Career Preparedness in Adolescents: An Overview of Empirical Research and Suggestions for Practice
Steiner, R. S., Marciniak, J., Johnston, C. S., & Hirschi, A. (2019). Career preparedness in adolescents: An overview of empirical research and suggestions for practice. In J. A. Athanasou & H. N. Perera (Eds), International handbook of career guidance (2nd Ed, pp. 305-323). Springer.
Abstract
The present chapter provides an overview of the theoretical and empirical research on career preparedness among adolescents and derives implications for practice. We integrate various conceptualisations of career preparedness and suggest that career preparedness can be understood as a multidimensional construct consisting of attitudes, knowledge and competencies, and behaviours. Moreover, we summarise recent research on predictors and outcomes of career preparedness. Research on outcomes highlights that career preparedness is related to beneficial outcomes in various domains of adolescents’ lives (e.g., work, education). Research on predictors demonstrates the relevance of personal factors (e.g., work- related attitudes and motivations) as well as environmental factors (e.g., career interventions) to foster career preparedness in adolescents. Finally, based on the empirical evidence discussed in this chapter, we develop suggestions and guidelines for practitioners on how adolescents can be supported in the process of career preparation.
Keywords: career preparedness; adolescents; career preparation; career maturity; career readiness.
Career Resources Questionnaire (CRQ)
Ingold, S., Haenggli, M., & Hirschi, A. (2019). Career Resources Questionnaire (CRQ). In: Kevin B. Stoltz & Susan R. Barclay. (Eds.), A Comprehensive Guide to Career Assessment, 7th Edition. Broken Arrow, OK: National Career Development Association (NCDA).
Career preparation among adolescents: A review of key components and directions for future research
Marciniak, J., Johnston, C., Steiner, R., & Hirschi, A. (2022). Career preparedness among adolescents: A review of key components and directions for future research. Journal of Career Development. doi: 10.1177/0894845320943951
Abstract
Adolescents and students are faced with the developmental task of becoming prepared for a career and master future career transitions. Existing research has investigated a range of concepts relating to career preparedness, including predictors and outcomes. However, this body of work is fragmented as a number of different conceptualizations and measurements related to career preparedness exist. Thus, the goal of this review is to provide an overview of the different concepts that have been used to describe and measure career preparedness. Based on a comprehensive review of empirical articles on maturity, readiness, adaptability, preparedness, and preparation, we propose an organizing framework of the diverse attitudes, knowledge and competencies, and behaviors required for career preparedness. We also review the empirical research on predictors and outcomes of career preparedness. We close by identifying issues in the conceptualization and measurement of different constructs and provide suggestions for future research, and implications for theory and practice.
When and why do negative organization-related career shocks impair career optimism?
Hofer, A., Spurk, D. & Hirschi, A. (2020). When and why do negative organization-related career shocks impair career optimism? A conditional indirect effect model. Career Development International. https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-12-2018-0299
Abstract
Purpose – This study investigates when and why negative organization-related career shocks affect career optimism, which is a positive career-planning attitude. The indirect effect of negative organization-related career shocks on career optimism via job insecurity, and the role of perceived organizational career support as a first stage moderator, were investigated.
Design/methodology/approach – Three-wave time-lagged data from a sample of 728 employees in Switzerland was used. Time-lagged correlations, an indirect effect model, and a conditional indirect effect model with bootstrapping were used to test the hypotheses.
Findings – First, this study showed a significant negative correlation between negative organization-related career shocks (T1) and career optimism (T3), a positive correlation between negative organization-related career shocks (T1) and job insecurity (T2), and a negative correlation between job insecurity (T2) and career optimism (T3). Second, findings revealed that negative organization-related career shocks (T1) have a negative indirect effect on career optimism (T3) via job insecurity (T2). Third, perceived organizational career support (T1) buffers the indirect effect of negative organization-related career shocks (T1) on career optimism (T3).
Originality/value – This study provides an initial examination of the relationship between negative organization-related career shocks and career optimism by applying assumptions from the JD-R model and Conservation of Resources theory. Implications about how to deal with negative career shocks in HRM and career counseling are discussed.
