’s internal management development program, called Captivate!
Complete Article >The King County Non-Profit Staff Development Coalition Project - Identifying a Need and Meeting It
By Cal Crow
For more than three decades, Washington State’s Center for Learning Connections (CLC) has been providing training, organizing conferences, and managing programs throughout the United States and elsewhere. Located at Edmonds Community College, CLC’s mission is to prepare learners to manage change and create successful futures. One of its most creative and successful projects is the Non-Profit Staff Development Coalition (NPSDC).
Complete Article >The Landscape of the 21st Century Workplace: Emerging Trends You Need To Know as a Career Development Professional
By Caitlin Williams
Based on research in workplace and workforce trends, this series presents the eight emerging trends that career development specialists working inside organizations need to know. This article presents trends 1 through 4, describes each trend and provides questions, insights and ideas to help you in your work.
Complete Article >Necessary Skills: Being Marketable for Federal Positions
By Amiko Matsumoto
Technical competencies are important for any job, but federal agencies look for additional skills in those they hire, such as teamwork and strategic thinking. Here's what federal hiring managers and HR specialists say are just as important.
Complete Article >Live Your Life Like a Lighthouse and be a Beacon of Hope to Others
By Pat Schwallie-Giddis
Think about who has mentored you and or who you are currently mentoring. Whether you are involved in association or foundation work, or in the non-profit world, you can and are reaching out to others.
Complete Article >Do Personnel Relocations Promote The Career Development Of Employees? Lessons From The Career Management System Of A Japanese Company
By Masumi Nagae and Yoshiji Ishikawa
After an employee relocation, how do work values change and what support structures are necessary for successful transition? How does their relocation experience affect their career development? We address these questions based on our research on employee satisfaction and work values in Japanese companies.
Complete Article >The Patchwork Career of a Military Spouse
By Lori Cleymans
Military spouses are often told that they also serve alongside their active duty spouse, supporting their career throughout the years. This service often calls for sacrifice and for many military spouses their career is what suffers. Over the years the resume of a military spouse becomes a hodge-podge of jobs and skill sets. Focusing on transferrable skills and new opportunities can increase satisfaction.
Complete Article >NCDA Plays Key Role in Delivering CDF Training to Persons who Work with Offenders
by JoAnn Harris-Bowlsbey
NCDA's Career Development Facilitator curriculum has been adapted to train Offender Workforce Development Specialists (OWDS). These OWDS help prisoners plan careers, increasing the likelihood that they will stay out of prison after release. NCDA arranges the training of facilitators at the state level. Those trained in each state then provide training to others in their local organizations. In honor of NCDA's 100th anniversary, Career Convergence is publishing articles of historical significance. This month, our web magazine is reprinting articles from our debut issue in 2003.
Complete Article >South Carolina Legislation Calls for Enhanced K-12 Career Guidance, CDF Certification
by Ray Davis
Current legislation in the South Carolina State Legislature seeks to enhance the role of career development as being essential to economic development, school improvement, and the present and future prosperity of citizens. Included in this K-12 reform is revitalized career guidance and counseling and career development certification through Career Development Facilitator training. In honor of NCDA's 100th anniversary, Career Convergence is publishing articles of historical significance. This month, our web magazine is reprinting articles from our debut issue in 2003.
Complete Article >Making Your Move Into Corporate Career Development
By Paula Kosin
An ad for an Employee Career Consultant in a leading corporation drew over 300 applicants two years ago. Expertise in career counseling with an adult population is only one of the competencies that this job demands. If corporate career development is an area you might be interested in moving into, what can you do to be the best prepared and qualified candidate? In honor of NCDA's 100th anniversary, Career Convergence is publishing articles of historical significance. This month, our web magazine is reprinting articles from our debut issue in 2003.
Complete Article >Learning Outcomes Assessment Step-By-Step: The Story Behind NCDA’s New Monograph
By Shawn P. Conlon
Throughout the long history of employee career development, one of the most difficult questions to answer has been, “How is my organization’s career development program impacting the lives of employees?” Through author interviews, this article explains how and why our professional association offers this resource to support the field of career development.
Complete Article >Building a Successful Career Development Program: Three Key Considerations
By Carrie Tuning and Carolyn Kurowski
This case study presents three key lessons learned while developing and implementing MyCareer@VA, the premier, organization-wide career development program for the Department of Veterans Affairs. With incredible benefits for both employees and organizations, we outline the three key steps any organization can take to create an impactful career development program.
Complete Article >Career Development for Transitioning Veterans
Book Review by Tracy Capozzoli
The reasons why transitioning personnel seek out individualized career services are varied and unique. This new NCDA monograph brings to light numerous career concerns and is an excellent place to start learning how to work with veterans.
Complete Article >Career Retention for Vulnerable Populations: A Relapse Perspective
By Shan Johnson
In the United States we are facing economic challenges that make getting a job difficult but keeping that job even more crucial. This is especially true for vulnerable populations who can fall through the cracks of our system. Career counselors can benefit from the field of addiction recovery when assisting this population with employment retention. [Ed. Note: this article is being re-run in light of its timely and positive message.]
Complete Article >Learning Outcomes Assessment Step-by-Step: Enhancing Evidence-Based Practice in Career Services
Book Review By Joy Evans and Phyllis N. Weatherly
Learning outcomes assessment is a hot topic within career development, particularly in higher education. The following book review explores a recent NCDA monograph on this important topic, including a detailed description of its content and key takeaways for all readers across niche areas.
