Career motivation is the desire to exert effort to enhance career goals. It is a multidimensional construct that combines elements of needs, interests, and personality characteristics that reflect the stimulus, direction, and persistence of career-related behaviors. Career motivation is organized into three domains. Career insight is the stimulus or energizing component. This is people’s ability
This article considers the relationship between the internal motivation of people and their career development. The discussion centers on what has been theorized and researched connecting the internal drivers of behavior and decision making to career outcomes and career satisfaction. Generally, motivation can be defined as a force or energy that exists within a person and
The National Career Development Association (NCDA) is the home for approximately 3,800 practitioners, scholars, and students devoted to promoting the career development of all people over the life span. As the third largest division of the American Counseling Association, NCDA provides service to the public and professionals involved with or interested in career development. NCDA
As individuals age, the possibilities for age and career stage to be asynchronous are numerous. Many workers over age 50 are about to graduate from school to start new careers, and many individuals in their late 40s are retiring after 30 years of service. Following common usage in the area, the general boundaries of this
This article outlines the main schools within the broad area of career theory, which here have been defined as (a) a sociological perspective focusing on the structural influences over one’s working life and the interplay between individuals and institutions, (b) an “individual differences” or vocational perspective concentrating on fitting round pegs into round career holes
The American Heritage Dictionary defines aspiration as a strong desire for high achievement, or an object of this desire. According to this definition, an aspiration is either the desire to achieve an end state or the end state itself (goal). Theoretical interpretations of aspirations encompass both elements of the above definition. Researchers have defined the
Career counseling competencies consist of the knowledge, skills, and personal attributes that career counselors need to deliver quality services to clients. Even in so-called developed countries, large portions of the population are not well served by existing approaches to delivering career development services. Articulating career development competencies that are cross-indexed to client services is a
An individual engages in career exploration as a way of gathering information about self and the environment, with a goal of fostering progress and career development. Although proactive career exploration is common when individuals undergo a career transition and when they are faced with the need to make an imminent career decision, exploration may also
The boundaryless career concept widens our perspective toward a range of possible career forms both within and across organizations, but it is not primarily determined and driven by the career system of a single organization. The formulation of the boundaryless-career concept responds to the observation that stable employment and careers within organizations account for the
The concept of career anchors evolved from research on adult development. Most of career theory focuses on selection of an occupation or on a classification of types of careers embedded in the occupational structure. Career anchor theory deals with the choices adults make when they are well into their careers and classifies adult careers in