This site is a source for information on Career Theory, Career Advising, Career Planning, and Career Development. It includes information on career theory, skills assessment, and a guide for critical reflection that I have used with students. It also houses a podcast aimed at post-secondary students wanting to learn more about starting a professional career that I updated while I was teaching Career Management at Thompson Rivers University.
Recently added is the Subjective Reports Transferable Skills Assessment.
Why Career
I use the word “career” a lot here. Why is that? Historically referred to as “vocational”, most of us have moved away from that because it tends to imply foundational or limited work aimed at obtaining a job. But the work being discussed here has more to do with lifetime livelihood including all of the twists and turns that entails, and many people use phrases that include “life” instead of “career”. But I use “career” because it helps focus the scope. The point here is not “what program to take” “what classes to take” “how to get a job” though all of those can be included. The scope is “things to prepare for lifelong improvement” and in our current world for the majority of people that means career. Career is different from job because career is the chosen field of endeavour in which you will function even when changing jobs. You can change careers but most people stay within two or three careers over their lifespan, while they may be in 15 or more jobs during that same time.
Career Planning: the intentional preparation and decision making that helps prepare you for a path and helps you adjust the path as you walk it.
Career Development: the specific work done and skills learned to obtain jobs or learn more about a career field, includes lifelong learning.
Career Theory: the theoretical understandings that help us interpret why people make the choices they make regarding career planning and career development and which underpins career advising.
Career Advising: the one-to-one support for developing a career plan or learning career development skills and tools.