12/01/2013

Reflections and Projections: Onto the Second Century for NCDA!

Sue Aiken, Associate Editor, Independent Section

Let us close the centennial year with a reflection on the material presented this year through the eyes of the 2013 authors in the Independent section.

February – Eric Anderson’s article, "Stop Saying Career ‘path’", requested, “Let’s replace “career path” with “career voyage” as our standard term for the career experience. It would go a long way toward removing a significant barrier for our students and other clients who struggle to understand the realistic influence they can expect their career plans to have on their career outcomes.”   Read more at: "Stop Saying Career 'Path'".

Q. Are you ready to lead clients on career voyages in 2014? What tools will you bring on these journeys?

March’s author Sally Powers raised our awareness of Career Development Time vs Full Time Work and the issues of time and energy management. She concluded: “Helping your clients be intentional about how they spend their time is a “magical” first step in career development on-the-job – it’s like making time! In a sense, your clients learn to “make time” -- not from nothing, but from the time they already have. Intentionally spending some time working for their own view of a better life is affirming and produces its own energy. This provides added momentum for personal career success.”  Read more at: "Career Development Time verses Full Time Work"

Q. How are you as a role model to your clients on this issue? What time have you committed to your own career development this year and what are your goals for next year?

April brought Jenn Long’s interview with Richard Bolles on “An Interview with Richard Bolles: The Lasting Power of 41 Editions of What Color is Your Parachute?” Bolles sums it up. The book’s MAJOR take-away is, “Even if the cultural, economic, and geographical forces we are up against seem insurmountable, there is still at least 5% that is within our control, and we should work on that.”  Read more at: "An Interview with Richard Bolles"

Q. What is your passion in your work? How do you help clients find that 5% or more that they control?

May offered new ideas from Mark Franklin in "A Narrative Career Management Program that Increases Hope, Optimism, Confidence, Resilience: Outcome Study". Franklin states –

“An outcome study of individuals in “career pain” who went through the CareerCycles narrative method of practice has shown that participants experienced statistically significant increases in six key measures: hope, optimism, confidence, resilience, curiosity and exploration, and personal growth.”   - Read more at: "A Narrative Career Management Program"

Q. Who among us has not witnessed clients in varying stages of “career pain”? What new information do you need?

June featured Barbara Bissonnette’s article, "Career Planning for Individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome", where she provided a definition and useful information. “It takes an extra degree of patience and creativity to work with Asperger’s clients. Yet in the right job, with the right support, they have much to offer employers in need of bright, skilled workers”- Read more at: "Career Planning For Individuals with Aspergers Syndrome"

Q. Bissonnette reminds us of the understanding we need for disabilities facing our clients. What do you want to learn?

July/August combined issue featured an article from our maiden voyage issue in 2003. Jack Chapman’s article, "How to Show up the Moment your Prospect Wants to buy your Services", offered many timeless tips for us. His underlying answer to the question above: “The trick to building a successful private practice is to be the person "waiting in the wings," when a career need pops up. Especially when their job/career starts to hurt real bad! That's the "buying moment." - Read more at: "How to Show up the Moment your Prospect Wants to buy your Services"

Q. Using 21st century technology and old fashioned ingenuity, are you there in the mind of your clients when they need you?

August presented a book review by Liane H. Gould of "The Work Book: How to Build Your Personal Brand and Get Hired" by Bill Hobbs. Gould summed up the best reason for sharing the book with clients, “The most useful information is how to create a strong personal brand, the process of securing the job offer, and how to elevate personal brand once in the position.   - Read more at: "The Work Book" 

Q. Are you up to date on the best techniques to share with clients on not only getting work but keeping it?

September considered how to best establish and grow a private practice. Read Linda Crowder’s "Beating the Odds: Building a Private Practice". Much has been written on this topic but consider that Crowder lives in a rural area: ‘Combining contract work, independent publishing and an array of traditional and virtual coaching services I’ve been able to build a solid business that had me in the black within my first six months.’ Read more at: "Beating the Odds: Building a Private Practice" 

Q. What is your marketing plan for 2014? What do you need to learn and do to build your business?

October discussed another special population. Sunitha Narayanan writes "Career Conversations with Millennials: A Few Observations". She closed with this:

‘I believe getting buy-in with a population that is savvy, opinionated and functions in a world of texts, tweets and email is mostly exhilarating with moments of exhaustion. What do you believe and what has been your experience with Millenials? “ See more at: "Career Conversations with Millennials"

Q. What has been your experience with Millenials? What can they teach you?

November described the foundation of career development work, its theories. Deirdre A. Pickerell asked, "When did you last Think About Theory?" Here is Pickerell’s summary:

“Given the advances in career theory over the last two decades….., it seems timely that the 2013 NCDA conference had a Thoughts on Theories session, exploring recent developments in career theory with a number of panel members,…… Jim Bright, John Krumboltz, Mark Pope, Nancy Arthur, Norm Amundson, and Robert Pryor joined me on a panel moderated by Roberta Neault to reflect on the next 100 years. We explored such topics as how each theory/model will support CDPs* working over the next century……

Read more at: "When did you last Think About Theory?" 

*Career Development Professional

Q. Interested in 21st century theory and models? What changes lay ahead in your work?

December/January. We are at the crossroad of a year ending with its memories and a new year beginning with its dreams. Career Convergence encourages you to write about your experiences and/or give further consideration to the questions raised in 2013.

In summary we learned to value:

• Career journeys and transitions: a self renewal process

• Time for personal career development

• Finding passion in work

• Deepened awareness of diverse populations

• A strong business plan

• Reflection and projection on theory as foundation of work

Check here for all the archived articles in the Independent department as well as the posted comments for additional value. Let’s get writing!

Sue Aiken, MA, MCC loves her job as the Associate Editor of the Independent Section of Career Convergence online magazine. She is a Career Coach with Career Development Alliance serving the employees of the Transportation Security Administration while living on the central coast of California. Saiken001@charter.net