Complete Article >New Opportunity School For Women: A Unique Career and Education Program in Appalachia
By Caroline Francis
The New Opportunity School for Women located in Berea, Kentucky, offers a free three-week career and education program targeting low-income, middle-aged women in the south central Appalachian region. The intensive curriculum includes: job search skills, self-esteem, computer basics, internships, goal setting, and learning how to become enrolled in further education.
Complete Article >Today’s Veterans: Using Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) Approach to Build Upon Their Career Dreams
By Mary Buzzetta and Shirley Rowe
This article will provide an overview of the challenges veterans face in relation to their career development. Effective application of the Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) approach as a foundation for assisting veterans in building upon their career dreams will be discussed. Specific strategies will be provided to illustrate how the CIP approach can be applicable to supporting veterans in their career development process.
Complete Article >Five Best Practices for Cross-Cultural Mentoring in Organizations
By Rhonda L. Norman
The article highlights the significance of responding to a diverse workforce with an evidence-based career development intervention, mentoring. Mentoring tasks in organizations happen from two different but equally important perspectives, career-related and psychosocial. Traditionally, mentoring has been based upon a monocultural European male perspective, but the author highlights a need to contextualize cross-cultural mentoring from a multiculturally inclusive perspective.
Complete Article >Working 50+ ---Getting Older Workers Back to Work through Community Partnerships
By Emily Allen
Right now, over 3 million older adults are searching for work, and many are dealing with the impact of long-term unemployment. AARP Foundation is working in concert with community partners to reverse the downward spiral that many older Americans and their families face.
Complete Article >Career Counseling Trends in Rural America
By Cynthia Gurne
The role of the career counselor is expanding in rural America to encompass more of what we might normally think of as workforce development by adding tasks such as advocacy, planning, and collaborating. The career counselor is becoming an important tool in helping rural communities grow economically and expand their skilled workforce base.
Complete Article >How to Dead Reckon the Job Market: An Army Ranger’s Job Search Story
By Andreas Lucido
Career counselors working with transitioning military can use this Army Ranger's advice directly with clients.
Complete Article >A Strength-Based Approach to Career Development Using Appreciative Inquiry
Book Review by Shawn Utecht
This book is for counselors who are looking for a practical resource to help clients use their strengths to navigate a career development path. Donald Schutt, the author of the book, offers a detailed explanation of how the organizational Appreciative Inquiry approach is easily transferable to the field of career development.
Complete Article >The Nonprofit Career Guide: How to land a job that makes a difference
Book review by Jennifer Ealey & Samuel Plonk
Career counselors working with clients interested in the nonprofit sector will find Shelly Cryer’s new book useful as a resource tool. This article reviews the book and discusses the potential value for both career counselors and those looking for a career in the nonprofit world.
Complete Article >What Employers REALLY Want: Grasping the Unspoken Rules of the Workplace
By Steve Parese
Unconventional candidates often have difficulty finding and keeping good jobs, even when they have strong vocational skills. This article suggests one reason: individuals from challenging backgrounds often fail to meet employers’ unspoken expectations. It explains why this is so, and offers a number of straightforward strategies to address these issues.
Complete Article >Reviving a Stagnant Career
By Tim Lutenski
Many people can lose enthusiasm and passion for work at some time over the course of their career. Career counselors can help both themselves and others rediscover both passion and purpose for their work by implementing several proactive measures.
Complete Article >The Reality of Re-entry for the Ex-offender in the United States
By Lyn Wazny
Ex-offenders face many career-related obstacles upon release from prison. This article presents brief national statistics and some information about federal programs that were created to help ex-offenders obtain gainful employment. Also included are resources specific to the metro Denver, Colorado area.
Complete Article >Resumes & LinkedIn Profiles: Powerful Positioning within an Organization
By Wendy S. Enelow
Career management is a lifelong process. The resume, LinkedIn profile and other career communications can be of value in that process, well beyond the job search.
Complete Article >Management Strategies for a Virtual Career Services Program
By Barbara Reuper-Baum
What if you were asked to design a program that would provide a wide range of career services to over 60,000 people working in over 500 locations around the world—and told that you must do so without putting counselors in any of these locations?
Complete Article >Manifesting a Champion Mind
By Danielle Gruen
It is more important than ever for career professionals to find ways to instill hope, foster creative thought, and maintain a positive outlook in both ourselves and our clients. It is in the mindset of the athlete, the "Champion Mind", where how to do this is understood and unveiled.
Complete Article >Top Web Tools for America's Job Seekers
By Janet E. Wall
Given that our unemployment rate continues to flirt with double digits, we all try to find ways to help our clients and customers. Over the last few years several online tools have been developed. Here is a listing of what some consider the best tools.
Complete Article >Personal Learning Plans: a Tool for Engaging and Retaining Talent
By Christy Ciezki & Nisha Kharé
Continuous learning has become vital in developing and retaining a skilled workforce. The challenge to organizations is supporting a diverse and evolving workforce in achieving learning and career development goals. ‘Personal Learning Plans' can be used as an organizational tool for the engagement and retention of workers.
Complete Article >Gardening as a Tool for Career Development
By Nancy Miller
Strategies for increasing economic empowerment and job search skills are shared via an interview with a "hands-on" practitioner.
Complete Article >Benefits of the Personal Learning Plan
By Nisha Khare & Christy Ciezki
Addendum to their April 1, 2010 article.
