Brief Overview of the Advancement of Postmodern
1
Approaches to Career
Counseling
Jacobus G. Maree
University of Pretoria
Address correspondence to Professor Jacobus G. Maree, Faculty of Education, Aldoel Building F214, University of Pretoria,
Pretoria, 0002, South Africa. E-mail: kobus.maree@up.ac.za
Postmodern Approaches in Career Counseling
Maree
Global changes in people’s lifestyles and in the world of work (prompted by changes in the global economy) have
necessitated changes in the facilitation of career counseling in the postmodern era. This article attempts to provide a
concise overview of the advancement of postmodern approaches in career counseling. First, it critically evaluates the
influence of changes in the workplace on people’s lifestyles. Subsequently it elucidates the influence of the different
waves in psychology and the economy on helping models in career counseling, and the way in which these waves have
shaped the theory and practice of career counseling. This is followed by an illumination of the paradigm shift in career
counseling from a predominantly quantitative (positivist) approach to an acknowledgement of the value of qualitative
approaches and the development of a combined qualitative-quantitative approach. Lastly, the article explicates the
fairly recent emergence of constructivist approaches (concurrently with the emergence of life designing) and career
adaptability as a core aim of career counseling.
Keywords: postmodern, career counseling, career construction, life designing, economic waves, waves in counseling, qualita-
tive assessment
Society is attempting to respond to the glacier effects of the
ever-evolving fourth wave in the economy (Maree & Pollard,
2009). The latter is accompanied by rapid changes in society,
communities, the workplace, work content, technology, percep-
tions of work, values, as well as goals and meanings attached to
work. The world of work has changed so rapidly over the past few
years that yet another major paradigm shift was necessitated in
career counseling in terms of theory, as well as practice. Where in
the past the practice of career counseling was based on a predom
-
inantly (if not exclusively) quantitative (‘test-and-tell’ or ‘person-en
-
vironment fit’) approach, a gradual shift has occurred over time.
Over the past few decades, qualitative approaches based on the
elicitation of life stories and personal narratives in particular, have
emerged strongly. The consensus now is that a combined qualita
-
tive-quantitative approach, based on a deep sense of respect for
clients, a strong emphasis on the meaning clients need to find in
their lives, and their personal stories, equips practitioners with a
possible means to address the shortcomings that characterized
the profession in the past, and is useful to clients as they design
their lives.
Goals of the Review
This article provides a brief overview of the advancement of
postmodern approaches to career counseling and seeks to an
-
swer the following questions:
a. In which ways have the different waves in psychology and
the economy influenced helping models in career counsel
-
ing and prompted paradigm shifts in both the theoretical ap
-
proach to and the practical way in which career counseling
is administered?
b. What are the major changes that characterize the paradigm
shift from a predominantly quantitative (positivist) approach
to an acknowledgement of the value of qualitative ap
-
proaches?
c. What is the link between constructivist approaches and life
designing (including career adaptability) as the primary aim
of career counseling?
Rationale for post-modern approaches. The rationale for
the emergence of a fresh paradigmatic approach in career
counseling over the past two decades or so is self-evident.
Schultheiss and Van Esbroeck (2009, p. 1) contend that despite
changes brought about in the profession, career counseling is
at a crossroads and the “longevity and viability of current theo
-
ries, practices, training and research” are increasingly being
challenged. It has become progressively difficult to ‘predict’ the
future and to determine the factors that will co-determine career
and life success. Gone are the days of a traditional and predict
-
able movement from school to a work environment and then to
retirement (Peavy, as cited in Campbell & Ungar, 2004). There
is a growing realization that so-called ‘objective’ tests do not
fully and accurately measure interests, personalities and val
-
ues, and that change occurs over time, resulting in initial career
choices for young adults (and others) being unsatisfactory later
in life (Borchard, 1995). Furthermore, we are currently in the
midst of the most transformative moment in economic history
(Savickas, 2006a), and individuals are gradually being forced to
accept responsibility for their lives: the ‘stable’ post-industrial
world of work no longer exists, and security and stability in the
workplace are no longer guaranteed (Maree, 2002). The impact
that changes in clients’ lifestyles have on career counseling the
-
ory and practice is discussed next.
