Introduction
Career development theories exist to help people evaluate their professional path to conclude how their career strategy can be changed. Of all the existing scientific works, six have had the most significant influence on the development of sciences such as management, sociology, marketing, and psychology. These include the Theory of Work Adjustment, Holland’s Theory of Vocational Personalities in the Work Environment, Self-Concept Theory, Gottfredson’s Theory of Circumscription and Compromise, the Social Cognitive Career Theory, and Planned Happenstance Theory.
Holland’s Theory of Vocational Personalities
Having analyzed my professional path, decision-making process and ways out of difficult situations, I conclude that Holland’s theory is the most applicable to my case. This scientist, in his publications from the middle of the 20th century, formed an extensive body of knowledge in the field of career guidance (Arthur et al., 2019). His research focused on the relationship between personality traits and needs in a particular professional environment. Holland’s theory is based on the hypothesis that, with different traits and behavioral characteristics, people can be organized into six different groups depending on professional needs.
Holland’s theory uses problem-solving and a cognitive approach to career planning. His model has been highly influential in career counseling. It has been used with popular assessment tools such as the Self-Study, the Occupational Preference Inventory, and the Strong Interest Inventory, as well as assessments with free quizzes. Many numerous studies support Holland’s typology. However, it is not without its critics, the most common of which is the preponderance of women scoring in the three personality types, including artistic, social, and conventional. According to Holland, this is because society directs women to female-dominated occupations (Arthur et al., 2019).
The conceptual hexagon is used to represent the closeness or distance between different personality types. The closer the orientations in the hexagon are, the closer the personality types are. Using this approach, we can conclude that if the dominant and second orientations are close, it is relatively easy to choose a career. Moreover, there is a correlation between an employee’s attitude toward work and his or her time in the same position. It has been noticed that with gaining experience, the level of enthusiasm increases, but up to a certain point, after which it drops sharply.
Application of Holland’s Theory to Personal Experience
For the purposes of this study, I can classify myself as a realistic group of people in how much I have always relied on rationality and discipline and striving to organize myself in a stable and progressive development within a single highly specialized subject. Most of my professional life was devoted to military service, where all the qualities that one can attribute to this category of professionals were exhibited. I have learned that my work environment had a significant impact on my self-perception, and from the very beginning of my professional development, I realized that not every team would be suitable for me.
Consequently, the military sphere was chosen, to a large extent, because mentally, the structure of the organization of workers is the closest to my personal needs. The principle on which the selection of my professional activities took place largely corresponds to the provisions of Holand’s theory.
Role of Planned Happenstance Theory in Career Progression
Nevertheless, it should be noted that the theory of Planned Happenings has played a certain role in my career. This is due to the fact that during my military service, I often encountered unusual events that provided me with opportunities for rapid career advancement. From time to time, I sought to take advantage of extraordinary events in order to improve my position in the team and in the staff hierarchy. Based on this theory, I can say that many of my successes were due not only to sound long-term planning but also to correct actions within the framework of random, unpredictable events.
Limited Relevance of Other Career Development Theories
It should be noted, however, that the other four career development theories are the least descriptive of my professional history. The Theory of Work Adjustment assumes that the determining factor in a person’s work is the system of rewards and compensations, on the basis of which a professional makes a decision to enter this or that team (Arthur et al., 2019). In my case, the transition to the Tula position was never dictated by the idea of the bonus amount because the motivating factor for me was the question of self-actualization.
Self-concept theory is irrelevant in terms of how much of a departure from the self-concept of the actual in classical psychology. Because this doctrine is not close to my experience, it is impossible to apply it to my experience. It supposes that at every stage of human development, there is a process of excluding certain professions that do not fit personal characteristics (Arthur et al., 2019).
Conclusion
Working in the military manifested itself early; hence, my choice did not follow the criteria mentioned in this doctrine. Finally, the social negative theory assumes that interest in a certain profession is formed as a result of expectations from the efficiency itself; however, I cannot admit that this factor took place during the formation of my career both in the military sphere and later as a professional employee.
Reference
Arthur, N., Neault, R., Mcmahon, M., Viviers, S., Liette Goyette, Picard, F., Riverin-Simard, D., & Ceric. (2019). Career theories and models at work: Ideas for practice. Ceric.