Ch 2

Introduction to Career Development

• Chapter 2 introduces career development, paths, and options for psychology students in Australia.
• It helps students think about their careers and make informed decisions.

Introduction

• Charting a career path post-university can be complex, exciting, and daunting.
• Thinking about the future early can ease stress and aid in decision-making.
• The chapter aims to help students build a map of their future by examining careers from different perspectives.
• It addresses common questions, labor market trends, and key career development theories.
• The goal is to enable students to make the most of their psychology studies, understand themselves, and make good career decisions.

Psychology Degrees + Career Paths

• Students often expect a linear progression from education to employment but psychology graduates can move in many directions.
• The handbook highlights common and less obvious pathways for psychology graduates.
• It addresses key questions and concerns from students about career options and emphasizes the value of transferrable skills.
• Students study psychology for various reasons, including becoming registered psychologists, helping others, understanding human behavior, self-discovery, and psychological research.

Registration as a Psychologist

• To legally call oneself a psychologist in Australia, general registration with the Psychology Board of Australia (part of AHPRA) is required.
• The National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS), established in 2008, ensures only qualified health practitioners are registered.
• NRAS objectives include:
  • Facilitating workforce mobility and development.
  • Providing high-quality education and training.
  • Facilitating access to health practitioner services.
• AHPRA implements the NRAS, with National Boards regulating 15 health professions.
• The Psychology Board of Australia protects the public by ensuring only practitioners with the relevant skills and qualifications provide psychological services.
• The Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) accredits psychology study programs, which must meet established standards.
• APAC Accreditation Standards came into effect on January 1, 2019, and are available online.

Education and Training Pathways to General Registration as a Psychologist

• Becoming a registered psychologist in Australia requires a minimum of six years of education and training.

• Registration requirements are consistent across all states and territories.

• The Australian Psychological Society (APS) provides information on psychology careers and study pathways.

• The APS divides the 6-year sequence into three steps:

  • Step 1: Complete a three-year accredited undergraduate psychology sequence (e.g., bachelor degree). Those with non-psychology degrees can complete an APAC-accredited graduate diploma.
  • Step 2: Complete a fourth year of accredited psychology studies (e.g., honors degree or postgraduate diploma). Step 1 is a prerequisite.
  • Step 3: Complete postgraduate study required for general registration (e.g., Master of Psychology). Step 2 is a prerequisite.

• A fourth step exists for registered psychologists seeking an Area of Practice Endorsement (AoPE) in specialized areas:

  • Clinical neuropsychology
  • Clinical psychology
  • Community psychology
  • Counselling psychology
  • Educational and developmental psychology
  • Forensic psychology
  • Health psychology
  • Organisational psychology
  • Sport and exercise psychology

• Obtaining an AoPE involves completing a registrar program with supervision and professional development.

• Many undergraduate psychology students pursue further study to become fully registered, with some seeking an area of practice endorsement or completing a PhD.

• Entry into honors and master's programs is competitive, requiring a high GPA, and universities have limited places.

• Most psychology students enter the labor market after a bachelor's degree, with some undertaking further study in non-psychology areas.

What Can I Do With a Three-Year Psychology Degree? – Common Career Pathways

• A common question is what can be done with a three-year psychology degree, as not all students pursue registration or gain entry into honors programs.
• Psychology is a versatile degree with numerous possibilities, which can sometimes be stressful or confusing.
• Figure 2.1 provides examples of common jobs for students with a three-year bachelor's degree in psychology but is not an exhaustive list.
• Graduates may work in related roles like counselors, support workers, welfare workers, or research assistants, or in other fields like marketing, human resources, and public relations.
• In 2020, 28.1% of Australian undergraduates worked in roles outside their main study discipline, so those studying psychology without pursuing full registration are in the majority (QILT, 2020).
• Career steps are influenced by aptitudes, interests, life experiences, personality, skills, abilities, and values.
• External variables like parental and peer influences, networking, chance opportunities, barriers, labor market forces, finances, and location also affect career trajectory.
• A deeper analysis of career development, considering the labor market and career theories, is essential for understanding this complex dynamic.