Impact of Global Changes in the Workplace on
People’s Lifestyles
Radical changes in people’s lifestyle and career planning,
arising from the phenomenal technological advancement and
the information explosion of the 21st century, have brought ca
-
reer counseling theory and practice to a crossroads. People
Journal of Psychology in Africa 2010, 20(3), 361–368
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ISSN 1433-0237
rarely remain in one job for their lifetime nowadays (Savickas,
2006a; Watts, 2008). New careers requiring new skills and atti
-
tudes are constantly emerging, and career counseling has to
keep abreast of these developments if it is to remain effective
and relevant in postmodern society (Savickas, 2006a; Watson,
2004). Naicker (1994) claims that people in the major devel
-
oped economies change careers an average of five times dur
-
ing their career lifetime. Savickas (2006b) asserts that individu
-
als in the United States of America born between 1957 and
1964 had an average of ten jobs from the age of 18 to 38. While
these figures cannot summarily be applied to all contexts, the
general trend globally is for employees to migrate between jobs
more regularly. Short-term assignments, rather than appoint
-
ment in one job in one firm on a permanent basis are becoming
far more common. Also, there is an urgent need to examine the
growing gap between what is currently offered in training and
the skills needed to execute a job successfully.
The idea of a small core of permanent employees, a size
-
able group of practitioners whose particular and sought-after
skills are bought, and a large number of temporary workers was
predicted to become commonplace by year 2000 (Handy in
Hughes, 1997). However, to keep abreast of technological
changes, employees have to become lifelong learners, receive
ongoing training, acquire the skill to adapt to rapidly changing
career contexts, and deal with repeated transitions. Hence they
have to acquire cutting-edge skills associated with the latest
technology to remain relevant in a highly competitive job mar-
ket. The realities of the 21st century labor market should there-
fore dictate assessment strategies and guide feedback to cli-
ents. Multi-skilling, for instance, is crucial. Clients should be
encouraged to become critical thinkers, creative problem solv-
ers and skilled decision makers in order to become employable,
instead of merely be trained linearly for one specific job. To en-
able clients to ‘make meaning’ in their lives, create holding envi-
ronments and become more whole, career counselors play an
increasingly important integrating role in the effective facilitation
of careers in situations that constantly require new skills and in
-
creasingly compel employees to use their work to become more
whole. Career counselors therefore have little choice but to be
-
come au fait with the impact of different helping models that
have informed career counseling at different stages, and influ
-
enced by changes in the global economy. More important to the
practice of counseling in the post-modern world is the link be
-
tween the transformative movements or waves (as previously
discussed). I briefly elucidate on of these aspects next.
Overview of the Interplay between Waves in Psychology,
Economy and, Career Counseling over the Past 120 Years
Given the huge impact of changes in the global economy on
helping models in career counseling, it seems important to dis
-
cuss this matter first. In each case I cite key references by sub
-
heading for readers who may want to do additional study on the
specific aspects.
Connection between helping models in career counsel
-
ing and economic waves (Molitor, 1999, 2000; Savickas,
2006a, 2006b, 2007b). The first helping model (ca 1850-1910)
was referred to as Friendly Volunteers (Savickas, 2006a;
2007b). In this era (agricultural era: first economic wave), work
-
ers grew up on farms and by and large knew what they wanted
to do. Those who wanted to leave the farms had access to guid
-
ance from a self-styled ‘friendly visitor’. Vocational guidance
(the second helping model) occurred only during the second
economic wave (industrial era: ca 1900-1950), when a myriad
of jobs became available and people started flocking to the cit
-
ies. After World War II, during the third economic wave, with the
establishment of large international corporations characterized
by bureaucratic hierarchies (service era: ca 1940-1990), career
counseling (the third helping model) emerged. Career counsel
-
ors advised individuals on how to choose an occupation and
subsequently develop a career in it by climbing the traditional
corporate ladder (Savickas, 2006b). Since the 1990s, with the
emergence of the knowledge economy and computer technol
-
ogy (the fourth economic wave or information era: 1990-cur
-
rent), growing uncertainty among workers about the perma
-
nency of their occupations gave rise to career construction for
life designing (the fourth helping model) with its strong empha
-
sis on empowering persons to ‘make meaning’, write their own
life stories and construct their own careers and futures instead
of ‘choosing’.