Complete Article >The Personal Branding Process
By Susan Chritton
There is a lot of buzz in the market these days about Personal Branding. For many it feels gimmicky or like a slick marketing trick to once again make you feel like you are missing something if you don't have your own personal brand. The savvy career development professional knows that personal branding is neither a gimmick nor a trick, it is a concept that has taken hold and is being used extensively in the business world.
Complete Article >How a Nonprofit Agency Helps Latinos Thrive in Adams County, Colorado
By Mariela Michael
This article will discuss the old ideas that Latinos have encountered for many years. Ideas such as Latinos are not interested in education, they cannot speak English and there are no supports for Latino adults. A program to help Latinos overcome many of these career obstacles will be discussed.
Complete Article >The Association of Counselors and Educators in Government (ACEG)
By Don Hill
Learn more about the Association of Counselors and Educators in Government (ACEG)! The ACEG is a division of the American Counseling Association (ACA) and is comprised of counselors and educators who work with members of the Armed Services and their families (active duty or retired) and civilian employees of the Department of Defense and other government agencies.
Complete Article >Another Career, Not by Choice
By Mary Probst
Recently the demographics of the unemployed population have changed, and more individuals who involuntarily lost their jobs due to a dwindling economy are now seeking new careers. Establishments like workforce centers, employment agencies, nonprofits and community organizations who serve these unemployed individuals have the opportunity to generate empowerment in the job seekers by identifying transferable skills.
Complete Article >The Importance of Coaching New Leaders
By Lewis Lubin
One of the hallmarks of career success inside organizations is the ability of a new or recently promoted employee to successfully transition into a new or expanded leadership role. This article highlights findings and practices from Right Management, Inc. that help new leaders succeed through the support of "on-boarding" coaching.
Complete Article >Your Year End Review
By Caitlin Williams
Before you toss away that 2009 calendar, consider taking the time to review your past year's work. As career development professionals, conducting a year-end review can help us reflect on what we've learned about ourselves and our own career development. Further, we can guide our clients who work in organizations through their own year-end review and use this information to help them design meaningful goals in the new year.
Complete Article >Civilian to Military: Assisting Clients Seeking a Military Option
By Ted Hagert
In today's economy, many individuals are looking at the military as a viable option for employment. Here is a plan of action to assist counselors who are unfamiliar with the military and its vast career options.
Complete Article >Guide to America's Federal Jobs
Book Review By Jennifer A. Smith
This new directory provides comprehensive information on finding, applying and getting hired in the federal government. The resources provided will be invaluable to counselors and to both seasoned and first-time federal job seekers.
Complete Article >Perceptions Keep Businesses From Reaping Benefits Local Workforce Centers Can Provide
By Kristine Kinzli
Getting businesses past the negative perceptions of their workforce center and engaging them in the value saving programs are today's assignments for the workforce center professional.
Complete Article >Designing and Implementing Career Programs
Book Review By Hunter Alessi
This handbook describes a process for designing, implementing, and evaluating career services programs. The intended audience includes those who wish to change existing services, as well as those who are initiating a service center or program within a business or school. It is a comprehensive resource that can be used as a reference manual or as a precise and directive guide for the development or redesign of a career program.
Complete Article >Capitol Briefing: Mobilizing For Change
By Thomas R. Stowell
As Congress considers reauthorization of career and workforce legislation and the impact of newly proposed initiatives, we look to our members to advocate for issues important to our organization and profession. The Government Relations Committee provides support and information to aid your efforts. Members can dramatically impact policy decisions related to NCDA's legislative agenda through advocacy, education, and collaboration.
Complete Article >The Introverted Leader: Thriving in the extroverted business world
By Jennifer B. Kahnweiler
In today's extroverted business world, introverts can feel ignored, overlooked, and misunderstood. But career development practitioners can help by identifying introverts' characteristic behaviors, understanding their key career challenges and providing practical career advice on their most common hot buttons -- networking, managing and leading people, performing in meetings, and more.
Complete Article >Recruiter to Counselor: What's Different on the Flip Side?
By Stacy Smyk
My experience working with college students stems from two different perspectives. Initially as a college recruiter, I conducted events and used resources to hire graduating seniors. Now on the "flip side" as a career counselor, I focus on helping students in a way that integrates my knowledge of both employment and career development.
Complete Article >Current Careers in Energy
By Helen Harkness
Experts share insights, opportunities and challenges for careers in this exploding industry. Employees and employers should take note, as we are just at the beginning of the learning curve.
Complete Article >Uncle Sam Wants You!
By Karol Taylor
Civil service is again coming into vogue. Career counselors and coaches are being approached by clients seeking direction toward federal government careers. More and more students are requesting instruction on completing and posting their federal resume. Are you prepared to assist them?
Complete Article >Bridging Employment Gaps: Strategies from a Military Spouse
By Stefani Schomaker
The frequent relocation of military families requires military spouses to use creative strategies for bridging gaps in their employment. These same tactics can be utilized by ALL job seekers.
Complete Article >Working with Foster Youth: An Interview with Alfred Arroyos
By Maureen Nelson
Every year, 25,000 teens leave the foster youth system. Agencies like the Independent Living Skills Program help them make the leap to adulthood, college and jobs. Employment Specialist must reach out to this often-forgotten population.
Complete Article >Policy that Moves Beyond Employment toward Worker Resiliency
By Natesha Smith
The advocation of public policy by career development professionals has primarily been focused on education, training and employment. However, for future progress in policy development, it would be wise for career professionals to play a key role in identifying strategic goals that emphasize resiliency and employability in workers.