Should I Go On to Further Studies After I Complete My Bachelor’s Degree?

• Another common question is whether to pursue further studies after completing a bachelor's degree.
• Approximately 61% of psychology students are in full-time employment four months after graduating, and almost 32% pursue further study (QILT, 2020).
• There are various routes to different career destinations, including short certificates, courses, and postgraduate programs.
• A psychology degree can lead to occupations like counselor, social worker, teacher, medical practitioner, police officer, and lawyer, and to discipline areas like arts, business, human services, and science.
• Getting a clearer sense of career direction and long-term plans can help in making informed decisions.

What Am I Learning Studying Psychology? The Value of Your Degree

• Many students struggle to articulate what they have learned, especially when applying for jobs or further education.
• Psychology studies provide valuable knowledge and skills, including knowledge about human behavior, critical thinking, scientific reasoning, communication, and research methods.
• Undergraduate degrees develop skills in psychological literacy.
• These skills can be applied in a range of careers, not just in psychology.
• Universities embed generic employability skills (graduate attributes) in their study programs.
• Examples of graduate attributes include:
  • Written and oral communication
  • Critical and analytical (and sometimes creative and reflective) thinking
  • Problem-solving (including generating ideas and innovative solutions)
  • Information literacy – often associated with technology
  • Learning and working independently
  • Learning and working collaboratively
  • Ethical and inclusive engagement with communities, cultures, and nations
• Universities also outline learning outcomes associated with psychology programs and courses.
• APAC outlines expectations for graduates from undergraduate to postgraduate psychology programs in the 2019 Accreditation Standards for Psychology Programs.
• Foundational Competencies are expected for graduates from a psychology bachelor degree (pages 10–11).
• Pre-professional and professional competencies expected for graduates at the fourth year and postgraduate levels.
• There are professional competencies for graduates of programs in specialized areas of practice (e.g., counselling psychology, clinical psychology, health psychology).
• A psychology degree provides a solid foundation for future success.
• Employability includes discipline-specific competencies, graduate skills, self-management skills in career-building, and a proactive approach to navigating the world of work (Bridgestock, 2009).
• The Australian Government’s (2015) Core Skills for Work (CSfW) Developmental Framework outlines non-technical skills important for employers and successful participation in work.
• Work performance depends on skills, knowledge, and personal factors like cultural values, motivation, autonomy, self-belief, and resilience.
• Core skills are in three clusters:
  • Navigate the world of work
    • Manage career
    • Work and self-manage
  • Interact with others
    • Communicate
    • Connect and work with others
  • Get the work done
    • Solve problems
    • Use technology
    • Learn
• Reflection questions about core work skills:
  • Where are your current strengths?
  • What evidence will help you demonstrate these strengths?
  • How can you use that evidence when you’re applying for jobs?
  • Which areas need further development?
  • What strategies could you use to strengthen those areas?

Where Are The Jobs? – Labour Market Information

• Change is the new normal in the modern world, making career planning difficult.
• Chaotic systems lack predictability at the micro level but have stability at the macro level (Bright & Prior, 2005).
• Predicting where the jobs are is difficult due to rapid change.
• Key forces influencing the future of work:
  1. Technological breakthroughs
  2. Demographic shifts
  3. Rapid urbanization
  4. Shifts in global economic power
  5. Resource scarcity and climate change
• Technology and globalization are significant influences.
• Technology drives long-term economic growth and productivity gains.
• Advances in automation, robotics, and AI are changing the nature and number of available jobs (PwC, 2018).
• Technology has economic advantages, improves living standards, increases life span and productivity, and allows people to focus on personal fulfillment.
• Globalization has led to increased competition and trade.
• Global connectivity has resulted in more unstable markets.
• The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a severe economic recession (OECD, 2020).
• Societal mindsets are shifting due to increased exposure to choices and evolving definitions of needs (Gratton, 2011).
• Developed countries face aging populations and low birthrates.
• Governments are restructuring policies to support the population.
• Restructuring will occur in energy resources and climate change.
• Psychology is involved in helping people navigate the challenges they face in the world of work.
• Many psychologists use technology to provide telehealth services.
• Some psychologists work in climate change and sustainability to understand the psychological dimensions of global climate change.
• The American Psychological Association Task Force on the Interface Between Psychology and Global Climate Change (APA, 2009) report describes the contribution of psychological research.
• The Australian Psychological Society highlights psychology's contribution to climate change and the need for action at all levels (APS, 2020).

