Effectiveness of Career Development? Ask a Precise Question if You - PDF document

1 Effectiveness of Career Development? Ask a Precise Question if You Want a Precise Answer Peter McIlveen University of Southern Queensland Career development practitioners are challenged to provide evidence of the relevance of their research, expertise in delivering career guidance and developing informational resources, and effectiveness of their interventions. The paper addresses the chronic problems of unemployment, under-employment, and obstacles to job search effectiveness. These problems are contextualized in the paradigmatic Psychology of Working Framework and the empirically robust Social Cognitive Career Theory. Contemporary empirical research demonstrates that career development research and interventions offer practical directions for action by policy leaders, practitioners, and researchers. Keywords : career development, unemployment, Psychology of Working, SCCT, decent work The research field of vocational those with mental health issues in poverty. psychology and its professional arm, career Furthermore, poor quality employment confers development (guidance), have for a century, or more similar negative effects on mental health. Tragically, in some nations, provided theories and practices that suicide is concomitant to unemployment (Milner, guide the way people make informed decisions and Morrell, et al., 2014; Milner, Page, et al., 2014; transitions into and through education systems and Norstrom & Gronqvist, 2015; Reeves, McKee, & the labour market. Whether it be discerning Stuckler, 2014) and evident higher rates of suicide individual’s alignment w ith an occupation on the within the first five years of unemployment (Milner basis of their skills, knowledge, and interests, or et al., 2013). Thus, with the provision of designing and delivering high quality career interventions for unemployment and re-employment information resources in schools, universities, and within their scope of professional expertise, career vocational education and training, professional practitioners must also be alert to associated mental career development practitioners are the experts in health concerns and suicidality (Popadiuk, 2013). evidence-based career decision-making and Poverty is inherent to unemployment and transitions. No other professional group can claim underemployment and it too has devastating effects. this distinctive contribution to successful It is alarming that poverty is associated with negotiation of developmental tasks across the diminished cognitive development in children lifespan, from schooling to retirement. (Dickerson & Popli, 2016; Heberle & Carter, 2015; Kalil, Duncan, & Ziol-Guest, 2016). Un/Underemployment is Trauma Decent Work Unemployment and underemployment are scourges — nothing short of a problem of public In the presence of such compelling health. Unemployed people are at greater risk of evidence about the pernicious effects of poorer physical health (Griep et al., 2015) and unemployment and underemployment, scholars in mental health (Wanberg, 2012), including suicidal the field have turned their attention to the notion behavior (Breuer, 2014; Drydakis, 2014; Madianos, decent work (Blustein, Olle, Connors-Kellgren, & Alexiou, Patelakis, & Economou, 2014; Milner, Diamonti, 2016; International Labour Office, 2015). Morrell, & LaMontagne, 2014; Milner, Page, & The psychology of working framework (Blustein, LaMontagne, 2013, 2014), and change in 2006, 2013) and, most recently, the psychology of personality, such as agreeableness, working theory (Duffy, Blustein, Diemer, & Autin, conscientiousness, and openness (Boyce, Wood, 2016) hold decent work as central to wellbeing and Daly, & Sedikides, 2015). Unemployment not only self-determination of the individual and the contexts diminishes mental health. In turn, poorer mental in which the individual relates to others (e.g., family health is a risk factor for unemployment community). Their conviction is rational given that (Butterworth, Leach, Pirkis, & Kelaher, 2012; poor quality work wreaks havoc on psychological Olesen, Butterworth, Leach, Kelaher, & Pirkis, wellbeing (Butterworth, Leach, McManus, & 2013), which sets up a vicious cycle that entraps Stansfeld, 2013; Butterworth et al., 2011). This paper is an extract from a keynote presentation prepared for the Career Development Association of New Zealand. Cite as: McIlveen, P. (2016). Effectiveness of Career Development? Ask a Precise Question if You Want a Precise Answer . Keynote paper presented at the Symposium of the Career Development Association of New Zealand, Christchurch, 3 October.