Complete Article >The Career Development Plan - A Quick Guide for Managers and Supervisors
By Jose Adolfo Trueba
Career development practitioners who work in organizations are often asked to help managers and supervisors find ways to encourage the ongoing professional development of employees they supervise. Here are some suggestions from a career professional, charged with helping supervisors and their workers to develop ongoing career development strategies. His idea of using a Career Development Plan may offer you a strategy for coaching the managers and supervisors you serve within your organization.
Complete Article >Helping Our Clients Develop Their Careers During Times of Change
By Carolyn Wilson
As career development professionals, we support others in developing their careers in a complex and changing workforce. This article offers practical tips for coaching and developing employees during times of change.
Complete Article >The Value of Servant Leadership Skills in Government Employees
By Darrell Norman Burrell and Brian C. Grizzell
In order to meet changing leadership challenges, government employees with managerial authority must seek skill development and executive training in Servant Leadership, which encompasses empowering, motivating, and nurturing employees towards collaboration, knowledge sharing, and team building cultures.
Complete Article >Successful Performance in a Complex World
By Lori Bartels
Given that the work world is becoming increasingly complex for workers, it is imperative that career development professionals identify the skills that will enable workers to be successful in this ever-changing environment. This article presents examples of key abilities correlated with high performance in organizations.
Complete Article >A Look at Restorative Justice: What Are We Going To Do With All These Ex-Offenders?
By Stephen Sisco
Unquestionably unemployment contributes to an increased rate of parole revocation, which is a major risk factor for recidivism. Professionals who assist ex-offenders in the search for employment must possess a comprehensive set of workforce development skills.
Complete Article >Depression and Career Development
By Roger Wilcoxen
How can clients successfully establish a career or a change when battling depression?
Complete Article >Welcome New Organizations Associate Editor
Dr. Caitlin Williams is now the Associate Editor of the Organizations Department of Career Convergence. She invites new submissions in the areas of business/industry, outplacement, career management, recruiting/staffing, and human resources.
Complete Article >Welcome New Associate Editor, Non-Profit
Dr. David Scott is now the Associate Editor of the Non-Profit Department of Career Convergence. He invites new submissions in the areas of community/agency, pastoral/religious, rehabilitation, and association/foundation.
Complete Article >Relationships: The Critical Enhancement to Systems Thinking in Organizations
By Maureen Nelson
In June, Part I looked at the consequences of not taking a systems approach to corporate career development programs. Now we'll see the advantages of the systems view and also a few ways to mix in the social structures that are the untapped power of organizations.
Complete Article >Systems Thinking in Organizational Career Development Programs
By Maureen Nelson
Why aren't organizational career development programs working? In the first part of this two-part article, we explore the application of a systems approach; in part 2, we'll look at ways to leverage relationships. Understanding the integration of these two critical factors can help career consultants who work with organizations deliver more effective services and stronger results.
Complete Article >Globalization and International Work and Study: A Threat or an Opportunity?
By Dale Furbish, Nancy Arthur, Suzie Bisson
Appreciating international transition from a holistic perspective enables individuals to prepare more appropriately for the numerous challenges and opportunities of such journeys. Career counseling that integrates a wide range of considerations is very helpful throughout the transitioning process.
Complete Article >Contributors Wanted!
Career development professionals working in business/industry, outplacement, career management, recruiting/staffing, or human resources are encouraged to submit articles for consideration.
Complete Article >Growing Our Own
By Denise E. Jenkins
A creative in-house career development program at a major midwestern metropolitan hospital develops and motivates current employees and reaches out to a challenging and diverse urban community. Denise Jenkins tells the story of how her hospital uses training and development initiatives to communicate to the whole health-care team that the hospital values them.
Complete Article >Bridging the Gap from Job to Career for U.S. Veterans
By Jennifer Phillips, Jennifer Braud, Lindsay Andrews, and Emily E. Bullock
This article addresses the complexities of U.S. war veterans' career development. It addresses many of the barriers associated with this population including homelessness. The Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) Approach to career counseling is presented as a method for assisting veterans from initial placement to long-term career development.
Complete Article >Getting Back on Track: How to Stop Sabotaging Yourself
By Pamela Thorne
Career Convergence has a gift for career counselors working in organizations: a free article for you to use in your corporate employee bulletin or newsletter. Help your employees who might be stuck in a career rut by sharing this sound advice. (Please include the citation found at the end when reprinting this article).
Complete Article >Win-Win-Win Mentoring: Five Steps Towards Exemplary Mentorships
By Christine D. Hegstad
Mentoring enhances morale, boosts productivity, and offers rich opportunities for career development at minimal cost. Done poorly, however, mentoring can prove detrimental to participants as well as an organization. Implementing these five steps will help to ensure mentors, proteges, and organizations all benefit.
Complete Article >4-Hour Workweek
Book Review by Markell R. Steele
The quest for work/life balance is of great concern to most career development professionals, not only as a means of self-care, but also to serve as a positive role-model for our clients. This review showcases the main ideas presented in Ferriss' book, and Steele offers insight as to how these suggestions improved her own career efficiency and satisfaction.
Complete Article >Try-Decide-Attitude: Successful Responses to the Job Search
Book Reviews by Karol Taylor
Since so many job seekers seem discouraged and overwhelmed, particularly those in State and Federal One Stops and Rapid Response agencies, resources such as these motivational pocket books are a valuable tool.
Complete Article >Knowledge + Engagement = Great Public Policy
by Bridget Brown and Romella Lee
In this third in a series of advocacy-related articles, Bridget Brown and Romella Lee from NCDA’s Government Relations Committee, address the important role that state-level association leaders play in educating members and facilitating a clear vision for the association. They discuss how career professionals operating in the public sector can use public policy as a tool to enhance engagement at the state level.
