A New Theory and Working With Ex-Offenders

During our recent GCDF CEU training in Lexington, we learned more about Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) Theory of career problem solving and decision making, which was developed out of the Florida State University Career Center. Here is a link to make you more familiar with the theory. (GCDF Competency: Career Theory)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_Information_Processing



Additionally, we talked quite a bit about the challenges of working with ex-offenders and how this is becoming a real issue in our region. According to an NCDA website article promoting a past Defendant / Offender Workforce Development (DOWD) Conference, “an explosive growth in the number of people on probation or parole has propelled the population of the American corrections system to more than 7.3 million. Recent reports published by the Pew Center on the States indicate that one in every 100 people in this country are confined in prison or jail and one in 31 individuals are behind bars, on probation or parole. Of those released, 67.5% will be rearrested within three years. Having a meaningful job with a livable wage and reducing the barriers to employment have proven to reduce the likelihood of re-offending.” Learn more on working with this population form the following NCDA article links. (GCDF Competencies: Employability Skills, Helping Relationships)



http://associationdatabase.com/aws/NCDA/pt/sd/news_article/5523/_PARENT/layout_details_cc/false

http://associationdatabase.com/aws/NCDA/pt/sd/news_article/32714/_PARENT/layout_details_cc/false

New Career Lingo

As a GCDF, keeping up with the latest career trends is our job. The following are some terms I recently learned.


"VUCA" World - Sounds like it could be derogatory, but it is just an acronym for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguos. A career development author who spoke at a recent conference used this term to describe our rapidly changing world. You can bet she touched upon the importance of remaining flexible.


"Slash Careers" - This term recently came on my radar in a blog that I follow. It is used to describe how so many professionals these days are combining their interests and skills into more than one job or career - often simultaneously. For example, a client could be a Dental Hygienist/Professional Photographer or a CPA/Jewelry Company Representative. Some people are slashing careers by choice, others are having to combine fields inorder to recreate themselves in this tight economy. Do you have a slash career?

"Slow Careers" - You've heard of the slow food movement that started in Piazza di Spagna, Italy several years ago in protest to the communities first McDonald's restaurant? The "Slow Movement" is a conscious cultural change toward slowing down one's life pace and making decisions in a more sustainable way. The "Slow Career" movement acknowledges that career transitions give one a chance to re-evaluate their life values and strive to obtain greater balance in each life role. What does slow career mean to you? What is your ideal work environment?

What are some new terms you could share with the group?

Career Theorist Spotlight - Sunny Hansen

In the GCDF and career development fields, we certainly have our "rock stars". I recently attended the National Career Development Association's annual conference and was fortunate enough to participate in break out sessions with heroes such as Dick Bolles, Jim Bright, and Sunny Hansen. As you may recall for our GCDF training, Dr. Hansen is most well known for developing "Integrative Life Planning" (ILP) which is a more holistic approach to career/life planning issues. This theory encompasses six critical tasks for an individual to obtain for a more integrated life.

1) Find work that needs you on a local, national, or even global level.
2) Find ways to weave life into a meaningful whole by taking into consideration the people in your life.
3) Find ways to connect family and work.
4) Make choices that validate diversity and include others.
5) Explore values, spirituality, and the meaning of life while also integrating how each affects your life.
6) Learn how to manage change and transition in your life.

In a recent email, Dr. Hansen shared the following:

"My relatively new concept of ILP - translate that as holistic life planning, looking at not only work but at other major life roles and goals - has been well received by many adult and college career professionals, as well as those involved in their own career decision-making. Although ILP is designed for both women and men, I have found that it has been of special interest to women, whose life roles have gone through major changes in the last decade. We know that many people who currently need jobs have resources available to them, but for those who have time to do more long-term planning, I believe ILP has much to offer. For further information, see my original book, Integrative Life Planning: Critical Tasks for Career Development and Changing Life Patterns, (for which I am developing a second edition). There is also a short article on my website called "Using Integrative Life Planning in Your Professional Development" (Hansen & Suddarth, Career Developments, Fall, 2008), http://www.sunnyhansenbornfree.com/.

So how do we as busy GCDF professionals integrate ILP both into our career and life roles? Does this career theory have relevance to your population of clients?