Although the economic and social context of work appears to be changing for more and more people, the author argues that time-honored and empirically supported theories of career development continue to be relevant and useful. However, these theories and the core assumptions that underlie them (e.g., the “matching metaphor”) may need to be augmented by models and methods that help students and workers to prepare to a greater degree for difficult developmental transitions, obstacles to preferred career paths, and negative career-life events such as unplanned job loss. The author offers a view of “career-life preparedness” that, while informed by social-cognitive career theory, is largely compatible with other approaches to career development and is linked conceptually to other recent work on career adaptability, resilience, and coping.

The happenstance learning theory (HLT) proposes a model of career counseling that helps clients to build more satisfying personal and work lives. Although reflective listening remains an essential part of the process, HLT is an action-oriented approach to helping clients to both create and benefit from unplanned events. Success is measured not by what happens during the counseling interview but by what the client experiences in the real world during and after counseling. A case study illustrates how HLT might be applied with a client who has been laid off after 20 years on the job.

Using Blustein's (2006) psychology of working and Hackman and Oldham's (1975) job characteristics theory, the authors investigated the job attribute preferences of Mexican American women with low educational attainment. They used content analysis to code and analyze the interview transcripts of 27 women. The most valued job attributes were not only those associated with survival and power but also those that incorporated aspects of social connection and self-determination, including autonomy, the opportunity to help others, the opportunity to use one's existing abilities, and the opportunity to learn. Understanding the preferences of this group of women can help career counselors and managers to be more effective in working with these women.

An increasing number of students enter college underprepared. These students do not have the academic skills to take college-level courses and are placed in remedial classes. Career counseling can help underprepared college students make educated career decisions based on their current situations. This article explores the characteristics of underprepared college students, examines career-related issues these students face, and reviews the literature on narrative career counseling. The life design method is applied to a case example of an underprepared college student to demonstrate how to best serve the needs of these students.

A sample of 182 young adults about to choose their college major were randomly assigned to 2 guidance methods aimed at facilitating choosing among promising career alternatives: Table-for-Choice and Circles-for-Choice. Table-for-Choice was perceived as more effective, but individuals' confidence in their choice was higher in the Circles-for-Choice condition. More factors that serve to compare and evaluate the options were listed by participants in the Circles-for-Choice condition. No interaction emerged between the participant's decision-making style and the usefulness of the two methods. Both methods were perceived as more useful for participants who were already at the choice stage than for those who were only at the prescreening or the in-depth explorations stage.

This study explored South Korean college students' career compromise processes and examined whether preferences for sex type, prestige, or interests would be differentiated by Holland theme interest types, gender, or college major. Participants were South Korean undergraduate students from 2 universities in Seoul, South Korea. They were asked to choose 1 occupation from each of 168 pairs of occupations using a forced-choice format. A total of 376 surveys were analyzed. There were significant main effects for Holland interest types and for gender but not for college major on their career compromise processes. Implications for career counselors and researchers are discussed.

The National Career Development Association (NCDA) has consistently been involved in the professional training of individuals who provide career development services for youth and adults. It has provided outstanding leadership in the field of career development. NCDA's impact on the training of professionals and paraprofessionals working in the career development field is evident in its support of the Career Development Facilitator (CDF) project and delivery of CDF training. This article provides a history of the CDF project, its development and expansion from national to international use, current developments in the project, and its impact on the careers of those involved.

Interest inventories and career assessments continue to be used to support practitioners as they work to uncover client interests, abilities, skills, motivations, values, and other personal factors that help individuals self-define and construct their career. The skilled use of career inventories and assessments remains a minimum competency of career service providers' ability to successfully partner with their clients. A history of the evolution of assessment from 1914 through 1974 and considerations for the future of assessment are highlighted to provide historical perspective to inform practitioners as they serve the diverse needs of complex client populations.