Complete Article >Why Government Managers Need to Develop Critical Thinking Skills
By Asila Safi and Darrell Norman Burrell
Evolving leadership challenges like succession planning in government, international cultural genocide, and international terrorism have made decision making for government managers very tough with extreme implications. All government managers need to develop and utilize critical thinking skills. The engagement in managerial critical thinking is about learning to overcome and become self aware of biases, false assumptions, myths, and faulty paradigms that can hamper effective decision making.
Complete Article >Trends in HR: A Career Counselor's Perspective
By Maureen Nelson
How do you see HR? Gatekeepers or important network contacts? When career counselors and HR professionals develop mutual respect, a cross-pollination can occur that benefits both groups. Maureen Nelson discusses two trends in the HR world that career counselors should be aware of.
Complete Article >Care for Yourself First
by Pam Thorne
People who help others for a living often put themselves last when it comes to mental and physical health. This article highlights the symptoms of compassion fatigue and offers some simple solutions. (Ed's Note: This article originally appeared in Career Convergence in 2003 and is being published again due to the valuable and timeless topic).
Complete Article >Career Development for People with Psychiatric Disabilities
By Janice D. Rubin
This article outlines the career development strategies and approaches that have been successful in identifying career areas and employment opportunities for people with psychiatric disabilities. Strategies offered are especially helpful to practitioners who work with state vocational rehabilitation offices.
Complete Article >Call for Articles
David Harden, Organizations Associate Editor
Tell us about your experience in business/industry, outplacement, career management, recruiting/staffing, and/or human resources.
Complete Article >Teach Job Search Skills with Improv
By Andy Wainer
The use of Improv techniques in career counseling can add some fun to learning job search skills. Relevant Improv techniques are suggested for many of the skills clients need to engage in career exploration and conduct a successful job search. Best of all, it benefits clients in a variety of settings - from One-Stops to students to private practice.
Complete Article >Addressing New Veterans' Employment Needs with e-Tools
By Denise Felder
Veterans returning home after recently serving in the Middle East face many adjustments, including career planning. This article details a few of the Department of Labor's online resources available to recently separated military personnel, their families and the career counselors assisting them in finding information about job searching, career development and post-secondary education.
Complete Article >The Horse Whisperer Goes to Washington
By Bridget Brown & Ellen Weaver Paquette
The "Horse-Whisperer" image provides an excellent visualization of how advocacy works. In this second in a series, Bridget Brown and Ellen Weaver
Paquette continue discussing the importance of advocacy at the state and national level for programs that enhance career development opportunities for all citizens.
Advocacy Myths and Opportunities
by Bridget Brown
This is the first installment in a series of articles providing an insider’s view of some of the misconceptions associated with advocacy. Bridget Brown, from NCDA’s Government Relations Committee, highlights specific tools to help career development professionals working in non-profit organizations become active in the political arena.
Complete Article >An Organization That Keeps 'Em Comin' Back
by Piper C. Reason and Barbara L. Warren
Career coaches are subject to the same job-retention factors as everyone else. In this article, two professional career coaches explore the reason that employees within their small, nonprofit program not only stick around longer than the average employee, but return after leaving.
Complete Article >The Career Readiness Certificate: An Economic Success Story
by Barbara Bolin
The Career Readiness Certificate is fast becoming a national portable skills credential. Based on three WorkKeys assessments, it is filling an important role in our education / training system. The Career Readiness Certificate objectively certifies applied skills and trainability so it is particularly valuable to exiting CTE high school students. The Consortium now consists of 43 states, and close to 60,000 Certificates have already been issued.
Complete Article >The Presidential Management Fellowship Internship Program
by Darrell Norman Burrell
In the aftermath of 9/11 and the events of Hurricane Katrina, the need for people with advanced degrees and fresh ideas has never been more important in the management ranks of government. The article discusses the Presidential Management Fellowship Internship Program which is a little known option for getting into government on a fast-track to senior management jobs.
Complete Article >Career Negotiations: Power Tools to Use
by Joni Daniels
Plug in your power tools before engaging in a job remodeling. When you manage career negotiations well, you and your organization will be pleased with the results.
Complete Article >Career Development Services Within Maryland Correctional Educational Facilities
by Diana M. Bailey
The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) manages and delivers correctional education services "behind the fence". The article provides statistics on the need for services and the outcome of services offered for Maryland's incarcerated population.
Complete Article >Our Point of View: It is Better to Volunteer!
by Sue Pressman and Tanya Bodzin
The authors offer insight into governmental consulting opportunities. They suggest that it is better to volunteer one's services than do disservice to the counseling profession by accepting low compensation rates. Finally, they make recommendations for raising the compensation bar for the career counselor.
Complete Article >Forming A Career Center-Community Bond
by Ursula B. Carmena
What goes together like toast and jam or sea and sand? How about careers and community? At the 2006 NCDA Global Conference, Ursula B. Carmena will be presenting the unique pilot project she directs, a new public library service that enlarges and supplements the field of career development in Louisiana.
Complete Article >Quality Standards For Career Centers?
by Howard Splete and Bill Freed
NCDA has supported professional standards for career development service providers, as Nationally Certified Career Counselors (NCCC) and Global Career Development Facilitators (GCDF) . What have we done to promote similar professional standards for the organization and administration of career centers and their programs? Are they needed?