Where People Work

• Most people in Australia work in small businesses with less than 20 people, and over 60% of Australian businesses operate as sole traders (ABS, 2019).
• Registered psychologists can work in private practice, public and private hospitals, community and non-government mental health services, government departments, educational institutions, prisons, child protective services, non-government organizations, and private corporations.
• Many undergraduate psychology students do not go on to further study.
• According to the 2020 QILT Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS), 88% of undergraduate psychology graduates were employed four months after graduating.
• 61.4% of undergraduate psychology graduates were in full-time employment, and 32% had gone on to further study.
• The median annual salary for undergraduate psychology graduates in full-time employment in 2020 was $63,000.
• For students who completed postgraduate coursework in psychology, 96.3% were employed, and the median yearly salary was $95,000 (QILT, 2020).
• The Australian Government’s Job Outlook website provides information on demand, wages, skills, and job postings.
• The Health Care and Social Assistance industry has grown strongly, including supporting the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
• Table 2.2 provides a sampling of information from the Job Outlook website about different occupations.
• Data includes:
  • Occupation
  • Number of workers
  • % full-time
  • Weekly pay
  • Future growth
  • Average hours/week
  • % Female
  • Average age

So What Does All of This Data Mean for You?

• Information about future trends, salary surveys, and occupational outlooks helps in making informed decisions.
• Roughly 61% of psychology graduates work after completing their undergraduate studies.
• Higher salaries and employment rates for postgraduate degrees (e.g., master of psychology) might lead to further education.
• This information should be used with caution, as changes can happen quickly in the modern workplace.
• Job futures projections may be based on older census information or graduate surveys.
• The information speaks to general patterns and averages, but not individuals.
• A balanced approach considers environmental conditions and personal factors.
• Career development theory emphasizes the most prominent models and thinkers.

Models and Ways of Looking at Careers – How Do I Think About Careers?

• The academic study of ‘career development’ has focused on:
  • How individuals make decisions about what career to pursue
  • How career paths develop over time
• Theories of career development provide information and strategies for mapping out future career paths.

Person-Environment Fit

• Person-environment fit is a foundational theory credited to Frank Parsons in the early 1900s (Neault, 2014).
• The better the match between a person’s traits (skills, personality, interests, values) and the environment (occupation needs), the greater the likelihood of success and happiness.
• Following the person-environment fit model involves:
  • Assessing your skills, personality, interests, and values
  • Gathering data about occupations
  • Comparing yourself and the occupations to find the 'best fit' career choices
• This idea is the foundation of most career development activity.
• However, this approach is too one-dimensional and doesn't represent the complexity of career decisions.
• It leaves out significant variables that impact what options are available to many people.

Constraints on Person-Environment Fit

• A criticism of person-environment fit is that it assumes all individuals are choosing from all possible environments and doesn’t consider lifelong career development.
• Gottfredson (1996) argued choosing a career is not just about your psychological self but also your social self, placing yourself in the broader social order.
• Social aspects like gender and social class impact career choices.
• Gottfredson’s (1996) theory of circumscription and compromise asserts self-concept and images of occupations are impacted by social factors.
• Circumscription is a narrowing of perceived options to those considered socially acceptable (Gottfredson, 1996).
• Compromise is editing preferred career options based on compatibility and perceived acceptability.

