Major Career Development Theories: Again these include but are not limited

to:

1. Every person has a unique pattern of traits made up of their

interests, values, abilities and personality characteristics, these traits c
Trait-Factor Theory: The Trait-Factor theory of career development
goes as far back as the early 1900’s and is associated mostly strongly
with vocational theorists Frank Parsons and E.G. Williamson. Some of
the basic assumptions that underlie this theory are:

• objectively identified and profiled to represent an

individual’s potential
• Every occupation is made up of factors required
for the successful performance of that occupation.
These factors can be objectively identified and
represented as an occupational profile
• It is possible to identify a fit or match between
individual traits and job factors using a straight forward
problem-solving/decision making process.
• The closer the match between personal traits and
job factors the greater the likelihood for successful job
performance and satisfaction.

Trait-factor theory has been around for a long time and is still being Gold Guardian
used by many career practitioners in one form or another. Many of the Blue Idealist
aptitude, personality and interest tests and occupational information
materials that emerged from this approach have evolved and remain in Orange Artisan
use today (e.g.,True Colors, General Aptitude Test Battery, Data-
People-Things Interest Test, occupational profiles and the ever Green Rational
expanding computer-based career guidance programs).
2. Holland’s Career Typology Theory: An off-shoot of the trait-
factor theory can be seen in the work of John Holland. Like the trait-
factor approach, Holland’s Career Typology focuses on individual
characteristics and occupational task. Holland’s theory expanded the
concept of personality types and posited that:

• Personalities fall into six broad categories:

realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and
conventional (often referred to as RIASEC).

• Since certain personalities are attracted to certain

jobs, the work environments then reflect this personality
and can be clustered into six similar populations
(RIASEC)

• Although each individual is made up of all six

types, one type is usually dominant. Most personalities
 tend to resemble up to three of the six personality
factors.

• Personalities can be matched with similar

combinations of work environments using a problem-
solving approach.

• The closer the match of personality to job, the

greater the satisfaction

Holland’s Career Typology takes a cognitive, problem solving approach to

career planning and this model has been extremely influential in vocational
counselling. It has been employed by popular assessment tools such as the
Self-Directed Search, Vocational Preference Inventory and the Strong Interest
Inventory. It has also resulted in practical resources like the Dictionary of
Holland Occupational Codes which applies Holland’s codes to major
occupations.

3. Super’s Life-Span/ Life-Space Theory: Donald Super believed

that humans are anything but static and that personal change is
continuous. Super’s Life-Span/Life Space is a very comprehensive
developmental model that attempts to account for the various important
influences on a person as they experience different life roles and
various life stages. Here are some of Super’s main tenets:

• Every individual has potential. People have skills

and talents that they develop through different life roles
making them capable of a variety of tasks and
numerous occupations.

• In making a vocational choice, an individual is

expressing his or her understanding of self; his or her
self-concept. People seek career satisfaction through
work roles in which they can express themselves and
implement and develop their self-concept. Self-
knowledge is key to career choice and job satisfaction.

• Career development is life long and occurs

throughout five major life stages: Growth, Exploration,
Establishment, Maintenance and Disengagement. Each
stage has a unique set of career development tasks and
accounts for the changes and decisions that people
make from career entry to retirement.

• These five stages are not just chronological.

People cycle through each of these stages when they
go through career transitions.
 • People play different roles throughout their lives
including the role of “worker.” Job satisfaction increases
when a person‘s self-concept includes a view of the
working-self as being integrated with their other life
roles.

Super’s theory has greatly influenced how we look at career practices.

Understanding the ages and related stages of career development assists
practitioners to identify where clients are in the career development continuum
and suggest appropriate career related goals and activities. It also
underscores the necessity to examine career development within the larger
context of an individual’s roles and life style and how to achieve a life/work
balance.

4. Krumboltz’s Social Learning Theory of Career Choice: John

D. Krumboltz developed a theory of career decision making and
development based on social learning. Career decisions are the
product of an uncountable number of learning experiences made
possible by encounters with the people, institutions and events in a
person's particular environment. In other words people choose their
careers based on what they have learned. Krumboltz proposed that:

• The four main factors that influence career choice

are genetic influences, environmental conditions and
events, learning experiences and task approach skills
(e.g., self-observation, goal setting and information
seeking).
• The consequences of these factors and most
particularly learning experiences lead people to develop
beliefs about the nature of careers and their role in life
(self-observational generalizations). These beliefs,
whether realistic or not, influence career choices and
work related behaviour.
• Learning experiences, especially observational
learning stemming from significant role models (e.g.,
parents, teachers, heroes), have a powerful influence on
career decisions, making some occupations more
attractive than others.
• Positive modelling, reward and reinforcement will
likely lead to the development of appropriate career
planning skills and career behaviour.