Keywords – Career Optimism, Career Shocks, Career Support, Career Attitudes, Job Insecurity
Empirical developments in career construction theory
Rudolph, C. W., Zacher, H., & Hirschi, A. (2019). Empirical developments in career construction theory (Editorial). Journal of Vocational Behavior, 111, 1-6. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2018.12.003
Abstract
Career construction theory is a grand theory of career development. The goal of this special issue on empirical developments in career construction theory was to showcase research that addresses major unanswered questions regarding this theory, including the role of context and development over time, as well as the applicability of the theory in specific samples. Furthermore, we sought advanced research that addresses the dimensionality, processes, and outcomes of career construction by adopting diverse approaches, including quantitative, qualitative, and intervention methods. In this editorial, we briefly describe key propositions of career construction theory and emphasize major questions that remain to be answered within this theoretical framework. We then briefly summarize the eight empirical studies included in the special issue and explain how they, individually and collectively, contribute to the advancement of research on career construction.
Ein Modell zur ganzheitlichen Laufbahnberatung
Hirschi, A. (2019). Ein Modell zur ganzheitlichen Laufbahnberatung. Panorama, 5, 20-21.
Die Berufswahl und die Gestaltung der Laufbahn werden stark von privaten Lebensbereichen beeinflusst. Bestehende Beratungsmodelle berücksichtigen dies jedoch nur am Rande. Ein neues Modell behebt dieses Manko.
Whole-Life Career Management: A Counseling Intervention Framework
Hirschi, A. (2020). Whole-Life Career Management: A Counseling Intervention Framework. Career Development Quarterly, 68, 2-17. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12209
Abstract
It is widely recognized that career management and counseling require a consideration of work and nonwork roles. I present a career counseling intervention framework to help clients self-direct their careers and attain work-nonwork balance. Based on an action-regulation approach, the framework consists of four phases: (1) Clarifying goals across work and nonwork roles; (2) mapping resources and barriers related to goal attainment; (3) developing action strategies for goal attainment; and (4) monitoring and adapting goal pursuit across work and nonwork goals. I outline the theoretical foundations of this framework, provide a case study on how the framework can be applied in individual counseling, and give examples of specific intervention contents. The framework provides a foundation for career counseling practice to assist clients in managing their careers under considerations of nonwork roles. Research can use the framework to gain a better understanding of career self-management from a whole-life perspective.
Keywords: work-nonwork; career counseling; work-life balance; work-family; action regulation
Vision zur Zukunft der Berufs-, Studien-, und Laufbahnberatung
Hirschi, A. (2018). Berufs-, Studien- und Laufbahnberatung [Bericht im Auftrag des Staatssekretariats für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation SBF im Rahmen des Projekts «Berufsbildung 2030 – Vision und Strategische Leitlinien»]. Bern: SBFI. ISSN 2296-3847
Der Bericht nimmt eine umfassende Analyse der aktuellen und zukünftigen Herausforderungen und Chancen der Berufs-, Studien-, und Laufbahnberatung (BSLB) vor und entwirft eine Vision, wie die BSLB ihre zunehmende Systemrelevanz optimal wahrnehmen kann.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Issues and Implications for Career Research and Practice
Hirschi, A. (2018). The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Issues and Implications for Career Research and Practice. Career Development Quarterly, 66, 192-204. doi:10.1002/cdq.12142
Abstract
The accelerating digitization and automation of work, known as the fourth industrial revolution, will have an enormous impact on individuals’ career experiences. Yet the academic literature in vocational psychology and careers research has been remarkably silent on this trend so far. This paper summarizes some of the most important issues of the fourth industrial revolution a they pertain to career development. It then critically reviews how current models and frameworks of career development are suitable for addressing these emerging issues. Opportunities for future career development research and practice are outlined.
Berufs- und Laufbahnberatung [Career counseling]
Hirschi, A. (2017). Berufs- und Laufbahnberatung [Career counseling]. In S. Kauffeld & D. Spurk (Hrsg.), Handbuch Laufbahnmanagement und Karriereplanung. Heidelberg: Springer.
