Encountering, Experiencing and Shaping Careers (eBook)

Professor Ann Brewer is the Dean of the University of Newcastle, Sydney and an Emeritus Professor, the University of Sydney. Professor Brewer is a specialist in organisational psychology and throughout her career has used her education and training in this field as a researcher, lecturer, and author, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, as well as working on boards and as an accredited executive coach.She has published eight books, most recently on leadership, coaching and mentoring, and over 50 publications in journals, book chapters and conference proceedings. Her work has been applied in diverse industry sectors such as business, education, industrial relations, Human resource management, health administration, public policy, transport and logistics.

Preface Charting a Course Through the Unknown 6
What Is a Career? 8
References 10
Contents 12
1 The Changing Career Landscape 19
1.1 Introduction 19
1.2 The Changing Landscape of Careers 22
1.3 Fundamental Changes to Workers, Work and Working 23
1.3.1 What Is Meant by ‘Platform’? 23
1.3.2 What’s a ‘Gig’? 24
1.3.3 Platform and Gig Employment 24
1.4 Just in Time Workers 25
1.5 Back to the Future 25
1.6 Work Participation and Experience 26
1.6.1 Future Careers 26
1.6.2 Labour Market Participation 27
1.7 Labour Market and Career Development 28
1.8 Gender and Work Participation 31
1.8.1 Work Value and Gender 31
1.8.2 Gender Pay Gaps 32
1.8.3 Work Experience 32
1.9 Future Implications 33
1.10 Conclusion 34
References 36
2 What Is a Career? 39
2.1 Introduction 39
2.2 Defining Career and Work 39
2.3 Career Planning 42
2.3.1 Creating Careers 43
2.3.2 Careers Within Organisations 43
2.4 Employability 44
2.5 Talent and Talent Identification 45
2.6 Career Guidance 47
2.7 Self-managing Careers 48
2.8 Career Ambition 49
2.9 Critical Influences Shaping Career 50
2.9.1 Negotiating a Career in a Changing Labour Market 50
2.10 Generations and Careers 51
2.10.1 Generational Categories 51
2.11 The Concept of Generation and Intergeneration 52
2.11.1 Generational Stereotypes 54
2.11.1.1 Comparative Generational Differences in Perceived Work and Family Balance 54
2.11.2 Family, Gender, Interests 56
2.12 Continuity of Employment 57
2.12.1 Income 57
2.12.2 Work Ethic 57
2.12.3 Technology 58
2.13 Conclusion 59
References 60
3 Career Research Literature 64
3.1 Introduction 64
3.2 Career Achievement 65
3.3 Occupational and Professional Acculturation 65
3.4 Life Span Career Development 66
3.5 Life Stage Theory of Adult Development 66
3.6 Career Motivation ‘Theories’ 67
3.7 Cognitive and Social Cognitive (Career) Theories 67
3.7.1 Protean and Boundaryless Career Models 67
3.8 Chaos Theory of Careers 68
3.9 Career Construction Theory 69
3.10 Career Learning Theories 70
3.11 Career Phases 70
3.12 Career Transitions 72
3.12.1 Entrepreneurial Career 73
3.13 Individualised Careers 73
3.14 Career Identity 74
3.14.1 Practical Dimensions of Identity Capital 75
3.15 Self-efficacy 75
3.16 Theories Useful for Career Thinking and Development in Organisations 76
3.17 Conclusion 77
References 78
4 Factors Influencing Career 83
4.1 Introduction 83
4.2 Career Planning, Decisions and Choices 84
4.2.1 Career Planning 84
4.2.2 Rational Career Planning 85
4.2.3 Non Rational Decision Making 87
4.3 Cueing People Towards Specific Work or Career Outcomes 88