Consider Career Circumspection and Compromise

• Are there career options that you think aren’t ‘acceptable’ for you? Based on your gender identity? Based on your social class? Based on other social variables?
• Are any of those career options that you feel are compatible with your skills and interest, but you’ve eliminated them as options because of perceived ‘unacceptability’?
• Gottfredson’s concepts illuminate that career decisions involve more than assessing fit between a person and the environment.
• Internal reactions to external factors change perceptions of possible and acceptable careers.

Lifelong Career Development

• While person-environment fit still plays an important role, our sense of self is constantly evolving, and we need to adapt to the ever-changing world of work.
• The whole process is a dynamic interaction of intrapersonal, interpersonal, contextual, and developmental influences.
• The Systems Theory Framework (STF) (McMahon & Patton, 1995; Patton & McMahon, 2006) incorporates the variety of influences on our career development:
  • Individual factors (interests, skills, gender, age, ability, personality, and values)
  • Social influences (family, friends, teachers, bosses, co-workers, sports coaches, the media)
  • Environmental influences (job market, political climate, the economy, where we live, how much money we have)
  • Chance factors (random events we haven’t planned for)
• These factors interact dynamically and are influenced by time.
• The STF is an overarching framework that allows the incorporation of a range of theoretical approaches.
• Integration of elements from the social system and the environmental-societal system with the individual system informs contextualist approaches.
• Includes the development of the Psychology of Working Framework (PWF; Blustein, 2013) and the Theory of Career Construction (Savickas, 2020).

Career Paths are Rarely Linear

• Many people think of career development as a ladder, but career trajectories are more disordered.

Understand Your Career Trajectory

• What has your career experience been?
• Do you feel pressure to have an answer and a clearly laid out path?
• When someone asks you ‘What are you going to do after graduation?’ or ‘What are you going to do with your degree?’ or ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’, do you feel pressure to have an answer?

Planned Happenstance

• Mitchell et al. (1999) argue unexpected events play a significant role in most careers.
• The Planned Happenstance model conceptualizes how careers unfold.
• 'Luck' plays a role in many people’s careers.
• People actively take advantage of luck to turn it into a career move.
• People have to be actively engaged in a network and in exploration to be somewhere where luck finds them.
• Key tenets of planned happenstance theory (Mitchell et al., 1999):
  • Exploration generates change opportunities for increasing quality of life
  • Skills enable people to seize opportunities
• Exploration creates opportunities, increasing the likelihood of positive happenstances through engagement.
• If we're engaged and connected, building a strong network and attending events, we're more likely to bump into new opportunities.
• When there is a lucky opportunity, we can choose to ignore it, or we can choose to take advantage of it.
• Mitchell et al. (1999) list five skills that help us generate and take advantage of happenstances:
  • Curiosity: exploring new learning opportunities
  • Persistence: exerting effort despite setbacks
  • Flexibility: changing attitudes and circumstances
  • Optimism: viewing new opportunities as possible and attainable
  • Risk-taking: taking action in the face of uncertain outcomes

Think of your own career path so far, that has led you to where you are today. What role has planning played and what role has happenstance played?

• Table 2.3 has some questions to help you reflect on your happenstance skills.

The Chaos Theory of Careers

• The Chaos Theory of Careers (Bright & Pryor, 2005; Pryor & Bright, 2014) has commonality with Planned Happenstance (role of unexpected events) and is an attempt at a broader new conceptualization of career development.
• They wanted a theory that would address how an individual makes a career decision and incorporate the complexity of variables impacting career trajectories.
• They looked beyond career development literature to general science and its attempts to explain the overall function of the natural world.
• Careers, like other parts of nature, are part of a chaotic system:
  • An individual’s career development is the interaction of one complex dynamical system (the person) with a series of more or less generalised other complex dynamical systems.