Zusammenfassung
Das Kapitel definiert Berufs- und Laufbahnberatung als Anwendungsbereich der Psychologie und beschreibt dessen zentrale Merkmale. Es werden Modelle für den Prozess der Berufs- und Laufbahnberatung beschrieben sowie dafür notwendige Kernkompetenzen aufgezeigt, wobei sowohl auf allgemeine Mikrokompetenzen als auch auf ein europäisches Kompetenzmodell eingegangen wird. Schließlich wird die Forschung zur Wirksamkeit von Interventionen in der Berufs- und Laufbahnberatung beschrieben.
The Career Engagement Scale: Development and validation of a measure of proactive career behaviors
Hirschi, A., Freund, P. A., & Herrmann, A. (2014). The Career Engagement Scale: Development and validation of a measure of proactive career behaviors. Journal of Career Assessment, 22(4), 575-594. doi:10.1177/1069072713514813
Abstract
Careers today increasingly require engagement in proactive career behaviors;however, there is a lack of validated measures assessing the general degree to which somebody is engaged in such career behaviors. We describe the results of six studies with six independent samples of German university students (total N ¼ 2,854), working professionals (total N ¼ 561), and university graduates (N ¼ 141) that report the development and validation of the Career Engagement scale—a measure of the degree to which somebody is proactively developing his or her career, expressed by diverse career behaviors. The studies provide support for measurement invariance across gender and time. In support of convergent and discriminant validity, we find that career engagement is more prevalent among working professionals than among university students and that this scale has incremental validity above several specific career behaviors regarding its relation to vocational identity clarity and career self-efficacy beliefs among students and to job and career satisfaction among employees. In support of incremental predictive validity, beyond the effects of several more specific career behaviors, career engagement while at university predicts higher job and career satisfaction several months later after beginning work.
Keywords: career development, proactivity, career behaviors, career counseling
Calling and career preparation: Investigating developmental patterns and temporal precedence
Hirschi, A., & Herrmann, A. (2013). Calling and career preparation: Investigating developmental patterns and temporal precedence. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83(1), 51-60. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2013.02.008
Abstract
The presence of a calling and career development are assumed to be closely related. However, the nature of and reason for this relationship have not been thoroughly investigated. We hypothesized the existence of reciprocal effects between calling and three dimensions of career preparation and assessed the change of the presence of a calling, career planning, decidedness, and self-efficacy with three waves of a diverse sample of German university students (N = 846) over one year. Latent growth analyses revealed that the intercepts of calling showed a significant positive correlation with the intercepts of all career preparation measures. The slope of calling was positively related to those of decidedness and self-efficacy but not to planning. Cross-lagged analyses showed that calling predicted a subsequent increase in planning and self-efficacy. Planning and decidedness predicted an increase in the presence of a calling. The results suggest that calling and career preparation are related due to mutual effects but that effects differ for different career preparation dimensions.
Proactive motivation and engagement in career behaviors: Investigating direct, mediated, and moderated effects
Hirschi, A., Lee, B., Porfeli, E. J., & Vondracek, F. W. (2013). Proactive motivation and engagement in career behaviors: Investigating direct, mediated, and moderated effects. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83(1), 31-40. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2013.02.003
Abstract
Proactive career behaviors become increasingly important in today’s career environment, but little is known about how and when motivational patterns affect individual differences. In a six month longitudinal study among German university students (Study 1; N=289) it was demonstrated that motivation in terms of “can do” (self-efficacy and context beliefs), “reason to” (autonomous career goals), and “energized to” (positive affect) significantly predicted career behaviors. Contrary to expectation, negative context beliefs had a positive effect when combined with other motivational states. Study 2 replicated and extended those results by investigating whether “can do” motivation mediates the effect of proactive personality and whether those effects are conditional upon the degree of career choice decidedness. We tested a moderated multiple mediation model with a unique sample of 134 German students, assessed three times, each interval being 6 weeks apart. The results showed that effects of proactivity were partially carried through higher self-efficacy beliefs but not context beliefs. Supporting a moderation model, indirect effects through self-efficacy beliefs were not present for students with very low decidedness.
