Career Choice

Research Paper # 101167

Gender and Sexuality > Gender Studies
Labor Studies
Sociology > Theory

Career Choice

This paper provides an assessment of personal relationships can impact career choice.

1,800 words () | 4 sources | APA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

In this article the writer notes that career counseling is becoming increasingly sophisticated in terms of the methods of study and the implications gained from research and case studies in the field of counseling. The writer points out that one of the more recent developments in career counseling is in the area of inter-personal relationships that exist outside of the work environment and looks at how these can impact both the job candidate's professional aspirations and the likely outcomes for job performance. This paper examines how relationships among and between work, family, and associated factors that are involved in relationships can affect job performance. Further the writer discusses how it is the career counselor's responsibility to identify these aspects and contextualize then in respect to potential job openings and career decision-making.

Outline:
Introduction
Literature on Careers and Inter-personal Relationships
Summary

From the Paper:

"Recently, author Barbara Ehrenreich called attention to the problems that many older professionals face when they lose their existing position and need to move into another. In her book, Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream, Ehrenreich pretended to be a woman in her mid-fifties who had been downsized from a competitive white-collar job and was seeking to enter the workplace. Initially, the book was intended to document her experiences as an older woman in the modern workforce, but after more than six months of actively seeking a job through various placement services, the book instead focuses on the challenges that older persons encounter when they look for new employment opportunities. She cautions against the use of career "coaches," who appear to take on the role of career counselors but are more likely to upsell their services and guarantee placement in jobs of the client's choice, as opposed to working with the client to help make appropriate decisions and build an effective career-oriented strategy."

Sample of Sources Used:

Bolton, M. K. (2000). The Third Shift: Managing hard choices in our careers, homes, and lives as women. New York: Jossey-Bass.
Brown, D. (2006). Career Information, Career Counseling, and Career Development (9th Ed.). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Ehrenreich, B. (2005). Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream. New York: Owl Books.
Jefferson, D. C. & Welch, R. (2005). Three-ring Circus: How real couples balance marriage, work, and family. Seal (WA): Seal Press.