In order to understand why career construction in particular
emerged so strongly over approximately two decades as a the
-
oretical base for career counseling, it is important to understand
the traits or qualities that drove the career counseling profes
-
sion in during each of the four waves discussed above. I will
therefore touch on this issue briefly now.
Traits emphasized during each of the four economic
waves and concurrent helping models in career counsel
-
ing (Savickas, 2006a, 2006, 2007b). The first economic wave
occurred in a 19th century romantic atmosphere. Career was
seen as a vocation; character was valued highly (e.g., self-suffi-
ciency, humility and frugality) and was expressed through
self-expression and individual effort (craftspeople and farmers
were the ‘workers’; family traditions were honored) (Savickas,
1993). People were expected to ‘be the same’ and to have the
same values. The second economic wave was characterized by
empire builders who organized craftspeople into companies
and built large cities. Concurrent with the development of sci-
ence and the emphasis on an objective approach to pure sci-
ences, career counselors developed ‘objective’ assessment in
-
struments to assess personality, including interests. Career
counseling favored an objective (positivist) perspective. Par
-
sons asserts that whereas scientists objectified the world, coun
-
selors objectified interests, values and abilities by using inven
-
tories and tests. During the third economic wave, logical
positivism started giving way to subjective perspectives
(Savickas, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006b), and meaning making
began to emerge. In the fourth economic wave, identity rather
than personality and vocational personality types is
fore-grounded, and the tendency is to help people make sense
of their lives, which provides the rationale for identity. According
to Savickas (2008) a stable identity includes knowing one’s
story, having a clear and stable picture of oneself, and under
-
standing the world of work. The increased emphasis on identity
coincides with a decreased emphasis on the concept of maturity
or climbing the developmental ladder, and a focus on career
adaptability and lifelong learning.
Because the prevailing psychological, political, social and
economic cultures in which any counseling practice evolves
have a significant impact on the advance of career counseling
epistemology (theory of knowledge) and practice, I will now
elaborate on the advancement of epistemological approaches
that have underpinned and guided career counseling over the
past 120 years.
362 Maree
Epistemological Approaches that have Underpinned and
Guided the Practice of Career Counseling over the Past
120 Years
The underlying paradigm in career counseling shifts once in
every approximately 50 years, inevitably influencing the actual
practice of career counseling (Savickas, 2006b). To elucidate
this aspect I will begin this section by referring briefly to the tra
-
ditional approach.
The traditional approach to career counseling. Watson
(2004) contends that career counseling, career research and
career education have for some time been hamstrung by the
belief that the greater the extent to which a discipline can empiri
-
cally validate its findings in terms of numerical quantifiers, the
more valuable it is. Ever since its inception at the beginning of
the 20
th
century, career counseling has had an objective (posi
-
tivist) orientation. The rapidly changing career situation, how
-
ever, demands a contemporary approach that requires career
counselors to take cognizance of the shift, and to adapt their ac
-
ademic discipline to accommodate these changes. Far too of
-
ten, there is little evidence of the development of decision-mak
-
ing capacity, and indecision and lack of realism in career choice
are perpetuated. An approach that regards clients as the sole
experts on their own lives appears to be a better basis for help
-
ing clients negotiate transitions, choose careers and design
their lives. Counselors should attempt to be useful to clients by
for example offering spaces where clients can discover their
personal characteristics, and develop and share past (and cur-
rent) stories (experiences) as they attempt to navigate transi-
tions and transcend the weaknesses of the past and present.
