Career Management and Work-Life Integration : Using Self-Assessment to Navigate Contemporary Careers

by Brad Harrington

• ISBN13: 9781412937450
• ISBN10: 1412937450
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-05-16
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc

Summary

Career Management & Work/Life Integration: Using Self-Assessment to Navigate Contemporary Careers is a comprehensive, easy-to-follow guide to managing contemporary careers. Although grounded in theory, the book also provides an extensive set of exercises and activities that can guide career management over the lifespan. Authors Brad Harrington and Douglas T. Hall offer a highly useful self-assessment guide for students and other individuals who want to deal with the challenge of succeeding in a meaningful career while living a happy, well-balanced life.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Understanding the New Career	p. 1
Three Career Cases	p. 1
The Barnes Family	p. 1
Helen Casey	p. 2
The Smith Family	p. 3
The Changing Landscape of Careers	p. 4
The Changing Nature of Families	p. 8
The New Careers	p. 9
Our Career and Work-Life Model	p. 11
The Self-Assessment Process	p. 15
The Basic Areas of Self-Assessment	p. 16
Reflecting on the Past	p. 17
Identity as a Core Competence	p. 21
Clarifying Your Values	p. 24
Understanding Your Interests and Passions	p. 29
Lifestyle	p. 32
Understanding Your Life Goals and Personal Vision	p. 35
Skill Assessment	p. 37
Summary	p. 44
Integrating Your Self-Assessment and Developing Implications	p. 47
Integrating Your Self-Assessment	p. 47
Developing Themes From Your Data	p. 50
Coding Your Data	p. 51
Grouping Your Data	p. 52
Assigning Tentative Themes	p. 53
Constructing the Final Themes With Supporting Data	p. 53
Sample Themes	p. 54
Developing Career and Work-Life Implications	p. 57
Summary	p. 60
Finding Ideal Work	p. 61
Job Loss	p. 63
Assessing the Labor Market	p. 66
Identifying the Right Opportunities for You	p. 68
Job Search Tools	p. 71
References	p. 71
Resumes	p. 73
Starting a Professional Portfolio	p. 74
Cover Letters	p. 75
Conducting the Job Search	p. 76
Networking and the Job Search	p. 77
Informational Interviews	p. 83
Guidelines for Conducting an Informational Interview	p. 84
Questions to Ask	p. 85
Identifying the Ideal Employer	p. 87
Special Challenges and Tips for International Students Who Want to Work in the United States	p. 90
Career Decision Making	p. 92
Summary	p. 94
Career Development Strategies	p. 97
Organizational Career Paths	p. 102
From Career Ladders to Career Lattices	p. 103
Vertical Careers and Organizational Advancement	p. 105
Managing Up	p. 106
Alternative Career Paths-Salzman's Typology	p. 109
Backtrackers	p. 111
Plateauers	p. 111
Career Shifters	p. 112
Self-Employers	p. 113
Urban Escapees	p. 114
The Portfolio Career	p. 115
Ongoing Development	p. 116
Organizational Career Systems	p. 121
International Assignments	p. 124
Financial Considerations	p. 126
Summary	p. 130
Work and Family	p. 133
Men and Women, Families and Work	p. 134
Dual-Career Couples	p. 136
Dual-Career Families	p. 141
Sources of Stress	p. 142
Role Conflict	p. 143
Summary	p. 152
Workplace Flexibility	p. 153
Flexible Work Arrangements	p. 154
Flextime	p. 155
Compressed Work Week	p. 157
Part-Time and Reduced-Load Work	p. 158
Job Sharing	p. 161
Telecommuting	p. 164
Leaves	p. 170
Sabbaticals	p. 171
Other Elements of the Family-Friendly Workplace	p. 172
Family-Friendly Workplace Culture	p. 174
The Dark Side of Flexible Work Arrangements	p. 176
Summary	p. 177
Career Development Over the Lifespan	p. 179
Lifespan Development: Are Career and Life Stages Still Relevant Today?	p. 180
Adult Life Stages	p. 181
Gender and Life Stages	p. 184
A New Model for Middle and Later Years: Learning Cycles	p. 185
The Second (or Third or Fourth) Career	p. 188
Protean Careers and Older Workers	p. 190
How Do We Tap the Potential of Older Workers?	p. 194
Use Developmental Relationships	p. 194
Opt for New and Varied Job Experience	p. 195
Improve Person-Job Brokering	p. 195
Use Information Technology	p. 196
Retirement	p. 197
How Do I Want to Design My Life for the Third Phase?	p. 198
Financial Planning and Careers in Later Life	p. 199
Summarizing Careers Over the Lifespan	p. 201
Book Summary	p. 201
Standards of Excellence Index	p. 205
Bibliography	p. 211
Index	p. 223
About the Authors	p. 233
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