Synopses & Reviews
Take charge of your own career! Long described as the most complete, motivating, and logical career-planning book on the market, TAKING CHARGE OF YOUR CAREER DIRECTION provides you with the information you need to evaluate various opportunities in the world of work. With numerous personal inventories, core exercises, and real-life examples, this activity-oriented text helps you take stock of which career is right for you!
Review
"I think the manuscript is unique in the specific topics it covers, and it covers them very well. There are various texts and workbooks on career development, but none that do as good a job. Two major strengths of the manuscript are that it is totally up to date, and the exercises make it a participative book rather than just another textbook. It is well-written, thorough, and engaging."
Table of Contents
1. Introduction to Career Planning. Getting Started. Choice and Freedom. The Career Decision-Making Process. Theories of Occupational Choice and Career Development. Exercise 1-1 Ideal Job Description. Exercise 1-2 Autobiography. Exercise 1-3 Life Line. Summary. References. 2. The Changing World of Work. Occupational Trends. General Economic Forces and Labor Trends. Trends in Specific Occupations. Trends in Occupational Groups. Exercise 2-1 Factory Shutdown Exercise. Summary. References. 3. Your Preferences in the World of Work. Occupational Interests. Using Inventories. The Six Holland Personality/Environment Types. Generating Occupational Prospects with the Holland Codes. The Strong Interest Inventory and the Career Assessment Inventory. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Other Inventories. Exercises for Generating Occupational Prospects. Exercise 3-1 Remembering. Exercise 3-2 Asking. Exercise 3-3 Occupational Daydreaming. Exercise 3-4 Wishing. Exercise 3-5 Browsing. Exercise 3-6 What Needs to Be Done? Exercise 3-7 Career Kits and Games. Exercise 3-8 Card Sorts. Exercise 3-9 Computer-Based Guidance Systems. Exercise 3-10 Local or State Career Systems. Exercise 3-11 Special Family. Exercise 3-12 Fantasizing. Exercise 3-13 Family Tree. Exercise 3-14 Interest Inventories and Coding Systems. Exercise 3-15 Occupational Classification Systems. Summary. References. 4. Gathering Information About Your Occupational Prospects. Occupational Information. Making Sense of the World of Work: Classifying Occupations Into Groups. Exercise 4-1 OOH Occupational Cluster Checklist. Exercise 4-2 Survey of Two-Digit DOT Divisions. Exercise 4-3 GOE Work Group Checklist. Exercise 4-4 Roe Classification of Occupations. Exercise 4-5 Selecting Occupational Prospects to Research. Exercise 4-6 An Occupational Search Requires Occupational. Research. Summary. References. 5. Motivation and Achievement. Goals, Motives, and Needs. Setting Goals. Exercise 5-1 Short-Term Goal-Setting Exercise. Achievement Motivation 161. Exercise 5-2 Exercises in Imagination. Identifying Your Achievements. Exercise 5-3 Remembering Past Achievements. Exercise 5-4 Achievement Checklist. Exercise 5-5 Developing a Portfolio. Summary. References. 6. Abilities: Skills and Aptitudes. Introduction to the Study of Abilities. Functional, Content, and Adaptive Skills. Exercise 6-1 Functional/Transferable Skills. Exercise 6-2 List Your Content or Knowledge Skills. Exercise 6-3 Adaptive or Self-Management Skills. Exercise 6-4 Connecting Functional, Content, and Adaptive Skills. Exercise 6-5 Achievement Experiences. Exercise 6-6 Skills Inventory. Aptitudes. Exercise 6-7 Estimating Aptitude Levels on the GATB. Prioritize Your Work Abilities. Exercise 6-8 Prioritizing Matrix for Ranking Work Abilities. Exercise 6-9 My Prioritized, Documented List of Work Abilities. Summary. References. 7. Cultural, Personal, and Work Values. Values. Cultural Values. Exercise 7-1 Occupational Prestige Exercise. Personal Values 238. Exercise 7-2 Incomplete Value Sentences. Exercise 7-3 Rank Ordering of 21 Personal Values. Work Values. Exercise 7-4 Work Values Auction. Exercise 7-5 Evaluating a List of Work Values. Exercise 7-6 Review of Work Values. Exercise 7-7 Experiences with Work Values. Prioritize Your Work Values. Exercise 7-8 Prioritizing Matrix for Ranking Work Values. Exercise 7-9 My Prioritized List of Work Values. Summary. References. 8. Narrowing Your Occupational Prospects. Expansion and Contraction of Occupational Prospects. Methods of Challenging Current Occupational Prospects. Exercise 8-1 Challenge Your Occupational Prospects with Your Ideal Job Description. Exercise 8-2 Challenge Occupational Prospects Generated. Only Once or Twice Exercise 8-3 Challenge Occupational Prospects on the Basis of Your Work Abilities. Exercise 8-4 Challenge Occupational Prospects on the Basis of Your Work Values. Exercise 8-5 Challenge Occupational Prospects by Length, Cost, and Location of Education. Summary. References. 9. Making Career Decisions: Putting it All Together. The Nature of Decision Making. A Practice Decision-Making Exercise: Choosing a College. Exercise 9-1 Choosing a College. The Career Decision. Exercise 9-2 Summary List of Occupational Prospects, Work Values, and Work Abilities. Exercise 9-3 Career Decision-Making Exercise. Exercise 9-4 Final, Prioritized List of Occupational Prospects. Summary. References. 10. Reality Testing Your Career Choice. Educational Decisions. Exercise 10-1 Educational Planning Exercise. Reality-Testing Your Career Decision. Exercise 10-2 Basic Career Plans. Exercise 10-3 Occupational Reality-Testing Exercise. Exercise 10-4 Force Field Analysis. Exercise 10-5 The "Hot Seat"-A Group Exercise. Exercise 10-6 Write Your Own Achievement. Story. Summary. References. Appendix A: Implementing Your Career Decision: The Job Search. Exercise A-1: The Two-Minute Spiel (Role-Play). Credits. Index.