Week 5 post

10/3/12

Ah! I thought I posted this after class last night! Sorry it’s late!

The Guidon and Hanna (2002) article was a little hard for me to wrap my mind around. I do believe in the old adages of “everything happens for a reason,” and the like, but I think it’s a little far-fetched to make huge, life-impacting decisions such as career choice based solely (or even mostly) on prophetic dreams and synchronicity or happenstance. I do believe that there is such a thing as a perfect or ideal career for each one person, but I just can’t justify waiting around for the perfect opportunity to just drop in your lap.

I think it’s worth noting that although all three of the case studies mentioned in this article referenced dreams and coincidences having everything to do with how their career plans turned out, they were all still well educated and fairly well off financially…in other words, there were many contributing factors, not just the dreams. I believe that people need to work towards their goals and ideal jobs, not just sit around and wait for the opportunity, but coincidences and those types of events can certainly have an impact.

I think that to focus solely on this approach as a career counselor would be a mistake. In our group tonight, we discussed the fact that career counselors should be more holistic in their approach to counseling—considering all the factors that come into play when a client is contemplating a career change—instead of simply relying on specific aspects and events to direct the decisions. The authors stated that, “although limited case studies do not justify any sweeping conclusions, nevertheless some implications for career counselors are provided by these cases” (Guidon and Hanna, 2002, p. 205). It would seem like even the authors of this article weren’t completely convinced about its efficacy.

Guidon, M.H. & Hanna, F.J. (2002). Coincidence, Happenstance, Serendipity, Fate, or the Hand of God: Case Studies in Synchronicity. The Career Development Quarterly, 50, p. 195-208.