4.4 Career Thinking 89
4.4.1 Critical Thinking 89
4.4.2 Critical Self-reflection 90
4.4.3 A Self-reflection Activity 90
4.5 Career Vision, Drive and Agency 92
4.5.1 Career Pathfinding 93
4.6 Investing in Career Capital 94
4.7 Career Effectuation 96
4.8 Design Thinking and Career Thinking 97
4.9 Optimal Career Assets 98
4.10 Employability 99
4.10.1 Subjective Employability 99
4.10.2 Employability Resources and Proactive Behaviours 100
4.10.3 Objective Employability 101
4.11 Learning the Ropes: New Entrants into the Labour Market 101
4.11.1 The Mediating Role of Work Integrated Learning 101
4.11.2 Cultural Enculturation 102
4.11.3 Cultural Unfreezing 103
4.12 Work Engagement 104
4.13 Career Ambitions 105
4.13.1 Organisational Culture and Risk 106
4.14 Searching for Meaning 107
4.15 Psychological Career Factors 107
4.15.1 The Imposter Syndrome 107
4.15.2 Career Identification 108
4.15.3 Self-efficacy 109
4.15.3.1 Meaningful Voicing 110
4.15.3.2 Suppression 111
4.15.3.3 Emotional Regulation 111
4.15.4 Reappraisal 111
4.15.5 Fear 111
4.15.6 Resilience and Career Adaptability 112
4.16 Career Boredom 113
4.17 Career Regret 114
4.18 Career Counselling 114
4.19 Career Optimism 115
4.20 Conclusion 115
References 115
5 Career Investment 122
5.1 Introduction 122
5.2 Skill 122
5.2.1 What Are 21st Century Skills? 123
5.3 The Complexity of Careers 125
5.4 Building and Balancing Career Assets 126
5.5 External Influencers 127
5.6 Career Positioning 128
5.6.1 Career Pathways and Choices 129
5.7 Surviving Lifelong Careers 129
5.7.1 Career Ownership Strategies 130
5.8 Career Value Proposition (CVP) 131
5.8.1 How to Develop a Powerful EVP ‘Pitch’ 131
5.9 Initiating a Career Portfolio 132
5.9.1 Conventional or Experimental Approach? 133
5.9.2 Achieving the Portfolio Designed 134
5.10 Designing the Career Portfolio 135
5.10.1 Design Thinking a Career 135
5.10.1.1 Categories of Knowledge 135
5.10.2 Confirmation Bias 137
5.10.3 Affirmation Bias 138
5.11 Integrative Thinking 138
5.11.1 Metacognition 138
5.12 Integrative Career Problem Solving 142
5.12.1 Reassessing the Career Portfolio Periodically 142
5.12.2 Rebalancing Career Thinking 143
5.12.3 Career Feedback and Self-evaluation 143
5.12.4 Self-determination 143
5.12.4.1 Rewarding Work 144
5.13 Conclusion 144
5.14 Glossary of Skills 145
References 148
6 Career Change: Transition and Disruption 153
6.1 Introduction 153
6.2 Making the Change 154
6.3 Career Mobility 155
6.4 Changing Jobs 156
6.4.1 Career Entrenchment 157
6.4.2 High Entrenchment Careerists 157
6.4.3 Low Entrenchment 158
6.4.4 Mobility Detriments 158
6.4.5 Value of Prior Experience 159
6.5 Career Transition 159
6.5.1 DYI Careers 160
6.6 Career Disruption 161
6.7 Interpreting Career Change 161
6.8 Putting the Disruption into Perspective 162
6.8.1 Retirement and Career Disruption 163
6.8.1.1 Encore Career 163
6.8.1.2 Deciding to Retire 164
6.8.1.3 Partial Retirement 164
6.8.1.4 New Career Post Retirement 164
6.8.1.5 Adjusting to Retirement 165
6.8.2 Planned Retirement 165
6.8.2.1 Retirement as a Process 165
6.8.2.2 Retirement as a Career Development Stage 166
6.8.3 Response to Career Disruption 166
6.8.4 Adjusting to Career Disruption 167
6.8.5 Positive Reframing of the Perceived Disruption 167
6.8.6 Positive Reframing of the Self 168
6.9 Career Adaptability 169
6.9.1 Self-analysis 169
