This important resource focuses on the individual worker and offers a developmental perspective that links childhood and adolescent experiences with initial work values and preferences for work activities. Taking a chronological approach, the contributors analyze the basic building blocks of careers (personality traits, vocational interests, skills, and abilities) and explain how early experiences influence subsequent development of skill sets and career identities. They show how personal life issues interact with work demands and affect important career decisions. The book also reveals how changes in personal values and career interests change at different phases of the life cycle— childhood and adolescence, school-to-work transitions, early adulthood, mid-career, and late-career.

Work Careersexamines how the careers of individuals evolve, not only in response to changing organizational contexts, but also in response to internal developmental needs as well. The book explores why individuals make the particular career choices they do and helps explain how changes in organizational context facilitate or frustrate individuals' developmental needs. At the same time, this volume explores the role of organizations and public policy in facilitating or impeding employees— developmental opportunities.

Finally, Work Careersexplores the ever-evolving landscape of careers, including fundamental changes in job security, electronic commerce, and global business. The book also questions what it means to have a successful career and why individuals vary so greatly in how they experience their work. In short, Work Careersoffers a wealth of information and analysis that can energize and guide both future research and innovative management practice in the area of career development.

Work Careersbrings together a stellar panel of experts from the fields of industrial and organizational psychology, counseling and clinical psychology, social psychology, organizational behavior, and human resource management. This volume offers a comprehensive exploration of how an individual's career unfolds from early childhood through retirement. Based on the most recent findings and current research, the volume also focuses on changes in the societal and organizational contexts of career development and reveals how context shapes and constrains individual career decisions. Contributors include:

Terry A. Beehr

Nathan A. Bowling

Jill C. Bradley

Allan Bird

Arthur P. Brief

Daniel C. Feldman

Barbara J. Feinberg

Jennifer M. George

Carrie R. Leana

Manuel London

Mark E. Mendenhall

Elizabeth Wolfe Morrison

Cheri Ostroff

Terri A. Scandura

Neal Schmitt

Yuhung Shin

Gregory K. Stephens

Harvey L. Sterns

Linda Mezydlo Subich

Jon M. Werner

Preface.

The Contributors.

Part One: Foundations of Career Development.

1 Stability in the Midst of Change: A Developmental Perspective on the Study of Careers (Daniel C. Feldman)

2 More Than the Big Five: Personality and Careers (Jill C. Bradley, Arthur P. Brief, Jennifer M. George).

3 Skill Acquisition and Person-Environment Fit (Cheri Ostroff, Yuhyung Shin, Barbara Feinberg).

Part Two: Career Development Across the Life Span.

4 When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It: Career Indecision and Vocational Choices of Teenagers and Young Adults (Daniel C. Feldman).

5 The School-to-Work Transition (Elizabeth Wolfe Morrison).

6 The Establishment Years: A Dependence Perspective (Terri A. Scandura).

7 Career Development in Midcareer (Harvey L. Sterns, Linda M. Subich).

8 Career Issues Facing Older Workers (Terry A. Beehr, Nathan A. Bowling).

Part Three: The Changing Context of Career Development.

9 Public Policy and the Changing Legal Context of Career Development (Jon M. Werner).

10 The Changing Organizational Context of Careers (Carrie R. Leana).

11 International Careers as Repositories of Knowledge: A New Look at Expatriation (Gregory K. Stephens, Allan Bird, Mark E. Mendenhall).

Part Four: Directions for Industrial/Organizational Practice and Research.

12 Organizational Assistance in Career Development (Manuel London).

13 Advancing Research on Work Careers: A Developmental Perspective on Theory Building and Empirical Research (Daniel C. Feldman).

Name Index.

Subject Index.