Complete Article >Bullying in the Workplace
by Sherry Rossiter
A recent study suggests that 20% of all employees, at all levels, become targets for bullying behavior in the workplace each year. Dr. Sherry Rossiter reviews the types of workplace bullying that occur and suggests strategies for coaching our career clients who are, or who have been, its victims.
Complete Article >Springboard Forward: Engagement, Self-Efficacy and Hope
by Maureen Nelson
Springboard Forward partners with employers and community-based organizations to improve job performance and promote upward mobility for the low-wage workforce.
Complete Article >Making the Leap from Counselor to Selection Specialist
by Kent Noel
Making the transition from counselor to evaluator is not always an easy one. However, a career in selection can be quite rewarding if a counselor can get past initial reservations and misconceptions. The following may help demystify the process and shed selection in a more positive light.
Complete Article >Career Counselors as Forensic Experts
by Michael Shahnasarian
Qualified career counselors, retained in litigation as expert witnesses, can offer analyses that facilitate just resolution of disputes. This article describes the types of disputes in which career counselors; insights are germane and outlines processes to conduct earning capacity assessments. Career counselors are cautioned about the perils of expert witness consulting: opposing lawyer deception, manipulation, and bullying - the antithesis of counselor training and raison de etre - are the rule of the day in forensic settings.
Complete Article >Human Resources From the Inside Out
Book review by Sally Gelardin
No other profession is so closely related to career advising as Human Resources: Figuratively speaking, we "mirror image" one another. Dr. Sally Gelardin reviews a new book that can be a field guide to the mysteries of the HR profession for the beginning career counselor, and even for the veteran.
Complete Article >Get Hired! How to Land the Ideal Federal Job and Negotiate a Top Salary
Book Review by Janet Ruck
Have you tried to help your clients wind through the maze of the federal hiring process? If so, you know that Uncle Sam is not a benevolent recruiter. Lily Whiteman has tackled this challenge and provided counselors with a valuable resource.
Complete Article >Using Motivational Interviewing in Career Counseling
by Geri Miller
Motivational Interviewing (MI), a strategy developed in a very different context, also has a place within the framework of career counseling. Specific, practical suggestions on how to apply Motivational Interviewing approaches are provided.
Complete Article >Re-Thinking What We Say About a Former Boss
by Alan Rider
One of the persistent and vexing challenges during a traditional behavioral interview is the “boss question.” Many career clients have had unhappy experiences with problem employers, and want to be able to answer the inevitable “boss question” truthfully, but at the same time also effectively. Can it be done?
Complete Article >Turning Clients' Bad Luck Into Good
Book review by Barry Davis
Career development professionals frequently find themselves sitting across the desk from "unlucky" people who have just lost their jobs, or are facing career crisis. Barry Davis reviews a book that provides insight and interventions that can be helpful in coaching and motivating client turn-arounds, from bad luck to career success.
Complete Article >The Importance of Self-Marketing
by Janet M. Ruck
Emphasizing accomplishments rather than just listing skills, can be an effective form of self-marketing that federal employees can use.
Complete Article >Peanut Butter and Jelly Management
Reviewed by Kathy Kaysen Murzyn
In this book the reviewer found a pleasant, refreshing look at the intersection between guiding a family, being a leader, and managing people in the workplace. Her experience, both as a manager and as a parent, made her curious about the relationship between parenting children and coaching in organizations.
Complete Article >Competency Based Workshops Help Internal Revenue Service Employees Manage Their Careers
by Dan Vale
IRS career management workshops help employees maximize their career potential, and facilitate the achievement of the IRS strategic goals of retention and reorganization. These workshops form an integral part of the career development services the IRS offers its employees.
Complete Article >A Look at Career Development for Persons with Mental Retardation
by John Wadsworth PhD and Karen Cocco PhD
Despite the popular view that career development is lifelong, vocational development theories have seldom been applied to persons with mental retardation. A proposed ecological model of career development for persons with developmental disabilities is discussed here. [Eds. Note: this article originally appeared here in Jan. 2003].
Complete Article >Forget Your Troubles, C'mon Get Happy!
by Barry Davis
Happiness is often a lost commodity when someone is in the throes of job loss or career change. Martin Seligman's work titled "Learned Optimism" provides practical advice for improving our results in career development by understanding how to be more positive, even when we don't feel like it!
Complete Article >Competitive Sourcing: Crisis and Opportunity
by Janet M. Ruck
Competitive sourcing (also known as public-private competition for work currently preformed by federal employees) is intended to spur the government to work more efficiently and ensure that taxpayers are receiving the best service at the most reasonable cost. For the federal employees whose functions have been identified as those that could be performed by the private sector it means turmoil, anxiety and often, loss of federal status.
Complete Article >Unsuccessful Managers - Typing and Coaching
by Kent Noel
Many individuals want to make the leap to management, but not all will succeed. Those who fail tend to fall back on stylistic preferences that worked well for them in past roles. These individuals often find themselves being referred for coaching; and during the course of consultation, patterns frequently emerge. Awareness is often the important first step in moving from unsuccessful to successful.
Complete Article >The Career Readiness Certificate: New Resource for Job Seekers and Employers
by Barbara Bolin
Since it's inception in 2003, the Career Readiness Certificate Consortium has grown to include 37 states. The Certificate is fast becoming a national credential because of its benefits to employers and employees.
Complete Article >Managing Client Expectations
by Sunitha Narayanan
Webster's defines "disappointment" as an expectation that goes unfulfilled, a situation to which career advisors are far from immune. Sunitha Narayanan has consulted with many hard-to-place job seekers going through relocation and cultural shift. She shares three brief case studies involving client disappointment, and what she learned through them.