6.9.2 Preferences in Risky Decision Making 170
6.9.3 What Is the Biggest Risk in Changing Jobs? 170
6.10 Career Exit 171
6.10.1 Reasons for Discontent 172
6.10.2 Responses to Discontent 172
6.10.3 Exiting a Trapped Career 173
6.10.4 Career Entrapment for Early Careerists 173
6.10.5 Trust 174
6.11 Conclusion 175
References 176
7 Career Communities and the Power of Networking 180
7.1 Introduction 180
7.2 Defining Career Communities and Networking 182
7.3 Transactional Towards Transformational Partnerships 183
7.4 Creating Effective Relationships 184
7.4.1 Social Networks 184
7.4.2 Relationship Reciprocity 186
7.4.3 Relationship Skills 186
7.5 Career Networking and Stakeholders 187
7.5.1 Collaboration and Boundary Spanning Capabilities 187
7.6 Breaking Down Networking 188
7.6.1 Sources of Self-efficacy 188
7.6.2 Self-efficacy 189
7.6.3 Other-Efficacy 189
7.6.4 Reflected-Efficacy 190
7.6.5 Relationship-Inferred Self-efficacy 190
7.7 Principles for Developing Strategic Collaborations 190
7.7.1 Identifying Beneficial Collaborations 190
7.8 Social Capital 191
7.8.1 Breaking Down Network Demarcation Lines 191
7.9 Conclusion 193
References 194
8 Career Education and Readiness 196
8.1 Introduction 196
8.2 Challenges to Career Education 198
8.2.1 Challenge of Higher Education Structure and Processes 198
8.2.2 Implications for Educational Institutions and Employers 199
8.3 Challenge of Labour Market Dynamics 199
8.4 Challenge of Twenty-First-Century Learning 200
8.5 Challenges of Creating a Learning Vision 201
8.6 An Integrative Framework for the Future 203
8.6.1 Social Equality 204
8.7 Sustainability and Voice 204
8.8 Ethical Career Education Leadership 205
8.9 Career Education Status 205
8.10 Career Education Learning Spaces 206
8.11 Conclusion 206
References 208
9 Career Learning, Creativity and Career Capital 210
9.1 Introduction 210
9.2 How Do People Learn About Careers Really? How Are People Affected by Current Methods and Practices of Learning? 210
9.2.1 What Is at the Heart of These Career Learning Models? 211
9.3 What Are the Implications of These Methods? 213
9.4 What Is Taken-for-Granted and Unnoticed in What People Think and Know About Careers? 214
9.5 Why Consider Career Thinking and Creativity Side by Side? 215
9.6 Collective Learning for Careers 215
9.6.1 Continuing Professional Development 217
9.6.2 Developing Career Capital Through Collaboration 218
9.6.3 Career Networks and Career Capital 218
9.7 Conclusion 219
References 219
10 Career: The Future 221
10.1 Introduction 221
10.2 A Future Self 222
10.2.1 The Polarisation of the Left and Right Brain 223
10.2.2 The Fiction of Polarisation of the Left and Right Brain 223
10.3 The Conundrum of Emotions in the World of Work 224
10.3.1 What Is Meant by Emotion? 224
10.3.2 Emotion as Intrapersonal 224
10.3.3 Emotion as Social 225
10.4 Career Hope 225
10.5 Emotional and Social Capital 226
10.6 Types of Social Capital Through Communitas 226
10.6.1 Spontaneous Communitas 227
10.6.2 Normative Communitas 227
10.6.3 Ideological Communitas 227
10.7 Summing It Up 228
10.8 A Career Thinking Check List 229
10.8.1 Vision and Ambition 230
10.8.2 Purpose 230
10.8.3 Passion 231
10.8.4 Career Capability 231
10.8.5 Actualising Innovative Performance 231
10.8.6 Communing with Others 232
10.8.7 Career Making in Action 232
10.9 Conclusion 232
References 233
Index 236