The Chaos Theory of Careers

• The Chaos Theory of Careers uses terms from general Chaos Theory (complexity, non-linearity, chance, and change) and applies them to career development.
• Complexity – There are so many variables, linked in so many ways, that complexity is a reality of systems.
• Non-linearity – Emphasizes how most people’s careers don’t follow a direct line, and that a small change can cause disproportionately significant impacts.
• Chance – Reinforces the importance of recognizing and embracing the role of chance in our careers.
• Change – Argues that there’s constant change in the larger world and that people themselves change.
• The Chaos Theory of Careers draws our attention to the complexity of career development and to the multiple and often unpredictable influences on our options and opportunities.

How Has the Chaos Theory of Careers Affected Your Career?

• How well do you think chaos describes the natural world?
• How well do you think a chaos theory can describe your career so far?
• If careers are chaotic, how does that make you feel? Are you excited by the possibilities, concerned about the lack of predictability, intrigued by the complexity, or a combination of those feelings and/or others?

Constructivist Approaches

• Much recent work on career development uses a constructive approach.
• Emphasizes that reality and how we experience it are individually and socially constructed.
• Narrative approaches highlight the role of story and argue that we narrate our own lives.
• As we tell the story of ourselves and our careers, we're designing our own reality.
• Individuals have agency in impacting the stories they narrate for their own careers.
• Constructing personal career narratives helps us understand our movement through life and specific decisions with a greater life context.
• Savickas (1997) uses a ‘career story’ process to help people narrate their own development:
  • Asks clients to name role models, favorite magazines, favorite book, mottos, and early recollections.
  • Counsellor and client draw themes out of these reflections, and the client constructs a story of their career.
  • Having these themes then informs decision-making about next steps.
• Another example of a constructivist approach is the use of metaphor as a way for individuals to understand their own careers (Amundson, 2010).
  • Metaphors are a common way humans make meaning.
  • Using metaphors is helpful because by relating to parallel examples where similar dynamics are in play, we're better able to understand a new experience.
• Career Metaphors
  • Career as journey, which can include getting a call, responding to the call, facing obstacles
  • Career/life as book – with chapters and difficult challenges
  • Climbing the ladder of success
  • Following the yellow brick road
  • Solving a puzzle (or many puzzles)
  • Undertaking a research project

Limitations: Ethnocentrism

• During this evolution, there has been a growing conversation about diversity and the limitations of existing theories in an increasingly diverse community.
• Ethnocentrism is the assumption that one’s own value system is superior and preferable to another.
• Historically, most of the career development literature has been produced in North America and primarily by members of dominant groups.
• Most research stems from vocational psychology and data used in psychological research has been dominated by samples drawn from WEIRD nations.
• Therefore, it’s important to note that the theories we’ve covered don’t reflect a universal value system.
• Arthur and Collins (2014) draw attention to several cultural assumptions reflecting a European-American perspective:
  • Individualism and autonomy
  • Affluence
  • Structure of opportunity open to all
  • Centrality of work in people’s lives
  • Linearity, progressiveness, and rationality

Cultural Assumptions

• What messages about ‘career’ have you learned from your family, and what messages are rooted in your family’s history and experiences?
• Are there any structural or systemic obstacles you believe you may (or have) experience(d) as you pursue your career path?
• What privileges have you benefited from that have made your life easier?
• Which (if any) of the assumptions listed above have you made when you think about careers and opportunities?
• The assumptions listed above are based on a ‘Western’ worldview and limit the applicability of the career theories we’ve reviewed so far.
• Even the term ‘career’ itself may have different meanings for different people, depending on historical and cultural influences (Arthur & Collins, 2014).
• Although the theories we’re reviewing in this chapter all have useful ideas to offer, we should examine them through a lens of diversity and social justice, considering how each theory may be limited within a particular worldview, and consider limits, biases, and gaps.
• In addition to limitations within career theories, there are also limitations and structural barriers that people from marginalised groups may experience in the labour market.
• Niles and Harris-Bowlsbey (2013) argue women, people of color, persons with disabilities, gay men, lesbian women, and transgender persons continue to encounter tremendous obstacles in their career development.
• Fortunately, there are increasingly more diverse voices in career development writings.
• The Psychology of Working Framework (PWF; Blustein, 2013) places a strong emphasis on the role that sociocultural factors play in career choice, work experiences, and career fulfilment.
• Duffy et al. (2016) developed a testable theory based on the PWF – the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT) – which helps to explain the process of securing decent work and how this leads to need satisfaction, work fulfilment, and wellbeing.
• A person will experience decent work when they are provided safe working conditions, adequate rest, healthcare, and compensation, as well as organizational values that reciprocate employee social and family values.
• The PWT model includes predictors of decent work – such as marginalisation, economic constraints, work volition, and career adaptability.
• Career adaptability encompasses being concerned, feeling in control, being curious, and having confidence (Savickas & Porfeli, 2012).
• Being adaptable involves being ready and having the resources to cope with current and anticipated career tasks (Savickas & Porfeli, 2012).

