Readings
Overview
This chapter will explore the interests and career exploration.
Introduction
College can be as scary as it is liberating. One of the biggest things college students love about starting their college careers is the level of freedom they have. Many students have never known freedom to such a degree before moving on campus. They can eat whatever they want, spend time with whomever they choose, and stay up as late as they want. This feeling is at its absolute peak in the brief window between moving for college and before classes start. Amid the changes and excitement, there are also likely to be many questions—especially by family members. Examples might include questions about what classes you are taking and how many hours you will set aside per week for studying, but the most dominant questions of all can be the most stressful to answer. What will be your major? What career will you pursue? I have dealt with these questions daily in my previous role as a career counselor and in my current role as academic advisor. When I was a university career counselor, the majority of students with whom I met were a semester or less away from graduation. This is when most students begin to have these career conversations.
Students can be quite unique in the way they handle stress and anxiety. Some students pick a plan—any plan—just to have something written down on paper. Others put off thinking about such problems because it is not their problem—it is their future selves’ problem. Students pick majors for all sorts of reasons. Some students pick a major because their parents have told them to choose the same occupation as they did, one that will provide financial success. Others may pick their major based on their favorite television show. I have even talked with students who picked their major because of past professors or teachers who taught them to be passionate about the subject. Students pick their major for all sorts of reasons, and most of these reasons are good. Career exploration always starts somewhere, and it can be the smallest of ideas that grows into something magnificent. In Texas, formal exploration starts in seventh or eighth grade and continues through high school, especially with Texas' new K-12 push for students to graduate with career-focused “endorsements.” But students who attempt to pick a career path at 13 may realize when they arrive to college that they are no longer interested in that field. What truly matters is what you do with an idea to help it grow and develop. Do you have an occupational goal in mind and pursue it without assessing the fullness of what it is? Do you put off thinking about career aspirations out of fear of picking the wrong path? Or, do you stumble upon something and dig deeper to reveal how it may align with your own story? This chapter is for you.
Learning Objectives
- The student will familiarize themselves with the general process of career exploration.
- The student will learn about career interest and the impact of interests on choosing a career.
- The student will learn about values and how values affect career choices.
- The student will use online career research tools to help them build an understanding of career options.
- The student will learn about the career decision-making process and how they can use it effectively in their own career decisions.
- The student will learn hands-on ways to research careers and find “good fit” for possible options, including volunteering, internships, and information interviews.
- The student will learn how to integrate these various components to assist in future career decision making to locate possible career options that lean into the core concepts of interest, values, and career options.
Understanding the Self – Part of the Foundation
Interests
Interest can be a powerful force in shaping what we pursue and what we do not, and the same can be said for career interests. This is often a route that yields greater success with students. However, just because people may be aware of some of their interests does not necessarily mean they know how to apply this information and connect it to potential career paths. To assist with this process, the Holland Codes, developed by Dr. Holland in the 1970s, can be a valuable resource. Another prominent area of interest to this chapter is the importance of personality in career decision making and development. For the sake of brevity, this chapter is unable to cover the topic of personality and its relation to career choices. For more information on this, investigate the 16 Personalities link at the end of this chapter under the Instructor/Student Resources section.
Many people can figure out that if they like music, they may very well be interested in it. Some students have clearly defined interests that make it easy to pick possible careers to consider, and others feel stuck in this area of conflicting or competing interests, which makes it very difficult and frustrating to define their interests. Instead of understanding interest through a dichotomous approach of either being interested in something or not, I recommend for those struggling with career exploration to look toward career exploration theories. One prominent theory, trait and factor theory, proposes certain measurable characteristics can be compared with possible career paths. The theory stemming from this parent theory is Holland’s theory on career development, which we cover in greater detail as the chapter progresses. Being grounded in Trait and Factor Theory, Holland’s approach asserts that our interests can be matched through personality characteristics and occupations and that people seek out work environments that align with their skills and abilities, while allowing them to express their values (Nauta, 2010). These categories are broken down into six areas:
Attributions
RIASEC Wheel Image, by Rogue Community College, http://www.roguecc.edu/counseling/hollandcodes/images/RIASEC-hexagon.png. Reused with permission.
Holland Inventory Themes
Let’s dig deeper to explore what the different categories of the Holland Inventory.
Realistic, the Doers, are very practical people and might enjoy activities that are very “hands on.” They typically prefer working with things more than people. Others may see doers as genuine, sensible, and honest. They may have an interest in areas such as building or repairing things, tinkering with computers, enforcing the law, playing sports, or even spending time in nature.
