Hard Questions and How to Answer Them

Hard Questions and
How to Answer Them
Tools and Strategies
for the College Career Coach
8/7/2015©MatthewBerndt,CSOResearch,Inc.

About Matt Vice President
CSO Research, Inc.
20+ Years in Career Services &
Workforce Development
University of Texas at Austin
University of Southern California
St. Edward’s University
Alternative Resources Corp
Randstad Corp
NACE Board
SoACE/SWACE Boards
EACE PR Committee
MWACE Conference Committee
Career Services Evangelist

Life is unscripted!
Our job is to help students develop
the ability to “write their own
scripts” as they go, so they can
thrive in an unscripted world!
Matt Berndt

The Inspiration
http://thecampuscareercoach.com

Three Theories of
Career Development
• Chaos Theory of Careers
• The Chaos Theory of Career: A New Perspective on Working in the
21st Century – Robert Pryor & Jim Bright. Rutledge
(www.rutledge.com), 2011
• Life Design Theory of Careers
• Life Design: A Paradigm for Career Intervention in the 21st Century
– Mark Savickas. Journal of Counseling & Development, January
2012, Volume 90, pp. 13-19
• Protean Careers
• The Proteus Solution: How to Successfully Navigate Today’s
Protean Workplace – Sharon Calvin & Jay Block, 2011

Chaos Theory
• Simplicity to Complexity
• Certainty to Uncertainty
• Reductionism to Emergence
• Segmentation to Interconnection
• Linearity to Nonlinearity
• Causality to Contingency
• Determinism to Agentism
• Analysis to Synchrony
• Order to Turbulence
• Predictability to Chance

Life Design Theory
• Constructs career through small stories
• Reconstructs the stories into a life portrait, and
• Co-constructs intentions that advance the career
story into a new episode
• Contextual Possibilities
• Dynamic Processes
• Nonlinear Progression
• Multiple Perspectives
• Personal Patterns
8/7/2015©MatthewBerndt,CSO

Protean Career Theory
• Personal Responsibility
• Anticipation of Change
• Embracing Curiosity
• Adaptability/Diversification
• Positive Influencers
• Reciprocal Relationships
• Managing Market Value
• Financial Sustainability
• Wellness
• Time Management
• Achievement Plans
• Act – React – Adapt

We need to recognize that
the most fundamental challenge that
career counselors confront is to assist
their clients to develop the skills of
adaptation and resilience
required to negotiate and use productively the
fluctuating fortunes of their careers.
Pryor & Bright, 2011

Our Goal
• To learn how to more
effectively assist clients
in navigating their
personal career
exploration and
decision-making
journeys

• Make no assumptions
• There is rarely one right
answer
• The question asked is often
not the root question
• There are usually sub-
questions to every question
• Don’t make decisions for of
advisees (rather present
options and pathways)
• Offer actionable advice
• Manage your expectations
• Empower and follow up

Strategy
• Understand the Context of the Question
• Identify the Questions within the Question
• Explore Options with Client
• Assess Clients “Risk Tolerance”
• Prioritize Exploration Options
• Immediate-Term, Short-Term, Long-Term
• Identify Resources
• Assign Homework & Set Follow-up
• Define Success

Practice
• What more do you need to know?
• Find three alumni (on LinkedIn) that might be good
resources for this student
• Find three online resources that might help this
student.
• Identify three immediate terms goals for this
student
• Identify at least one obstacle this student is likely to
face and your recommendations for getting past it.
• What is the next step?

Case Study #1
I will finish my undergraduate degree in
May and plan to move from Atlanta to
Minneapolis to start my career. I will have a
Bachelor’s degree in English – Creative
Writing.
What type of jobs am I qualified for with
this degree, especially in the area of
writing?

Case Study #2
I am 31 years old,
and I just started in community college. I want to
complete a Bachelor’s degree in engineering. By
the time I graduate, I will be 35.
Will I be able to find job at this age, since I don't
have any experience in engineering ?

Case Study #3
I am completing a Master’s in Industrial
Engineering. I have no work experience and very
few projects related to my degree. My GPA is not
great (3.0/4.0), and I am an international student.
How can I secure a supply chain analyst position
with a company? I have a year to go before I
graduate, and I am really worried I might not end
up with a full-time position.
What can I do ?

Case Study #4
What's the best way to brand myself for both short
and long-term career goals? I'm a recent grad who
wants to be a screenwriter for television, a specific
and unusual field that doesn't exist in my city.
I'm currently looking for any sort of local creative
work I can do for a few years until I'm financially
ready to move.
Without hiding my career aspirations, how can I
"sell" myself to employers for an unrelated job?

Case Study #5
I’ve been told to always be networking for where I
want to be in the future, but I'm concerned that an
online presence that constantly discusses cartoons
will lead local businesses to view me as unfocused,
duplicitous, or immature -- and if I don't discuss
what I love, I could be missing out on a connection
who could help me down the road.
How do I balance such disparate objectives?

Remember . . . .
• Make no assumptions
• There is rarely one right answer
• The question asked is often not the root question
• There are usually sub-questions to every question
• Don’t make decisions for of advisees (rather
present options and pathways)
• Offer actionable advice
• Manage your expectations
• Empower and follow up

Hard Questions and How to Answer Them

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