The latter threaten clients’ chances of making a decent living,
establishing social connections and becoming self-determined
(Blustein, 2010), i.e., designing successful lives and making
valuable social contributions (Savickas et al., 2009). In the next
section, I will elaborate on some basic principles that underlie
the fourth wave approach to career counseling.
A qualitative (postmodern) approach to career counsel
-
ing. Interest in qualitative assessment strategies and tech
-
niques (used in conjunction with traditional techniques) has
grown significantly over the past few decades. Postmodern the
-
oretical assumptions about career counseling are derived from
the naturalistic (interpretive) paradigm described by, among
others, Savickas (2005, 2006a, 2007a) and Hartung (2007).
These assumptions are based largely on Savickas’ (2005) hall
-
mark contribution, namely career construction theory, which
blends the major career counseling theories into one grand the
-
ory and implies that persons construct their own lives and ca
-
reers by identifying (imposing meaning on) their vocational
(work-related) behavior and numerous experiences in the work
-
place. The general aim of narrative career counseling is to help
clients script their own life story – an approach that is suitable
for helping clients explore personal meanings and find holding
environments. An attempt is made to facilitate personal agency
by viewing clients as active agents in their own personal devel
-
opment and by emphasizing clients’ emotions and passions
(Savickas, 2007b). These aims can best be achieved by at
-
tempting to answer the following questions during career coun
-
seling sessions (Pomerantz, 2008):
a. How do we encourage people to tell their life history story in
a way that informs counseling?
b. How do we put a story into a perspective or a context, and
why is this so important?
c. How do we overcome a script or a stereotype that is unhelp
-
ful or counterproductive?
d. How can we enable clients to better construct and share
their stories?
e. How do we attend to aspects that are overlooked or
marginalized?
Social constructionism, which is pertinent to the qualitative
approach, will now be elucidated briefly. After that I will focus
explicitly on Mark Savickas’ (2006a, 2006b) perspective on the
qualitative approach, because of the importance attached to his
contribution globally.
Social constructionism. According to social constructivist
theory, knowledge and meaning are actively constructed
through social interaction and relationships within a specific
context. The meaning an individual attaches to a specific expe
-
rience is accordingly inseparable from the context in which the
actual experience takes place (Blustein, Palladino Schultheiss,
& Flum, 2004; Maree, 2004; Palladino Schultheiss, 2005).
Savickas’ theory of career construction counseling for
life designing. The theory of life design counseling is strongly
related to the theory of career construction. Consequently, the
role of stories in the counseling process, it is discussed in more
detail below.
Savickas’ career construction theory. This theory views
the individual’s career as potentially a central part of his or her
life and emphasizes the construction of career meaning in a
unique context. It implies that individuals have the opportunity to
identify the manner in which they want to fit a career into their
lives. The focus is on career choice, adaptability and develop-
ment as integrated processes. The four core concepts are em-
phasized: life structure, career personality, career adaptability
and life themes (Savickas, 2005, 2008). Savickas (2002, 2005)
argues that career construction not only offers a sound theoreti-
cal framework for understanding occupational behavior, but
also provides a counseling strategy and methods that clients
can use as they strive to achieve self-completion and make so-
cial contributions through their work. Hartung (2007, 2010) as-
serts that career construction theory updates and integrates
Super’s (1957, 1983) life-span/life-space theory and more spe
-
cifically, Super’s portrayal of the developmental perspective on
vocational choice and adjustment.
Savickas (2005) and Hartung (2007) attribute this success
to the attention afforded to and development of the following
four vital dimensions of occupational and vocational behavior,
namely (a) life structure (the assemblage of work and other
roles that constitute a person’s life); (b) career adaptability strat
-
egies (the coping mechanisms used by individuals to negotiate
developmental tasks and environmental changes that accumu
-
late in the course of a lifetime); (c) thematic life stories (the moti
-
vations and driving forces that pattern lives); and (d) personality
style (personality traits such as abilities, needs, values, inter
-
ests and other traits that typify a person’s self-concept). Career
construction theory uses the narrative paradigm to transform
these four theoretical dimensions into practice, and comprises a
constructivist career counseling strategy and methods that en
-
courage clients to (re-) author their lives and career stories. In
achieving this, they enhance their opportunity to experience
work as a personally meaningful endeavor, as a context for fur
-
ther development, and for making a social contribution.