Investigative, the Thinkers, tend to be analytical and curious individuals. A vast majority of your professors might very well have investigative as one of their three dominant Holland codes. They prefer to work with ideas rather than people or things. Thinkers are often seen as intellectual, curious, and independent. They may have an interest in reading, writing, science, research, and math. An important point to note is someone can identify more heavily with an interest category without necessarily agreeing with each point made. Investigative is one of the interest categories with which I identify. I greatly enjoy reading books, both professionally and for pleasure. I enjoy writing, as indicated by this current book chapter. I even enjoy research, because it provides me with more information, which I can use to further help the students I serve. However, I am not a fan of math. I commonly make the joke that if a number was more than 10 (referring to counting on my fingers), or if my phone calculator was not working, I would be out. Even though I have a particular disposition toward math, I still align with the Investigative category, so it remains in my top three.
Artistic, the Creators, tend to be creative and prefer to work with ideas more than things. They are commonly described as independent, emotional, and original. It is important to consider creativity in a more abstract lens than just the classics: painting, drawing, music, theater, etc. Although Picasso would most likely identify with the Artistic category, it is not reserved for Picassos alone. Artistic is one of my categories, despite the fact I do not particularly excel at any of these areas in a creative sense. I am not a great artist—grading my skills as a step above stick figures. I cannot dance nor can I sing. However, I try to use creativity in the ways I approach students with ideas and helping them to map out their possible narrative.
Social, the Helpers, prefer to work with people. They typically enjoy work that incorporates helping, teaching, or caring for others. They are commonly drawn to various work environments, such as education, health care, and nonprofits, but they can also engage in helping roles in other industries that may be less associated with “helping.” At the end of the day, the helper is drawn toward helping. Alternatively, people may be in roles not usually associated with helping. For instance, marketing is not traditionally known as a social occupation, but if a person is in this occupation for an agency or department that is geared toward helping others, they may be tapping into this interest indirectly.
Enterprising, the Persuaders, prefer to work with people. They typically enjoy influencing and leading others toward goals in the workplace, valuing entrepreneurship and competition. Persuaders may have good people skills along with their Social counterparts, but with a swing toward a more business-oriented approach. Someone with this interest may be drawn toward self-employment, politics or government, and industries of business that work at a fast pace. Leadership is a hallmark value for persuaders.
Conventional, the Organizers, prefer working with information. They typically enjoy managing written and numerical data, scheduling, administrative work, and ordering information. Efficiency, stability, and structure are important values for people with this interest type.
| Consider: What Holland code sounds the most like you? Second most? Third? Also contemplate whether these decisions were easy to make or difficult. If difficult, why? |
Together these areas can take on different combinations, which make up both a person’s interests and occupations. Although some careers may be comprised of one interest group, most occupations take on varying combinations. For example, the Occupational Information Network from the U.S. Department of Labor (O*NET), a resource we will explore shortly, categorizes Lawyer as having Enterprising, Investigative, and Artistic qualities. An alignment between an occupation’s three categories and an individual’s three categories does not suggest someone should pursue this role, only that this role could potentially be a good fit from an interest perspective.
Values
It is perfectly normal if you have been struggling with pinpointing your career path. My hope is, by this point, it is becoming clear that people are very complex and that there are competing elements inherent to our interests and values. Someone may have an interest in an area, but it is not as compatible with their personality. Alternatively, someone may be great at something but have no interest in doing it. This section covers Values, and it will showcase another quality you can investigate to dig deeper into career exploration.
Values are linked to a professional purpose, which is more than what a person does but why they do what they do (Cooper & Cottrell, 2010). When people reflect on their “why,” they can build the “what” and “how” around it. For example, I always wanted to help people. Originally, I thought I wanted to be a police officer, but after going on a ride-along and speaking with people in that role, I decided that was not my form of helping. Then I found my way into mental health counseling, then career counseling, and eventually academic advising. Although these are all different careers, they shape around the “why” of my narrative—helping to empower others and build them up for success. People tend to be very values-driven, both in the sense of motivation and personal identity. It only makes sense that values would play a key part in our story. This listing is just a snapshot of possible values:
Common Career Values | |
Practicality | Originality |
Beauty | Service to Others |
Stability | Independence |
Efficiency | Tradition |
Generosity | Influence |
Competition | Risk Taking |
Status | Imagination |
Learning | Accuracy |
Curiosity | Cooperation |
Common Sense | Leadership |
References
Cooper, H., & Cottrell, R. R. (2009). Charting your career path through clear professional values and purpose. Health Promotion Practice, 11(1), 13–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839909352840
Nauta, M. M. (2010). The development, evolution, and status of holland’s theory of vocational personalities: Reflections and future directions for counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 57(1), 11–22. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018213
Occupational Outlook Handbook
Understanding the self is a foundational to building a career narrative, but it proves insufficient if not paired with further tools for success. As stated previously, when it comes to picking a career and choice of major, students may pick careers earlier in middle school or high school, only to find out it may not be a great fit upon coming to college. This is related to the core truth that people are always evolving and developing, but that we also learn more along the way. We can only know what we know. This shows the immense importance in taking steps to research careers. Sometimes researching careers can pose its own problems because there is so much information on the internet, much of which is conflicting. The purpose of the first major section was to cover understanding of self. Once you have this information in a more concrete place, it is time to connect that information to occupations of interest.
