Blog #14

          Brown’s chapter “Trends and Issues in Career Information, The Job Search, Career Development, and Career Development Programming” gave a very thorough description of changes that may develop over the years.  In this chapter, Brown states, “technology will continue to drive much of the innovation in career development” (2012, p. 373). I absolutely agree with Brown’s statement because so much that we do today (not only things relating to careers) revolves around recent technological advances.  Just think about the job search itself.  We no longer rely on newspapers to find job postings, but mainly focus on the Internet in order to find job openings.  Today, there are numerous resources on the Internet to help individuals find information about jobs.  According to Brown, the use of the Internet will improve the availability of career information and simultaneously decrease the use of print materials available (2012, p. 375). Finding career information is now easier than ever with resources such as O*NET and the Occupational Outlook Handbook.  With just a few clicks on the computer, individuals can easily find information about various jobs.  Even Internet job search sites such as Monster, Careerbuilder, and Linkedin, have made great changes in how individuals search for jobs today.
            It was interesting for me to see how the different theories we discussed in class were associated with future trends in career development.  According to the text, “John Holland’s theory will continue to dominate the assessment of interest and research on variables such as occupational satisfaction” (Brown, 2012, p. 378).  Since the beginning of the semester when I learned about Holland’s theory, I identified with his ideas more than any of the other theorists we learned about.  It just makes sense to me that individuals would seek out careers that matched their interest and abilities.  I believe that it will be important for career counselors in the future to continue using John Holland’s theory (as well as other theories when necessary) in helping individuals make career decisions that are appropriate for them. 
            Overall, this course has really taught me a lot about career development.  When I first began the course, I honestly knew very little about what was involved in career counseling and how to help someone that was unsure of their career path.  I believe that through this course, I will able to take what I have learned and use it to counsel individuals on different career options that are available.

Reference

Brown, D. (2012). Career information, career counseling, and career development (10^th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Education, Inc.