Career construction theory and practice act as a grand
meta-theory that melds and blends three core career theoretical
traditions: individual development (the developmental ap
-
proach), psychodynamic motivation (life themes and the narra
-
tive approach) and individual differences (the differential ap
-
proach or person-environment fit) into an overarching theory of
Postmodern Approaches in Career Counseling 363
occupational and vocational behavior. In doing so, Savickas
(2002; 2005) has responded to repeated calls (prior to and after
1992) for convergence in career development theories. In addi
-
tion, the process, patterns and content of career choice and de
-
velopment are dealt with effectively (Savickas & Lent, 1994). In
summary: several dominant perspectives on occupational be
-
havior and career are fused into a single meta-theory that takes
into account: (a) life structure and career adaptability (how peo
-
ple organize their life roles and deal with career developmental
tasks); (b) life themes (why people move in a particular life ca
-
reer direction), and (c) vocational personalities (what traits a
person possesses) (Hartung, 2007; Savickas, 2002, 2005).
Life Design Counseling
Three models of life design counseling can be identified in
the literature. The first model (Campbell & Ungar, 2004) facili
-
tates individuals’ movement through seven underlying phases
or episodes: (a) knowing what they want; (b) knowing what they
have; (c) knowing what they hear; (d) knowing what is limiting
them; (e) planning their preferred future; (f) growing into their
story; and (g) growing out of their story. The second model
(Zunker, 1998) uses postmodern techniques (e.g., lifeline, col
-
lage, role identification and fantasy) to help individuals design
their lives. Interactive group discussions that focus on the per
-
sonal application of these techniques enhance the life design
process (Zunker, 1998). Central to both models is the construc-
tion of meaning through communication.
Regarding the third model, Savickas et al. (2009) maintain
that a new social arrangement of work poses a series of ques-
tions and challenges to people who attempt to be useful to oth-
ers as they develop their working lives. The authors explain that
life designing for career intervention is based on five assump-
tions about people and their working lives, namely (a) contex-
tual possibilities, (b) dynamic processes, (c) non-linear progres-
sion, (d) multiple perspectives and (e) personal patterns.
Because their life design framework for career counseling puts
into practice Guichard’s (2005) theory of self-constructing and
Savickas’ (2005) theory of career construction – both of which
describe occupational behavior and its development – it is
structured to be life-long, holistic, contextual and preventive.
Individuals who need to adapt to continuous change have to
develop various skills that can facilitate adaptation, not only in
their careers, but also in their lives (Schreuder & Coetzee,
2006). Career and life planning should be an action-oriented,
constructive process that can be executed in accordance with
other aspects of an individual’s life, such as personal beliefs and
needs (Greene, 2006). A career may be viewed as a central part
of life design, not an isolated part of a person’s life, and should
therefore be integrated into the individual’s lifestyle instead of
being de-contextualized. Through a process of life design, the
individual is afforded the opportunity to develop a preliminary
scheme or framework in which relevant concepts and ideas,
specifically with regard to his or her life, can be incorporated
(Zunker, 1998). One should consequently not focus on career
development in isolation, but rather design a life that can be ex
-
perienced as satisfactory by the individual and that can be rede
-
signed as needs, interests and experiences change (Campbell
& Ungar, 2004; Savickas, 1993). Factors that can influence the
process of life design are discussed next.
