The happenstance learning theory (HLT) proposes a model of career counseling that helps clients to build more satisfying personal and work lives. Although reflective listening remains an essential part of the process, HLT is an action-oriented approach to helping clients to both create and benefit from unplanned events. Success is measured not by…

Unplanned events occur every day and have a deep impact on individuals' lives. The happenstance learning theory (Krumboltz, 2009; Krumboltz & Levin, 2010), briefly summarized in this article, provides guidance for employment counselors assisting clients to clarify goals and brainstorm actions to capitalize on chance events.

What-you-should-be-when-you-grow-up need not and should not be planned in advance. Instead career counselors should teach their clients the importance of engaging in a variety of interesting and beneficial activities, ascertaining their reactions, remaining alert to alternative opportunities, and learning skills for succeeding in each new…

Describes the Career Beliefs Inventory (CBI) as being designed to aid counselors to identify assumptions blocking client's career progress. Examines rationale, scales, and uses. Describes the norming process. Reviews reliability, validity, and gender and ethnic differences. Lower scores on scales alert counselors to explore specific beliefs in…

The Career Beliefs Inventory identifies career beliefs and assumptions that may block constructive action. A counseling case study illustrates its use in educating clients about the effect of their beliefs and about strategies for change. (SK)

Responds to criticisms regarding Career Beliefs Inventory (CBI) offered by Fuqua and Newman and Walsh. Suggests that CBI is useful to clients as discovery tool. Defends position that CBI does assess values and that precision of CBI is sufficient for intended purpose. (CRR)

Career assessments are important tools for learning and development. They can identify problems, suggest alternatives, and stimulate action. Assessments such as 360-degree feedback provide a way to promote learning and track employee progress. (SK)

Explores the important role of chance in career experiences and the fact that career counseling is still perceived as a process designed to eliminate chance from career decision making. Challenges career counselors to adopt a counseling intervention that views unplanned events as both inevitable and desirable. (Author/GCP)

The perspective of a self-reliant "new career" can be seen as a positive stimulus for career counselors to reform their profession. Recommended actions include: making life satisfaction the major goal; advocating open-mindedness rather than decisiveness; assuming a broad role in dealing with client concerns; normalizing unplanned events;…

There are three steps to challenging troublesome career beliefs: identifying the troublesome belief; considering alternative ways to viewing the underlying problem; and taking action incompatible with the troublesome belief. Each of these steps includes techniques which empower clients by providing them with information or enabling them to make…

Describes the effectiveness of four innovative techniques for developing cultural sensitivity in career counselors: newsgroups to promote class discussion, supervised practice in multicultural career counseling, Culture Day in which students play the role of a person from a different culture and/or gender, and a noncompetitive grading system. (SK)

Stanford's experience using electronic discussion groups for counselor training showed that depth and intensity of self-disclosure gradually increased and instructor time was not reduced. A computer-assisted psychoeducational program on eating disorders overestimated student computer knowledge and skill and failed to allow user privacy. (SK)

Unplanned events affect everyone's career. Counselors should give up the unfounded assumption that career decisions are the logical outcome of a "true reasoning" process and broaden their view. Counselors should teach clients that unplanned events are a normal part of career development and how to generate unplanned events. (EMK)

Designed a cognitive restructuring intervention for individuals having difficulty with career decision making, which proved more effective than decision-making training and a no-treatment control condition in reducing anxiety about career decision making and in encouraging vocational exploratory behavior. Cognitive restructuring clients used…

Attention to client beliefs in career counseling can add unique information about the client independent of that contributed by aptitude and interest. The Career Beliefs Inventory was administered to Australian 10th-grade students along with measures of interest themes and scholastic aptitudes. Beliefs made a contribution distinct from that…