Krumboltz saw his theory as (1) a way of explaining the origin of career
choice and (2) a guide to how career practitioners might tackle career
related problems. The practitioner starts with understanding how a client
came to their career related view of themselves and the world and what is
limiting or problematic about this view. Once this has been established,
the practitioner and client identify what career relevant learning
experiences, modeling or skill building will help them reframe their view.
 Using Krumboltz’s approach a practitioner plays a major role in dealing with all
career problems, not just occupational selection.

5. Constructivist Theory/Models of Career Development:

Constructivist Theory of Career Development is related to existential
theory and is more a philosophical framework within which career
counselling can be done. Two thinkers associated with this approach
are M.L. Savickas and Vance Peavy. Constructivist career
development is based on the concepts of “constructivism” which
include the following:

• There are no fixed meanings or realities in the

world, there are multiple meanings and multiple realities.
Individuals create or construct their own meaning/reality
of the world through the experiences they have.
• People “construct” themselves and the world
around them through the interpretations they make and
the actions they take. These “constructs” or perceptions
of events may be useful or may be misleading.
• Individuals differ from each other in their
construction of events. Two people may participate in
the same or similar event and have very different
perceptions of the experience.
• People are self-organizing and meaning-makers.
Their lives are ever evolving stories that are under
constant revision. An individual may choose to develop
“new constructs” or write new ”stories“ in their life.
• To be an empowered or fulfilled person requires
critical reflection of the assumptions that account for our
daily decisions and actions.

The constructivist career counselling approach is generally about

life planning. The search for meaningful work is connected to
constuctivism’s emphasis on deriving meaning from personal
experience. To have meaningful careers, individuals need to reflect
on their life experiences and the resulting “constructs” they may
hold about life/work/self. The client and practitioner work towards
an awareness and openness of new constructs of one’s life/work/self that can
provide the basis for meaning. Interventions include working directly with the
client’s life experience and the use of meaning making processes such as
narrative, metaphor, mapping and critical reflection.

Note: No single theory of Career Development is comprehensive. As career practitioners, we

need to recognize and be aware of any theory’s strengths, weaknesses and inherent biases.
Theory works best when it’s integrated into our personal style and in accordance with a client’s
unique situation and needs. Using a holistic approach to clients means pulling from a
combination of career development theories and strategies.
Trait-and-Factor Theory (Parsons, 1909; Williamson, 1939)

Also known as matching or actuarial approaches

Concept of the individual

• Possess pattern of traits

• These traits can be objectively identified
• Traits can be “profiled” to represent individual’s potential

Concept of work

• Occupations are composed of factors required in successful job performance

• Factors can be profiled according to “amounts” of individual traits required

Concept of career choice

• Profiles can be overlaid

• Probable “fit” between individual and job can be identified

Underlying assumptions

• Miller
o Vocational development is cognitive process; decisions reached by reasoning
o Occupational choice is single event; choice is greatly stressed over development
o There is a single “right” occupation for everyone; there is no recognition that a
worker might fit well into a number of occupations
o Single person works in each job; one person - one job relationship
o Everyone has an occupational choice
• Klein and Wiener
o Each individual has a unique set of traits that can be measured reliably and validly
o Occupations require that workers possess certain traits for success
o Choice of occupation is straightforward process and matching is possible
o The closer the match between personal characteristics and job requirements, the
greater the likelihood for success (productivity and satisfaction)

Process

• Parsons
o Clear understanding of yourself, aptitudes, abilities, interests, resources,
limitations, and other qualities
o Knowledge of requirements and conditions of success, advantages and
disadvantages, compensation, opportunities, and prospects in different lines of
work
o True reasoning on the relations of these two groups of facts
• Williamson
 o Analysis - Gather client information
o Synthesis - Organize data to gain understanding of client
o Diagnosis - Counselor’s statement of client problem
o Prognosis - Predict future development of problem
o Counseling
o Follow-up

It is possible to identify a fit or match between individual traits and job factors using
a straight forward problem-solving/decision making process.

The closer the match between personal traits and job factors the greater the
likelihood for successful job performance and satisfaction.

Trait-factor theory has been around for a long time and is still being used by many
career practitioners in one form or another. Many of the aptitude, personality and
interest tests and occupational information materials that emerged from this
approach have evolved and remain in use today (e.g.,True Colors, General Aptitude
Test Battery, Data-People-Things Interest Test, occupational profiles and the ever
expanding computer-based career guidance programs).
Gold Guardian
Blue Idealist
Orange Artisan
Green Rational

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