STYLES OF CAREER DECISION-MAKING

Distinctive styles of client decision-making have emerged from case study research into the effectiveness of career guidance. This paper explores some findings from the third year of a longitudinal study currently underway in England, which relate to the ways clients approach transition points in their careers and make the decisions that move them on. Data analysis reveals four career decision-making styles: evaluative, strategic, aspirational and opportunistic. Overall, it is evident that the choices and decisions made as individuals progress towards longer-term career destinations are multi-dimensional, complex, sometimes being implemented over an extended time frame and not always rational. For practice, implications of these findings include the need for practitioners to place less emphasis on planning for certainty and more tolerance of undecidedness.