MODULE 12: PERSONS AND CAREERS

I. TEN MYTHS ABOUT CAREER PLANNING BUSTED

▪ Myth 1: Arts/humanities majors usually are unemployable after college
Fact: Skills matter in every stream
▪ Myth 2: Selecting what's 'hot' at the moment is safe
Fact: What's hot today may not necessarily be 10/20 years later
▪ Myth 3: Career assessments / counselors will not be of any use for me
Fact: You must know what your aptitude is before choosing a career
▪ Myth 4: If X is happy in a particular field, I will be happy too
Fact: You are not X
▪ Myth 5: If I wait long enough, luck will eventually bring me to the right career
Fact: Procrastination is no substitute for laziness
▪ Myth 6: Making a lot of money will make me happy
Fact: The ingredients of fulfilling career also includes passion and commitment to
growth
▪ Myth 7: Once I choose a career, I’ll be stuck in it forever
Fact: You are never too old to switch careers
▪ Myth 8: If I change careers my skills will be wasted
Fact: Being multi-skilled allows you to learn and adapt accordingly
▪ Myth 9: I will decide after the results are out
Fact: Impulsive decisions lack planning and direction
▪ Myth 10: I love this hobby, but I don’t think I can make money out of it
Fact: If you love what you do, you will not feel like you are working
II. CAREER
▪ defined as the combination and sequence of roles played by a person during the
course of a lifetime (Super, 1980)
▪ basically dictates a lot of things in your life – it can determine the kind of lifestyle
that you will be leading, the quality of relationships that you have with people
around you like your family and friends, the kind of balance you will be able to
keep with your life and your responsibilities
III. CAREER CONCEPTS
▪ JOB – a position an individual holds doing specific duties
▪ OCCUPATION - defined as the similar work for which people have similar
responsibilities and for which they develop a common set of skills and knowledge
IV. FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE ONE’S CAREER CHOICE
1. Skills and Abilities
2. Interest and Personality Type
3. Life Roles
4. Previous Experiences
5. Culture
6. Gender
7. Social and Economic Conditions
8. Childhood Fantasies
V. SUPER’S CAREER DEVELOPMENT THEORY
Donald Super influenced the idea that developing a sense of self and realize that
you change over time is important when planning your career.
One of Donald Super's greatest contributions to career development has been his
emphasis on the importance of the development of self-concept. According to Super, self-
concept changes over time, and develops as a result of experience. As such, career
development is lifelong.
Super developed the theories and work of colleague Eli Ginzberg. Ginzberg’s
theory enumerated three stages in a person’s career development: Fantasy (from birth to 11
years old), Tentative (from 11-17 years old), and Realistic (after age 17). Super thought that
Ginzberg’s work had weaknesses, which he wanted to address. Super extended Ginzberg’s life
and career development stages from three to five, and included different sub stages.
 Super argues that occupational preferences and competencies, along with an
individual’s life situations, all change with time and experience. Super developed the concept
of vocational maturity, which may or may not correspond to chronological age: people cycle
through each of these stages when they go through career transitions.
Super states that in making a vocational choice, individuals are expressing their self-
concept, or understanding of self, which evolves over time. People seek career satisfaction
through work roles in which they can express themselves and further implement and develop
their self-concept.
VI. SUPER’S FIVE LIFE AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT STAGES
Stage Age Characteristics
Growth birth-14
Development of self-concept, attitudes, needs and general world
of work
Exploration 15-24 "Trying out" through classes, work hobbies. Tentative choice and
skill development
Establishment 25-44 Entry-level skill building and stabilization through work
experience
Maintenance 45-64 Continual adjustment process to improve position
Decline 65+ Reduced output, prepare for retirement
VII. DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS AT THESE DIFFERENT STAGES

Life Stage Adolescence Early Middle Late Adulthood

14-25 Adulthood 25- Adulthood 45- 65+
45 65
Decline Giving less time to Reducing sports Focusing on Reducing
hobbies participation essentials working hours
Maintenance Verifying current Making Holding one's Keeping what
occupational choice occupational own against one enjoys
position secure competition
Establishment Getting started Settling down Developing new Doing things one
in a chosen field in a suitable skills has wanted to do
position
Exploration Learning more Finding desired Identifying new Finding a good
about opportunities opportunity tasks to work on retirement place
Growth Developing a Learning to Accepting one’s Developing and
realistic self- relate to others own limitations valuing non-
concept occupational
roles
VIII. TRANSFERRABLE SKILLS
▪ generally are not associated with a particular job or task.
▪ are usually broader and related to leadership, communication, critical thinking,
analysis, and organization
▪ are skills that can be transferred and utilized in a variety of different kinds of jobs
and career paths.
IX. PERSONALITY TRAITS
1. Extroversion (E)
▪ the personality trait of seeking fulfillment from sources outside the self or
in community. Extroverts tend to be very social while introverts prefer to work
on their projects alone.
2. Agreeableness (A)
▪ reflects much individuals adjust their behavior to suit others. High scorers
are typically polite and like people. Low scorers tend to ‘tell it like it is’.
3. Conscientiousness ©
▪ is the personality trait of being honest and hardworking. High scorers tend
to follow rules and prefer clean homes. Low scorers may be messy and cheat
others.
 4. Neuroticism (N)
▪ is the personality trait of being emotional
5. Openness to Experience (O)
▪ is the personality trait of seeking new experience and intellectual pursuits.
High scores may day dream a lot. Low scorers may be very down to earth.
X. HOW TO CHOOSE A MAJOR AND A JOB PATH USING CAREER CLUSTERS
Careers that require similar skills and appeal to people with similar interests have
been grouped into clusters.