Career Adaptability

• How adaptable do you feel in relation to your career?
• How much in control of your career do you feel?
• How curious are you about yourself and your career?
• How concerned are you about your career?
• How confident are you in your ability to complete career-related tasks and overcome any barriers that stand in the way of achieving your career goals?

Finding Your Way– Moving Towards Your Career Goals

• The previous section reviewed the evolution of career development theory.
• This section presents concrete processes and tools for developing a career path and a meaningful sense of direction.

The Value of Purpose

• Research shows that students are more successful when motivated in pursuing career goals (Harackiewicz et al., 2002; Snyder et al., 2002).
• Students with undefined goals tend to put in minimal effort.
• Taking active steps to explore potential directions can give a sense of purpose to time at university, help keep motivated, and position for success.
• Purpose is longer-term and broader, a direction that motivates and guides decisions.
• Purpose includes the desire to make a difference in the world, to contribute to matters larger than the self (Damon et al. 2003).
• Living purposefully requires knowing yourself well enough to get clarity about what unique purpose is suited to you.
• Having a sense of values and interests is fundamental.
• It’s also important to factor in your strengths (Smith, 2017).
• Using our strengths at work makes us more likely to find meaning and perform at a higher level (Dubreuil et al., 2014).
• This section looks at decision-making strategies, self-assessment strategies, key resources, and activities to help gain clarity.

Career Decision-Making Styles

• Everyone has their own style of making decisions – and the role of data plays a different role in each style.
• Dinklage (1968) found eight decision-making styles:
  • Planful
  • Agonising
  • Impulsive
  • Intuitive
  • Compliant
  • Delaying
  • Fatalistic
  • Paralytic

Your Decision-Making Style

• Having a sense of your own decision-making style can help you to navigate your own ongoing career decision:

Do any of the decision-making styles listed above resonate with you?

• When have you made big decisions in the past? Were you successful? Why? Why not?
• If you weren’t successful, what would you do differently the next time?

Decision-Making Processes

• The Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) Approach examines how we make effective career decisions (Sampson et al., 1992).
• Decisions involve cognitive and affective elements, and career decisions are ongoing.
• The information processing pyramid describes three foundational components: self-knowledge, occupational knowledge, and decision-making skills, capped by metacognition.
• The Cognitive Information Processing Approach (Samson et al., 1992) also includes the CASVE process (Communication, Analysis, Synthesis, Valuing, and Execution).
• CASVE explains the phases we go through in making a decision.
• The first two components from the pyramid are incorporated into the analysis phase, while the metacognition and decision-making skills apply throughout.
• The process reflects the cyclical nature of navigating career decisions.
• Pay attention to your own thought process to monitor your progress.
• Many university students benefit from attention to all aspects of this process – starting with analysis of self and options.
• The various phases of the CASVE model of decision-making help in making informed career decisions.
• Most career counselors will try to shift the initial conversation to learning more about you as a person.
• Unique make-up in terms of personality, skills, values, interests, experiences, connections, and environment will influence career directions.
• Various ways to measure and assess people can contribute different pieces to your evolving self-understanding.