Complete Article >People with Disabilities: Exploring Self-Employment as a Career Option
by Greg Wimer
Entrepreneurship is an exciting way for people with disabilities to realize their full potential while becoming financially self-supporting.
Complete Article >Making Mentoring an Organizational Value: A Look at the FDIC's Mentoring Program
by Barbara Suddarth
This article about a formal, workplace mentoring program is the first of two rendered by members of the NCDA Mentoring Program committee. The second, to be published later this year, will focus specifically on NCDA's Mentoring Program, now one year old. For further information about NCDA's Mentoring Program, go to www.ncda.org and link to the Mentoring Program under Membership.
Complete Article >The One-Stop Career Center: A Resource For Job Seekers
by Marjorie Hendrickson
The Workforce Investment Act delineates basic principles to guide service delivery to employers, their employees and job seekers through local One-Stop Career Centers. This article includes a brief background of the Workforce Investment Act and how the One-Stop system delivers career services to communities.
Complete Article >Knowledge Nomads and the Nervously Employed
Book Review by Sally Gelardin
Lifework success, according to Feller and Whichard, is "how we live, and who we've helped, not what we have." The authors inspire career professionals to guide their clients to make successful work and life choices that contribute to the world's well-being. To achieve this result, they advocate lifelong learning, meaningful work, and purposeful living amidst a rapidly changing work climate. Read on to find out how to help clients achieve this result.
Complete Article >Tips on Understanding Federal Vacancy Announcements and Applying for Federal Jobs
by Elda Schwartz
The tips provided in this article are intended to simplify the federal application process by helping applicants understand how to decipher a vacancy announcement and prepare a well-written application package that will lead to a job interview.
Complete Article >Reaching for Our Deep Gladness
by Ron Elsdon
A challenging and important question to ask of ourselves and our organizations is "What do we mean by success?" Is success defined more by extrinsic monetary factors, or by intrinsic factors such as value, purpose and social contribution that constitute our deep gladness? This article explores these questions from personal and organizational perspectives, and draws out implications for career counselors.
Complete Article >Career Development Strategies for Promoting Employee Development and Retention in Social Service Org
by Debbie Walker
Social service organizations represent an opportunity for career counselors who are interested in consulting. Career counselors can help agencies implement career development programs as an employee retention and development strategy. In this article, the author presents a three-step model for initiating such a system.
Complete Article >A Layoff Sparks Dreams
by Michael Levy
Florida-based Career Coach Michael Levy relates a recent experience he had while leading a transformational seminar for a group of insurance professionals. Putting the participants back in touch with long-forgotten interests and dreams turned a sad experience into a source of creative possibilities.
Complete Article >A Day in the Life of a Delegate
by Amy Benedict-Augustine
Eleven days in the life of this counselor were spent in China as a delegate with the People to People Ambassador program. All counselors should accept invitations to participate in unique professional development activities.
Complete Article >New Developments in Federal Employment
by Elda Schwartz
More jobseekers are looking to the federal government as an employer of choice. People are realizing that there is more to federal employment that is appealing in this post 9/11 era in which there is a reawakening of interest in public service. Excellent federal benefits and regular working hours are appealing to people wanting to balance family and work life.
Complete Article >CACTI:
The Pre-Counseling Assessment
by Martin Elliot Jaffe
InfoPLACE is a public library based career planning program where adults can get help deciding if they are leaning toward a radical career transition or an immediate job search. The career counselors at InfoPLACE developed the Core Adult Career Transition Inventory, CACTI, to indicate the appropriate depth and direction of counseling before sessions begin.
Complete Article >The O'NET System for Career Development Professionals
by Janet Wall
The US Department of Labor has produced a comprehensive, dynamic, and high-quality system of occupational information and supporting tools. These are available without cost to career development and workforce practitioners and researchers.
Complete Article >A Day in the Life of a Career Materials Developer
by Marilyn Maze
A Career Materials Developer describes how she develops computerized career planning materials utilizing knowledge of career counseling with skills in data analysis, labor market analysis, and computer program design. The tasks involve identifying the most relevant career information, arranging that information to be useful to clients, and determining how a computer can make life easier for clients who need that information.
Complete Article >The Internal Revenue Service Creates New Career Management Tool
by Daniel Vale
The Career Advancement and Progression Guide (CAP) is a tool used by IRS managers, employees and personnel services representatives to help plan employees' career progression and to facilitate overall IRS workforce planning. CAP includes diagrams of employees' most likely career path options and other vital information about various job series and career paths.
Complete Article >Identifying Entrepreneurs Through Assessment
by Kent Noel
For any individual hoping to determine if he or she is cut out to be an entrepreneur, formalized upfront assessment can be extremely useful. Career consultant Kent Noel notes that multiple data point assessment can shed considerable light on characteristics common among entrepreneurs: Personality fit, drive, problem solving, and motivation.
Complete Article >Do You Have What It Takes? Marathon Interviewing Tips
by Michael S. Levy
A job interview and a 26-mile marathon both require stamina, endurance, excellent mental and physical shape, and the clear headed thinking required to survive the stress. Creatively comparing the two, Michael Levy notes similarities in preparation and practice, which are essential both to a marathon runner reaching the finish line and to coming out a winner with effective interviewing.
Complete Article >"A Day in the Life" of a Career Counselor at a US-accredited University Abroad
by Danielle Savage
This first person account of the work of a Career Counselor at The American University of Paris gives insight into the similarities and differences of the profession worldwide. A description of her career path also reveals future options for current students.
