Post 5: Synchronicity and Career Counseling

I will admit that after reading this week’s article, my beliefs about the whole idea of synchronicity and career counseling were split fifty-fifty.  I went into the article with an open mind, but I came out of reading it feeling somewhat skeptical.  The idea of synchronicity sounds really great but can it really happen to anyone who is open to it?  The article stated that, “synchronicity accounts for striking and apparently inexplicable occurrences that link two or more events, usually an inner thought or feeling and an outer event” (Guindon & Hanna, 2002, pg. 197).  So are they just coincidences or luck?  Or are these people in the right place at the right time?  I think reason that I am so skeptical is partly due to the fact that I have personally never had a great feeling of synchronicity in my life. I feel that I am on my own career path because of the experiences, including both personal and work related, that I have had throughout my adult life.

Although, I feel that the article did a nice job at explaining synchronicity and how it is related to career decisions; the case studies seemed a little farfetched to me. Guindon and Hanna stated that, “each case presents an example of a client who ignored his or her own need for personal meaning in life and who had been stuck in a career unsuited to him or her” (Guindon & Hanna, 2002, pg. 196).  Each person entered career counseling to help assist them in understanding their abilities, values, and interests; “when each client embraced his or her authentic self, each found meaningful life’s work through an unexpected experience with synchronicity” (Guindon & Hanna, 2002, pg. 196).  So all of the sudden, these great things were happening to these people.  For example, the man in the first case study really wanted to own his own press and the next day his friend just happened to have one.  Did the combination of career counseling and discovering his authentic self lead him to this?  Or did the man in the first case study just get plain lucky?  My logical self just does not want to believe in synchronicity as it relates to careers.

Even though I am still on the fence on the whole concept, the section that discusses the implications for career counseling did seem to make some sense to me. I also agree that people who are facing career indecision should search for meaning in life and look at the big picture.  People should look at different aspects in their lives to find their true interests, values, and abilities.  I believe that career counselors should use a balance between traditional interventions and more modern approaches when helping clients who are facing career roadblocks.  According to Guindon and Hanna, “goal setting and decision making are not a midpoint or an end point in the process but the beginning of what may well be the most significant function of the career counselor—that of a supportive coach” (Guindon & Hanna, 2002, pg. 205).  If career counselors can change their way of thinking while still incorporating traditional interventions, then maybe a more holistic approach to career counseling is possible.

Guindon, M., & Hanna, F. (2002). Coincidence, happenstance, serendipity, fate, or the hand of god: Case studies in synchronicity. The career development quarterly, 50, 195-208.