Using Assessment Tools

• Australia has an online National Career Information Service called myfuture (Education Services Australia, 2021).
• Myfuture helps people create a personal profile based on different self-assessment tools and explore study areas and occupations.
• There are 358 occupation profiles that describe the tasks and skills involved in each occupation and incorporate current labor market information.
• Other freely-available career assessments are included in Table 2.5.

Assessment by Self-Reflection

• A number of popular career books outline reflection activities to make sense of your current career situation.
• Reflection activities include:
  • Mind mapping
  • Journaling
  • Experience reflections
• Popular career titles include:
  • You Majored in What? by Katharine Brooks, Ed. D.(2010)
  • Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans (2018)
  • What Colour is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles (2018)
  • Business Model You: A One-Page Method for Reinventing Your Career by Tim Clark, Alexander Osterwalder, and Yves Pigneur (2012)

Assessment Through Other’s Perspectives and Support

• Other people around us can offer information about ourselves.
• Family, friends, coworkers, supervisors, or teachers could all offer perspectives.
• You can ask important people (between 5 and 10) who know you well for their perspective on your key strengths, weaknesses, or personal qualities.
• A conversation with an unbiased person can help you get clarity and perspective.
• Talk to a professional career development practitioner.

Case studies

• The case studies below discuss some typical career questions that prospective or current students may have about studying psychology. The issues are drawn from real issues that have been presented by people who have sought career counselling.

• Case Study 2.1: Diana

• Case Study 2.2: Carly

• Case Study 2.3: Jim

• Case Study 2.4: Ben

• Learning about oneself is a continuing process that unfolds over our lifetime.

Exploring Career Options

• This book is an excellent starting point for exploring career options related to psychology.

Formal Sources of Information

• You may want to consult other sources of career information such as:
  • Job Outlook
  • Myfuture
  • LinkedIn
  • Professional Associations
  • Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
  • Career books

Informal Sources of Information

• Speaking to professionals working in areas of interest can be a valuable source of insight (information interviewing).
• An informational interview can provide you with:
  • information about work and industry sector trends
  • employment opportunities and the different roles available
  • a strong understanding of skills, experience, or qualifications required for various occupations
  • new professional connections to both people and industry-related associations or agencies.
• Questions You Could Ask in an Information Interview
  1. What interests keep you going in your work?
  2. What skills are essential in doing your work?
  3. What are your work/life fit preferences (values and needs) that are met in this work?
  4. If you were going to start again in this field of work today, what would you do to be really ready? (What training and experience would you need to have? What would be some great ways to get it?)
  5. What professional associations do you rely on to keep up-to-date? What publications, organisations, or people do you suggest I contact for more information?

Synthesis and Valuing

• As you collect information on yourself and possible careers, you’ll be moving into the next phase - synthesizing options and valuing potential directions.
• This helps you move into the execution phase of testing out your ideas.
• A chart of pros and cons for each career of interest can help get a more holistic view of each option.
• A matrix can rank the options against a set of important criteria.
• Talk through your various options with family and friends, or seek professional help from an impartial career counselor.

Execution and Taking Action

• Testing out your career ideas can tell you more about potential career directions.
• Gaining various experiences from coursework, extracurricular activities, part-time work, and volunteering will help learn new information.
• Start focusing on a few specific directions.
• Develop key skills to help you pursue the needed education.

The Value of Ongoing Reflection

• Employees who reflected for 15 minutes daily performed 23% better at their work after 10 days (Di Stefano, Gino, Pisano, & Staats, 2014).
• Ongoing reflection reinforces learning, informs decisions, and helps articulate the value of experience and skills.
• Key questions after or during new learning experiences such as courses, extracurricular activities, or work:
  • What was challenging about this experience? How did I overcome it? What results did I achieve?
  • What impact did I have on those around me, on my environment, or on myself?
  • How did this change me? What do I do or see differently now?
  • What is most significant about this experience for me? For a potential employer?
  • What areas of growth does it