Some experts were asked to summarize what they knew about career development in five short messages. What resulted is the "High Five" of career development: 1) Change is constant; 2) Follow your heart; 3) Focus on the journey; 4) Stay learning; and 5) Be an ally. Each of these messages is briefly described in this digest. Change, in the…

The advance of science and technology, the rise of mass consumerism, the deterioration of families, and other factors have enormous implications for career counseling. This digest outlines a constructivist career counseling perspective. This perspective is based on the following concepts: there are multiple realities and no single "God's…

A constructivist framework can often appear vague and abstract to the novice counselor. The abstract and nebulous realm of meaning-making, which is central to constructivist approaches, can be frustrating for a linear, task-oriented counselor. This digest explains the approaches used in constructivist counseling. The need to use constructivist…

Rapid and escalating changes in labor market and post-secondary educational opportunities challenge adolescents to meet their personal and career needs. A recent study found that young people left high school unprepared for current career realities and that both the career and personal areas of the lives were in a state of change and uncertainty.…

Historically, the place of career education in the educational agenda has not been clear. No shared belief exists as to how schools ought to prepare students for adult life. This digest outlines a new model of career education. Schools need to have clear and specific outcomes for each aspect of personal growth and development for students. Goals,…

Intended for employers, human resource staff, and adult educators, this digest addresses the purposes of career development programs in the workplace and describes the components of such programs. In the first section, the term career development is defined and labeled as just one component of organizations' human resource management. Eight…

This digest discusses demographic, technological and other factors influencing adult career development and describes new career services, assessment instruments, and interventions for adults. Problems with research in the area of adult career development are noted. (MCF)

The centric model of career counseling was developed for use in employment counseling and takes into account psychological, social, and economic factors. Four developmental phases are used to describe movement within the centric model. The initial phase, readiness, establishes the working alliance between the counselor and the client. Clients must…

Creating Self-Portraits is an individual and/or group career development tool designed to assess without testing. Researchers have found that testing can be counter-productive; once clients were labelled, they frequently stopped self-examination. A tool was needed that would help people understand themselves in a way that would encourage further…

Generations of rural people have relied on resource industries for their livelihoods. This digest examines how modern technologies allow career counselors to serve this population. In distance career counseling, four factors must be considered: (1) community characteristics, such as the informal hiring practices seen in many rural communities; (2)…

A value conflict arises when one value can only be realized at the expense of another value. This digest describes the scope of career value conflict, its developmental significance, and some conflict resolution strategies. Several studies have shown that some career values are particularly prone to conflict, such as salary, freedom in the job,…

Because of the economic and cultural changes that are currently taking place in society and the workplace, many adults who had their career and personal lives planned to retirement are finding those plans no longer viable and are recognizing the need to readjust their career expectations. Many adults who had always viewed life as a linear,…

In hoping for a brighter future of self-government and self-determination, Canadian Aboriginal communities have placed great hopes and expectations on their youth. The complexity and uniqueness of career-related issues pose a formidable challenge in the development of career counseling programs for Aboriginal youth. This digest describes the…

The diverse, multicultural population that constitutes today's work force faces ethical dilemmas on the job that bring pressures to protect their own or their company's interests, at the risk of losing their personal integrity. Employers and vocational and career development personnel are recognizing the need for decision-making and…

Career educators and counselors have long recognized that factual information about careers and employability skills, presented in traditional classroom formats, do not prepare students to enter the workplace. This digest explores the move toward stronger experiential learning in career education. Career education initiatives such as work…