The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a great resource in which the data are taken directly from the Department of Labor and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to use when researching career options and opportunities. To reach this resource, visit https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
When using this resource, you can either search through the “Search Handbook” option in the top right or you can search in “Occupational Groups” located on the left side of the website. Use the search bar only when you know the specific occupation of interest. If the specific occupation of interest is not yet known, begin the search by occupational group, as this will give you a broader perspective.
Follow Along: Go to https://www.bls.gov/ooh/ Then pick an example occupation you might be interested in. This will assist you in understanding the following discussion on this resource. |
"Using the Occupational Outlook Handbook Website" by Bureau of Labor Statistics, PBS Digital Studios, is licensed CC BY 4.0, and is located at https://youtu.be/9s9Hd2hc7pM
Much of this website is quite intuitive, as are these sections. If you are familiar with specific jobs, you can use the tool to explore if the job fits with your interest and values. This website can assist you in gauging how much an occupation aligns with your interest in working with data and customers. If you are a people person and want a job where you interact with others constantly, this tool can help you explore that type of role. If you investigate how to become something, this tool can help you gauge best fit for a major. This tool can tell you what internships and other experience to seek out. If you investigate similar occupations, you can look at jobs related to similar areas. For example, I once had a student who wanted a job in health care but really struggled with finding “their thing.” When the student and I used this site and continually looked through similar occupations, we came across medical services managers. Although this was not an entry-level role, the student and I pinpointed that this person was more interested in the business side of health care, and then they could begin formulating a pathway to get there.
The previous video and description of the Occupational Outlook Handbook is a surface-level explanation of this powerful resource. I encourage you to take the time to further investigate occupations on this website to see what steps you can take to make your goals happen. You are the author of your story, and no one can work harder than you to write it.
O*Net
For individuals who like more technical information, O*NET is the website for you. Visit this website at https://www.onetonline.org/. This website serves as a complement to the Occupational Outlook Handbook. It has a lot of information that can be useful to students in their career-building exercises, and the handbook also works well with the Holland Codes we discussed in a previous section over Interests. You can search this database’s occupations a variety of different ways, including by Holland Codes.
Follow Along: Go to https://www.onetonline.org/ Then pick an example occupation you might be interested in. This will assist you in understanding the following discussion on this resource. |
"O*NET TUTORIAL" by Jason Seward, and is located at https://youtu.be/9mcB_p3k4J8
O*NET is a resource with much of the same information as the Occupational Outlook Handbook, but it contains additional tools and resources. For instance, this site provides viewers with alternate job titles for desired occupations. This website can be helpful when searching for potential jobs. Some jobs have multiple titles, depending on the company or organization. It can give you more keywords to search when looking for opportunities in each field. There is also a section in O*NET that shows the percentages of education associated with an occupation. I have had many students tell me about their plan to go to graduate school because they need it for a job, but that assumption is not always true. There are some occupations that require advanced education (master’s level+), but O*NET can be a great resource to help fact check whether that is hearsay or supported by facts and numbers by showing the percentage of individuals that hold that specific degree level in a given job.
This discussion has scratched the surface and covered the highlights of O*NET. It is important to investigate this resource by using it to research your own interest and career goals.
Professional Associations
It is important to be actively involved in your career journey. No one can better write your own story. Professional associations can be an excellent way to engage in career research. Some career fields may not require that you consult your designated professional association for guidance, but other professions will necessitate exposure. Previously working toward my career path as a mental health counselor and then as a career counselor, I became very intimate with the American Counseling Association and the National Career Development Association. I located accredited graduate programs through these websites to ensure a valuable and more valid education, pertinent research articles, steps for state licensure, and more. Both sites also possess job boards and offer student memberships, scholarships for professional development, and conferences for continuing education. I had the privilege of attending a conference for the National Career Development Association during Summer 2019, as professional associations will often have conferences for likeminded professionals to network and keep each other up to date on current trends and practices in the field. Connecting with professionals through a professional association is a great way to network and learn more about your profession of interest as well as network for potential job opportunities.