Keywords: career management; proactivity; motivation; career counseling; career engagement
Who seeks career counselling? A prospective study of personality and career variables among Swiss adolescents
Balif, E., & Hirschi, A. (2010). Who seeks career counselling? A prospective study of personality and career variables among Swiss adolescents. International Journal of Educational and Vocational Guidance,10(3), 161-176. doi: 10.1007/s10775-010-9183-y
Abstract
This study investigated whether career adaptability, personality, attitude towards career counselling and some demographic variables predict the help seeking behaviour in career counselling among 330 Swiss adolescents in eighth grade. The results indicated that boys were less likely to seek help and that career related variables and attitude but not personality significantly predicted help-seek ing. Specifically, help seeking related positively to undecidedness and positive perception of career counselling. Implications for school and career counsellors and suggestions for future research are presented.
La fin de la vie professionnelle: une nouvelle étape à accompagner
Rosselet, A. & Hirschi, A. (2012). La fin de la vie professionnelle: une nouvelle étape à accompagner [The end of professional career: A new phase to accompany]. Panorama, 3, 22-23.
Dynamics in career development: Personal and organizational perspectives
Hirschi, A., & Dauwalder, J.-P. (2015). Dynamics in career development: Personal and organizational perspectives. In L. Nota & Rossier, R. (Eds.), Handbook of the Life Design paradigm: From practice to theory, from theory to practice (pp.27-39). Boston, MA: Hogrefe.
Increasing the career choice readiness of young adolescents: An evaluation study
Hirschi, A., & Läge, D. (2008). Increasing the career choice readiness of young adolescents: An evaluation study. International Journal of Educational and Vocational Guidance, 8(2), 95-110. doi 10.1007/s10775-008-9139-7
Abstract
A career workshop to promote career choice readiness of young adolescents, applying models of the Cognitive Information Processing Approach (Sampson, Reardon, Peterson, & Lenz, 2004) and incorporating critical ingredients (Brown & Ryan Krane, 2000) was developed and evaluated with 334 Swiss students in seventh grade applying a Solomon four group design with a three-month follow-up. Participants significantly increased in career decidedness, career planning, career exploration, and vocational identity. Implications for evaluation research and counselling practice are presented.
Keywords: career counselling, secondary students, career choice readiness, outcome research
Holland’s secondary constructs of vocational interests and career choice readiness of secondary students
Hirschi, A., & Läge, D. (2007). Holland’s secondary constructs of vocational interests and career choice readiness of secondary students. Journal of Individual Differences, 28(4), 205-218. doi: 10.1027/1614-0001.28.4.205
Abstract
The study examined the relationship between the secondary constructs of Holland’s (1997) theory of vocational interests and career choice readiness [career maturity] attitudes with 358 Swiss secondary students. The hypothesis was tested that the secondary constructs consistency, coherence, differentiation, and congruence are measures for the degree of vocational interest development. Thus, they should belong to the content domain in career choice readiness and should show meaningful relations to career choice readiness attitudes. The hypothesis was confirmed for congruence, coherence, and differentiation. Interest profile consistency showed no relation to career choice readiness attitudes. Vocational identity emerged as a direct measure for career choice readiness attitudes. Realism of career aspirations was related to career choice readiness attitudes and coherence of career aspirations. Profile elevation was positively connected to more career planning and career exploration. Differences between gender, ethnicity, and school-types are presented. Implications for career counselling and assessment practice are discussed.
Keywords: vocational interests; career choice readiness; career maturity; RIASEC model; career counselling; interest assessment, career development
Hilfreiche Faktoren zur Bewältigung von beruflichen Übergängen: Von der Berufswahlreife zur Übergangsbereitschaft
Hirschi, A., & Läge, D. (2006). Hilfreiche Faktoren zur Bewältigung von beruflichen Übergängen: Von der Berufswahlreife zur Übergangsbereitschaft [Helpful factors for mastering career transitions: From career maturity to transition readiness]. Zeitschrift für Beratung und Studium, 3, 70-74.
Wie wirksam sind Laufbahnberatungen?
Hirschi, A. (2006). Wie wirksam sind Laufbahnberatungen? [How effective is vocational guidance?], Panorama, 3, 13-14.