Factors that can influence the life design counseling
process. Savickas et al. (2009) explain that because occupa
-
tional prospects appear far less definable and predictable now
-
adays, job transitions have become more frequent and compli
-
cated. Workers have to develop skills and competences that dif
-
fer widely from those that were needed to find an occupation
and design a life during the previous century. Several unique
factors currently play a role in the process of (and actually en
-
courage) life design counseling. Greene (2006) identifies these
factors as the individual’s potential and ability, interests, per
-
sonality and characteristics, expectations of significant others,
and membership of a particular population group. According to
Zunker (1998) an individual’s perception of success, motivation
to work, need for intrinsic satisfaction, different roles, relation
-
ships and developmental and contextual changes, play a key
role in life design. Career adaptability in particular is a funda
-
mental aim in career counseling for life designing and will be
elaborated on next.
Career adaptability. Savickas et al. (2009) maintain that
the usefulness of career counseling can be measured by its
ability to effect important changes in the life stories of individu
-
als (Soresi, Nota, Ferrari, & Solberg, 2008). To achieve impor
-
tant changes in the life stories of individuals, adaptability,
narratability (the ability to articulate a life story), activity and
intentionality (the intention to make meaning in one’s life) have
to be promoted. Adaptability is crucial in postmodern society
and impacts on an individual’s general wellbeing (Schreuder &
Coetzee, 2006). Individuals are considered adaptable when
they act in an appropriate manner in a specific situation. Differ
-
ent coping mechanisms are implemented by different individu-
als to promote their adaptability to different situations and such
coping mechanisms tend to be consistent and include prob-
lem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping and avoidance
behavior (Kohn, O’Brien-Wood, Pickering, & Decicco, 2003).
Adaptability can be further divided into a number of dimensions,
such as creative problem solving, handling of unpredictable sit-
uations, mastery of new assignments, demonstration of per-
sonal and cultural ability to adapt to changes, and ability to han-
dle work stress and crisis situations (Pulakos et al., 2002).
In the next section, I will briefly delineate some practical im
-
plications of the movement towards a qualitative-quantitative
approach to career counseling.
Practical Implications of the Movement towards a
Qualitative-Quantitative Approach to Career Counseling
As indicated earlier, career counseling as a discipline tradi
-
tionally favored an objective (positivist) approach and career
counselors traditionally depended on ‘proven’ assessment
methods (Stead & Watson, 1998). Sophisticated media such as
psychometric tests, work sheets and computer programs were
used to form an objective image of an individual. The image was
then matched with the character traits suited to a specific ca
-
reer. If the values, interests and abilities of the individual were
considered congruent with the requirements of a specific ca
-
reer, it was assumed that the individual would find that career
stable, productive and satisfying. The ‘matching’, ‘objective’ im
-
age was accepted as real and true (Watson, 2004).
Career theory, practice and assessment globally have been
accused of failing to meet the needs of non-white, non-Western,
non-’standard’ populations (McMahon & Patton, 2002). Accord
-
ing to Maree, Bester, Lubbe, and Beck (2001), counselors who
implement current career-counseling models rely mainly on the
results and profiles of psychometric tests that are problematic in
diverse contexts, because the majority of these were developed
in contexts that differ vastly from, for instance, developing coun
-
try contexts. Furthermore, the value of the test results is often
exaggerated and career counselors are often regarded as ex
-
364 Maree
perts whose recommendations should be accepted. Clients of
-
ten avoid the responsibility of making their own choices regard
-
ing a future career, and are often deprived of the opportunity to
explore and develop. Career counseling therefore needs to
move away from the almost sole use of psychometric tests to an
approach that recognizes the individual’s social and historical
background.
The introduction of a theoretical framework that combines
facets of a quantitative approach with story, narratives and qual
-
itative assessment (a postmodern approach) seems essential.
This framework could for instance promote counseling in tradi
-
tional African society where the focus is on the group, story tell
-
ing and ubuntu (respect for the dignity of other people). This ap
-
proach is useful for clients other than upper and middle-class
individuals who have access to state-of-the-art counseling and
a wide range of careers (Winslade, 2007). However, Savickas
(1993, p. 210), too, is at pains to emphasize the fact that it is not
a matter of accepting either a quantitative or a qualitative ap
-
proach. Quite the opposite: the legacy of the modern era, viz.
objective methods, could be integrated into the postmodern ca
-
reer-counseling context: “To foster self-developers, we need to
augment these objective constructs, not replace them”.