When researching more about career options, I commonly found myself showing students these websites because of the rich information in them. In addition to joining relevant organizations and groups on campus, make sure to check out professional associations. If you check out a professional association and find yourself bored and not wanting to keep up with that type of information, reflect on why that might be. If these are not things you care about, why is that? It is important to reflect on occupational identities and career values. There are clues in many of the things we do—the things we like and do not like. The hard part is taking a moment to delve into awareness and ask why.
Career Decision-Making
In the career counseling room, I learned quickly that giving people resources and example job titles is rarely sufficient. Many students still do not know where to go, even when resources are shared. It is important to have conversations and help students unpack their own narratives through aspects of the self. However, there were other times even this was not the case, in which equipping the student with knowledge of relevant occupations was sufficient for them figure out their career goals. Even though a lot of progress can be made in the initial steps of throwing out job titles like darts on a dart board or just trying out a bunch of different ideas with nothing sticking. Sometimes the difficulty comes with struggling to make decisions on a grander scale. There is no one-size-fits-all for decision-making problems. As with many areas in life, understanding and awareness is a foundational piece that can help shed light on the decision-making process.
There are three primary decision styles when it comes to decision difficulties: rational style, avoidant style, and dependent style. Although these styles each present with a degree of varying complexity, they also share common characteristics. Shin and Kelly (2015) stated:
The rational style is an active and planful approach to decision making. The avoidant style is characterized by failure to attain and process career information and postponement of decisions. The dependent style involves ceding responsibility for decisions to external sources, such as signiﬁcant others. The rational style is viewed favorably because it is a systematic approach that yields information relevant to decisions. (p. 293)
Although engaging in avoidant and dependent styles can decrease immediate career anxiety, by either delaying the perceived threat or seeking to put responsibility on others, these strategies raise the overall career anxiety in the long run. Only by adopting and engaging in a rational style can people appropriately pursue the steps discussed next.
Career Decision-Making Process
The first step in the process is Knowing I Need to Make a Choice. This becomes apparent when one is faced with a career issue or difficulty, which requires the individual to start the process toward making a career decision. Once someone realizes they need to make a career decision, the best place to start is Knowing About Myself. This can involve reflection on personality characteristics, work interests, leisure interests, skills, and values. Values often play an important role in decision making. For instance, I know justice and helping are important qualities to me. Although finances and income are very important, too, they are not as important to me as the distinct feeling of making a difference for the people I serve. It is also important to me to have a job that balances working with people and having time to work on ideas. This goes together with the next step, which is Knowing About My Options. One can use the tools previously discussed to gather more information during this step. Only after someone has evaluated the self and has undertaken career research to learn about opportunities can they begin to know how they relate to those opportunities. Create a list once you have ironed out aspects of the self and occupations that might complement them.
Your career list takes shape in the phase of Expanding and Narrowing Options. This is where the heavy lifting occurs—by matching values and other aspects of the self with possible occupations. This process naturally causes some occupations to be cut from the list and others to be added for further consideration. Refining the list often takes the form of running a cost-benefit analysis or examining the pros and cons of each occupation. This is where you spend time reflecting on the costs and benefits for you, your family, peers, finances, etc. For this step, create a list that leans into the previously mentioned values. This list might be made up of careers, such as career counselor, mental health counselor, teacher, and social worker.
The final phase of the decision-making process can be the most difficult for people because it implies action, referred to as Implementing My Choice. The action taken can vary for individuals, but individuals must commit to making that choice. The successful reaction to implementation leads to the final step in the decision, Knowing I Made a Good Choice. If implementation leads to no positive resolution, then this might suggest the career choice should be reviewed with the new information. Even if you successfully complete this decision-making process once in your life, there is no guarantee this will remain a constant. The ultimate goal is to build up the skill of making informed career decisions, because the workplace will change and new opportunities will come along (Krumboltz et al., 2013). Knowing and understanding how the process works can serve as a helpful guide to facilitating the change moving forward, as the need arises.
References
Krumboltz, J., Foley, P., & Cotter, E. (2013). Applying the happenstance learning theory to involuntary career transitions. The Career Development Quarterly, 61, 15–26.
Sampson, J. P., Jr., Peterson, G. W., Lenz, J. G., & Reardon, R. C. (1992). A cognitive approach to career services: Translating concepts into practice. The Career Development Quarterly, 41, 67–74.
