This article reviews the impact of dysfunctional career thinking on career choice, the use of cognitive restructuring to identify, challenge, and alter dysfunctional cognition, and the limitations of existing readiness screening and cognitive restructuring procedures. The recently developed Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI) can be used by practitioners to assist adults, college students, and high school students to identify, challenge, and alter dysfunctional career thoughts, and then subsequently take action to make career choices. The cognitive information processing and cognitive therapy theoretical bases of the instrument are described, followed by a discussion of the development of the CTI and the CTI Workbook. Data are then presented on the readability, standardization, reliability (internal consistency and stability), and validity (content, construct, convergent, and criterion) of the measure. The use of the CTI is then described in terms of screening, needs assessment, and learning. Issues related to terminology, diversity, and utility are also discussed. The article concludes with a discussion of preliminary experience in using the CTI in practice.

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This article begins with a review of the use of readiness assessment measures as a strategy for improving career services. A 5-step process model for readiness assessment is then proposed and current readiness measures are identified. Although considerable research has been conducted on career decision-making readiness and numerous measures have been developed, there has been limited literature available on the application of readiness assessment in selecting career interventions to meet specific client needs. This article continues with a theory-based conceptualization of readiness and then links readiness assessment to the selection of career interventions designed to meet clients' needs.Clarifying the nature of an individual's career problem is an important initial step in delivering a career intervention (Spokane, 1991). Assessment (or diagnosis) ofclient needs at the beginning ofthe career service delivery process helps ensure that the services individuals receive are congruent with their needs (Amundson

The evolution of the Internet into the information highway offers many future possibilities and potential problems in the delivery During the past 30 years, computer applications have become an increasingly common resource used in the delivery of counseling services. With each step in the evolution of computer hardware and software, the use of computers in counseling evolved as well. For example, when large mainframe computers were dominant, batch processing of interpretive test reports and on-line searches of large occupational databases were typical applications. As less expensive and easier to use personal computers (PCs) became available, computer applications diversified to include test administration and computer-assisted instruction. The availability of more diverse computer applications used directly by clients and counselors created new possibilities for improving counseling services, but it also raised new ethical and professional issues.The general availability of inexpensive and relatively easy-to-use computer networks is the most recent step in the evolution of computer hardware and software. The number of network-based computer applications in counseling has been increasing rapidly. The problem, however, is that there has been little systematic exploration of the use of computer networks in counseling. A better understanding of counseling applications available on existing computer networks (the Internet), combined with an understanding of evolving computer capabilities, can help counselors be better prepared to design and use applications to effectively serve clients when the future information highway becomes fully operational. This article begins with a review of current characteristics of the Internet and available counseling applications on the Internet. Anticipated characteristics of the future information highway and potential counseling applications are then presented, followed by a discussion of potential problems with counseling applications on computer networks based on current Internet experience. THE CURRENT INTERNET Evolution of the Current InternetThe Internet evolved from computer networks developed for the military. Faculty members and other researchers working on military projects began using these networks to exchange messages, transmit files, and connect to remote computers. Soon, additional networks were created on a profit and nonprofit basis to serve a more diverse group of academics, government workers, and business people. The current Internet is a result of the interconnection of existing commercial (subscription) and noncommercial computer networks using standard conventions for exchanging information. Features of the Current InternetWe describe existing features of the current Internet to provide a foundation for interpreting the data on current counseling applications presented in the following section. Definitions of terminology used in this article are provided in Table 1. Bulletin board systems (BBSs) and list servers provide unique opportunities for public text-based...