Complete Article >Letting Go of the Corporate Agenda; "Finding Yourself" in Small Business
by Robert E. Reuter
Our clients frequently decide well into their careers to leave the security of their corporate homes to pursue independent businesses. Major challenges and adjustments accompany this decision that are not always obvious or understood until experienced. Career development consultant Bob Reuter shares some learnings from his own experience to help smooth the way for clients who come for help in making this transition.
Complete Article >Mastering the Employer's One-Minute Screen Test
by Steve Stromp
Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto first suggested the well-known 80/20 rule in 1906: That 80% of an organization's productive output is generated with just 20% of its time, talent, and resources. Career coach Steve Stromp observes that in business settings the rule is equally valid during job interviews.
Complete Article >Distance Counseling Methods & Tele-counseling Approach for Employee Development
by Alice Rush
This article includes the following information:
-Why Distance Career Counseling can be useful in corporate career counseling and employee development.
-Methods, typical duration and overview of distance counseling process.
-Assessment tools utilized and follow up strategies.
-Unique perspective designed to inspire and encourage counselors to expand their experience in this emerging area of counseling.
Career Counseling is a Valuable Benefit for Employees
by Linda Ginac
Preserving employee commitment to company goals despite organizational instability is paramount. Organizational changes may cause your employees to experience career challenges that could affect their success at the company. Career counseling is a resource that employers can rely on when work performance, career transition or cultural fit becomes an issue.
Complete Article >Effectiveness of Short-Term Training for Self-Sufficiency
by Michael E. Wonacott
This article reviews the literature on the outcomes of short-term training programs for welfare recipients and the services required to meet the self-sufficiency needs of welfare recipients participating in short-term training.
[This article was released for publication by Eric Digest (www.eric.ed.gov) and is available at www.cete.org/acve/].
Sales Selection, Assessment, and the Career Counselor
By Kent Noel
This article discusses the advantages of using formalized assessment in the selection of qualified salespeople. Because it touches on cost and quality issues, career counselors could present this sound rationale to their corporate clientele.
Complete Article >The Education, Social, and Economic Value of Informed and Considered Career Decisions
by Bridget Brown
This ACRNA special report includes the complete Summary of Key Findings, a link to the ACRNA website for the full report, and a brief overview by the Executive Director.
Complete Article >The Internal Revenue Service is Reaching Beyond the "Horizons" with Mentoring Opportunities
by Judith L. Button
Are you looking for a chance to introduce adult learning principles that excite, educate and motivate employees in your organization? The underpinnings of a structured mentoring program, sponsored at the Internal Revenue Service, can show you how. Mentoring has long since been applauded for its vital cornerstone approaches that deliver extraordinary synergies and strategies that assist employees in becoming the ultimate drivers of their career. See how the IRS is "Reaching beyond the HORIZONS with mentoring opportunities."
Complete Article >Using DISC for Career Development in Organizations
by Louella Jackson
This article briefly explores Dr. William Moulton Marston's theory of behavior and describes how one organization used the DiSC Personal Profile Software System as a foundation to develop and refocus a geographically dispersed team.
Complete Article >360° Feedback: A Powerful Resource for Professional and Career Development
by Claudette Nowell-Philipp
Organizational 360° Feedback initiatives help employees understand the impact of their workplace behaviors. They also serve as powerful resources for career planning and for creating a strategy to maximize career opportunity.
Complete Article >360° Feedback: Questions Regarding Strengths and Development
by Claudette Nowell-Philipp
The following are helpful questions that enable the employee to understand his or her 360° feedback and use it to maximize career opportunity.
Complete Article >Resources to Help Military Service Members Make Successful Transitions to the Civilian Workforce
by Larry Woods
Career development facilitators and career counselors can help military service members make a smooth transition from the military to the civilian workforce by becoming familiar with the wide variety of resources that are designed for this purpose.
Complete Article >Using the Workforce Investment Act and Other Resources to Foster Career Resiliency in our Youth
by Fran Abbott
How many more youth are we going to loose to the streets, substance abuse, violence, unemployment and chronic under employment, violence? As career development professionals, we know that our young people are our future.
Complete Article >Facilitating a Strategic Career Learning Community through a Corporate University at a Water Company
by Diane D. Rentfrow
Today, corporate leaders look to career practitioners as strategic learning partners in their organizations. Employers want employees to learn and develop because the bank of knowledge is precision to their organizations. Constant change in the workplace makes career planning more difficult; well-defined competencies can provide guidance in career planning. Career practitioners can have an active voice in the business environment by creating and facilitating learning communities to address current issues relating to family, education and work.
Complete Article >Organizational Talent Management - Why Now?
by Peggy Simonsen
Talent management involves strategies and practices to align employees' expectations with business needs of the organization. Good talent management is a benefit for both employees and organizations. There are compelling reasons organizations need to pay attention to talent, and compelling reasons for people to work for organizations that do.
Complete Article >Using DiSC for Career Development in Organizations
by LouElla Jackson
Many people derail or almost derail their careers based on what others may perceive as behaviors inappropriate for the role. This article describes how some organizations use assessments based on William Moulton Marston's DISC theory to help employees, managers and executives better understand themselves and others with whom each may work.
Complete Article >Sample Job Description for a Corporate Career Consultant
by Paula Kosin
Though individual positions will vary, here is a sample composite job description,
which outlines the range of responsibilities for a Corporate Career
Consultant.