Understanding potential career changers’ experience of career confidence following a positive psychology based coaching programme

Abstract

This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link AbstractChanges in the labour market over the last decades have led to an increase in the number of career and job changes individuals are likely to face in their working lives. Previous literature indicates that a high level of confidence can help individuals to make career changes. This research involved five participants who took part in a coaching programme prior to changing their careers. The programme consisted of four positive psychology interventions based on a proposal of core confidence as a higher order construct composed of self-efficacy, hope, optimism and resilience. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis showed that participants perceived their career confidence before the programme as low, incorporating negative affect and self-doubt. After the programme participants demonstrated increased career engagement, self-awareness and a positive and optimistic outlook. The analysis revealed that change was effected through the development of hope, change in cognitive processes and coaching as a catalyst. Implications for the definition of career confidence, and for positive psychology and career coaching practice are considered.Key words: career confidence; career change; self-efficacy; hope; optimism; resilience. Practice PointsThis article is aimed at coaches who work with clients who are considering making changes within their careers.The article puts forward a four stage approach to coaching drawn from positive psychology and explicitly aimed at increasing clients' career confidence. The qualitative analysis of the data indicates that the coaching approach has a considerable impact on clients' levels of self-efficacy, hope, optimism and resilience. The findings also explore the construct of career confidence and provide an in depth understanding of the participants' experience of career confidence.The paper provides support for the use of positive psychology interventions in a career coaching context providing: a model for practice  a contribution to our understanding of the construct of career confidence  some evidence of a coaching model which leads to enhance client confidence and motivation 3

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