Career practitioners' conceptions of competency for social media in career services Kettunen, Jaana; Sampson, James P.; Vuorinen, Raimo Kettunen, J., Sampson, J., Jr., & Vuorinen, R. (2015). Career practitioners' conceptions of competency for social media in career services. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 43 (1), 43-56. doi:10.1080/03069885.2014 Career Practitioners´ Conceptions of Competency for Social Media in Career ServicesThis article reports findings from a phenomenographic investigation into career practitioners´ understanding of competency for social media in career services.Sixteen Danish and Finnish practitioners with experience using social media in career services were interviewed in focus groups. Competency for social media in career services was conceived as 1) an ability to use social media for delivering information, 2) an ability to use social media for delivering career services, 3) an ability to utilise social media for collaborative career exploration and 4) an ability to utilise social media for co-careering. The findings can be used to develop preservice and in-service training of career practitioners and support for the deepening of their competency, using the critical aspects that were identified.Keywords: career services; career practitioners; competency; information and communication technology; phenomenography; social mediaThe exponentially increasing use of social media across the career service sector has placed an increasing demand upon career practitioners' ability to be innovative, take advantage,of and fashion novel career service delivery formats with online technologies (e.g. Hooley, Hutchinson, & Watts, 2010a, 2010bWatts, 2010). In career services, social media is fast becoming as much a necessity as an opportunity and competency to work in this new mode is an area of increasing importance. To many, social media is simply a collection of online tools used to share information, communicate, and socialise with one another. In the broader sense, social media is defined as a process in which individuals and groups develop common understandings and meanings with contents, communities, and Web 2.0 technology (e.g. Ahlqvist, Bäck, Heinonen, & Halonen, 2010;Kolbitsch, & Maurer, 2006). Thus, it primarily refers not to a particular set of technologies but to types of practices (Bonderup, & Dohn, 2009). In order to consider the usefulness and potential of existing and emerging technologies, it is essential that career practitioners be appropriately trained in this area (e.g. Bimrose, Hughes, & Barnes, 2011; Osborne, Dikel, & Sampson, 2011, Watts, 2010. There is an urgent need for competency training to be firmly grounded in a framework of career practice and for an emphasis to be placed on adopting a more developmental approach to capacity building (Bimrose, Barnes, & Atwell, 2010). It is also very likely that practitioners working in this area need to be trained differently than for the traditional face-to-face service mode (Niles, & Harris-Bowlsbey, 2013).Considerable ...

The present study examined the relationships between two measures of career readiness and difficulties—the Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI) and the Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ)—as well as the relations between these measures and the individual’s degree of decidedness regarding his or her career plans. A total of 192 university students enrolled in a career-planning class filled out both questionnaires. As hypothesized, the two measures overlapped significantly. There was a highly significant correlation (corrected for attenuation) between the total scores of the questionnaires ( r= .82), but the correlations between the questionnaires’ subscales varied between –.03 and .83. Both the CTI and the CDDQ distinguish among individuals at different stages of the career decision-making process. As hypothesized, participants with a higher degree of decidedness reported lower levels of difficulties. Implications of the unique features of each of the measures for career-related interventions and further research are discussed.

The primary purpose of this paper is to introduce essential elements of cognitive information processing (CIP) theory, research, and practice as they existed at the time of this writing. The introduction that follows describes the nature of career choices and career interventions, and the integration of theory, research, and practice. After the introduction, the paper continues with three main sections that include CIP theory related to vocational behavior, research related to vocational behavior and career intervention, and CIP theory related to career interventions. The first main section describes CIP theory, including the evolution of CIP theory, the nature of career problems, theoretical assumptions, the pyramid of information processing domains, the CASVE Cycle, and the use of the pyramid and CASVE cycle. The second main section describes CIP theory-based research in examining vocational behavior and establishing evidence-based practice for CIP theory-based career interventions. The third main section describes CIP theory related to career intervention practice, including theoretical assumptions, readiness for career decision making, readiness for career intervention, the differentiated service delivery model, and critical ingredients of career interventions. The paper concludes with regularly updated sources of information on CIP theory.

This article applies a cognitive information processing approach to career problem solving and decision making to the specific process of employment problem solving and decision making. Definitions and accompanying employment examples are followed by an exploration of the nature of employment problems. Content and process dimensions are described by applying information processing concepts to employment problem solving and decision making. Examples of positive and negative cognitions that have an impact on the effectiveness of employment problem solving and decision making are also provided.The career development process is generally thought of as a comprehensive system that includes not only the choice process, but also the implementation of that choice through acquiring or demonstrating the necessary s k d s and training, seeking employment, and adjustJames P.