Whereas McMahon and Patton (2002) argue that both these
approaches should be key elements of the assessment pro
-
cess, Amundson (2006) contends that the counseling contin
-
uum should start with some of the more traditional counseling
and assessment methods and then go beyond them to include
other, more dynamic approaches. He argues that one could
imagine one pillar of Super’s Archway bearing the more quanti-
tative and rational counseling methods, and the other pillar
bearing more dynamic methods, such as metaphor and story
telling.
A word of caution as regards the way in which career counsel-
ing is presented in contexts that differ from countries with first
world economies seems appropriate at this stage. While the world
at large is currently experiencing the fourth economic wave, Africa
at large, for instance, is often described as predominantly a devel
-
oping (third world) continent with sizeable first world sectors and
populations in places. The serious lack of skilled workers and the
ever-growing number of unskilled, inappropriately skilled and
low-skilled workers is well documented. The way in which the Afri
-
can economy is currently structured has a direct influence on and,
in fact, co-dictates the way in which career counseling is pre
-
sented. Whereas the typical one-to-one counseling paradigm may
work well in first world countries, it is not yet a viable model for Af
-
rica. What is needed is a paradigm appropriate for and applicable
to the large majority of any given country’s population that remains
in desperate need of any form of career counseling. Savickas
(2006b) aptly remarks: “I keep repeating that the vocational guid
-
ance model is a superb model for countries that are still organized
the way we were from 1900 to 1950. I am not saying any of these
models are no good; it depends though, which type of economy
you are working in.”
Conclusion
Career counseling as a profession has been influenced by
four main paradigm shifts in psychology and the global econ
-
omy over the past 120 years. There is an increasing realization
that it is essential to advance a theory base for developing ap
-
propriate assessment instruments and an approach that will
help clients see meaning in their careers, accept responsibility
for their actions, become able to adapt to new demands, find
new holding environments, and design successful lives. It is es
-
sential to narrow the gap between the practice and theory of
career counseling by ensuring that the client’s subjective expe
-
rience is considered during career counseling, in addition to the
usual consideration of objective results obtained by means of
(often antiquated) instruments and (often obsolete) career ori
-
entations. In this way deficiencies in contemporary practice
could be resolved (Porfeli, 2003).
A viable, 21st century approach that yields results that are
demonstrably related to work and life success is required.
Savickas (2010, personal communication with the author) as
-
serts that a crucial element of 21st century career counseling is
the following: whereas in the past career counseling was aimed
at highlighting individual differences, these days its emphasis
has shifted to individuals themselves. Clients should, after ca
-
reer counseling, be better equipped to start confronting the
complexities of negotiating a career pathway and become moti
-
vated to realize specific goals that could stand them in good
stead in their career and life development. The ultimate aim is to
enhance the design of individuals’ lives so that they can negoti
-
ate transitions as and when challenges arise.
Several researchers emphasize the importance of empow
-
ering clients to design lives that are experienced as satisfactory
and that can be redesigned as needs, interests and life experi
-
ences change (Campbell & Ungar, 2004; Savickas, 1993).
Savickas (2002, 2005) and Hartung (2007, 2010) take this idea
one step further and assert that the career-story interview
(Hartung, 2010), a signature strategy in career construction for
life designing, augmented by the use of the Three Anecdotes
Technique (TAT), offers counselors an innovative, exciting and
respectful way of being useful to clients who wish to find deeper
meaning in their lives. It also enables counselors to help clients
as they reflect on ways in which to negotiate transitions, write
their life stories and design their lives. (In a related article in this
issue, I will display the practical potential of the theoretical ap-
proach by investigating the usefulness of the TAT in ca-
reer-story interviewing by counselors.)
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Postmodern Approaches in Career Counseling 365