Shin, Y., & Kelly, K. R. (2015). Resilience and decision-making strategies as predictors of career decision difficulties. The Career Development Quarterly, 63(4), 291–305. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12029
Taking Action
Implementation
Implementation can take many forms when being actualized in our lives. As previously stated, no one will put forth as much agency in your career path as you, so it is important to not only think about it and do the research but also to act on that research. It is only through action that steps are taken to make those goals a reality and write your story. Many students become nervous when contemplating a change of major or major declaration because they feel they do not have enough information. Many students also worry about changing a major because they are afraid this will become a repeating pattern. They may also be reluctant because they will have to explain their “why” to their friends and family. It is important to build a strong understanding of your interests, values, and your “why.” Sometimes finding other ways to get involved and take a more action-oriented approach to gathering information can build a case for whether to change majors or not. This section will cover various action-oriented approaches you can take to gather more information on your options.
Informational Interviews
Informational interviews are excellent tools to gather more information about a career path. These are interviews where you can ask a professional in your field of interest various questions you want to know about their position. This can be an invaluable opportunity to seek answers that may not be found in other resources for career research. You can ask questions such as, “What do you love about your job? What is something you do not like about your job or would change about it? Why do you do what you do?” Questions such as these can transcend factual information online because professionals can speak to the meaning behind their careers and why they do it. As a student, if you are unsure how to engage in informational interviews, meet with the university’s career services office for tips and more information on how to seek these interviews out. It is also a great idea to reach out to family and friends who work in your field of interest. The key to seeking informational interviews (and networking) is to not limit yourself to your own bubble. Some people may consult with church groups, other community groups, and professors. Start with familiar people to build confidence in having these conversations.
Groups & Organizations
Being involved in groups and organizations is a significant way students can begin to engage in the social and professional world of their career interests. There is a myriad of groups on campus with many different topics and areas of interest. This can be a great way to exercise your networking muscles and explore areas of interest. For instance, if you think you might be interested in public relations, get involved in such a group. If you find you love the meetings and are passionate about the content area, then that can be a sign of a possible career option. It is important when trying out groups and organizations to reflect on why you like or did not like something. This can provide invaluable information moving forward as you discover your possible career path.
Internships/Volunteering
Internships and volunteering are truly worthwhile opportunities that can help you build marketable skills and experiences to add to your resume. Although internships are commonly reserved for juniors and seniors with a certain minimum GPA, it is never too early to investigate these opportunities because they can be another great way to try an area of interest to see how it fits with your own narrative. If it is not an area of interest, then that might suggest this is not the right career choice for you. It is important to emphasize that there is a difference between not liking the core of an occupation versus disliking a certain part of it. All careers have tasks that are more enjoyable than others. It is also important to note that some occupations will require entry-level candidates to “pay their dues.” You will rarely find your dream job right away and internships may not always reflect the work done after graduation either. This is why common orators and speakers talk about career “building.” Careers are not like picking something from a menu. Careers must be built and are a story that must be written, which takes time and effort. If I want to be a lawyer and am pursuing an internship during my undergraduate education, I should not expect to find a lawyer internship. An internship in such a setting would reflect the previously mentioned clerk internship. So, although it is important to evaluate the pros and cons for internships to gauge if a career is your best fit, it is important to maintain a level of perspective. Volunteering can be similar to what was discussed about internships. However, volunteering can also show community engagement and can be a strong introduction for those interested in various careers, such as work in the community, at nonprofits, and more. Volunteering can be an important part of the journey, given that some internships may even require experience to be competitive for the positions. Even if an internship does not require prior experience, it can still give you a competitive edge over others. Some roles may not allow you to volunteer in the same capacity as you wish to work one day. For example, people who wish to be mental health counselors cannot volunteer as practitioners, but they can seek out other volunteering opportunities that provide similar help or volunteering in a different way, which allows them to work in the same work environment or with the same population of interest as they would in their desired career.
Chapter Summary
This chapter shows the importance of taking your career planning into your own hands by doing research, both related to the job market and to yourself, and being open to new opportunities as they arise. Someone’s major does not always directly relate to their career choice. I started by pursuing mental health counseling, then shifted to career counseling, and now serve as an academic advisor with career elements streamlined into my work. I have enjoyed every role and will enjoy many other roles that proceed from this point forward. You can be the greatest champion of your narrative, and it is worth using these resources to invest in that story. Career exploration is founded on the pillars of being aware of yourself, knowing your options, and employing decision-making strategies. Once this information has been reflected upon and researched further, it is time to put it to action. Experience can be the greatest teacher, but it is important to look for ways to explore occupational compatibility, which may demand less commitment upfront, such as through volunteering, internships, joining groups or organizations, etc. Engaging in these strategies will strengthen your ability to navigate the difficult but meaningful nature of career exploration. Now that you have read this chapter, go back, and try the Career Options worksheet earlier in the chapter.