1.1: Applying Career Theory to Practice
Career theories investigate the relationship between work and professional development. They provide a basis for identifying how people chart their career landscape. One of the most helpful ways to conceptualize career theories is to use metaphors.
Career Metaphors
A metaphor is a figure of speech that we use to describe something in a way that is not literally true. You may have learned about metaphors when you studied literature. For instance, Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, “Long Walk to Freedom,” uses the metaphor of a journey to represent his life and career.
Over the past few decades, several theorists developed different career metaphors to help us discuss career experiences. Career metaphors can be viewed as different perspectives through which we can view career progression. Metaphors shape our thinking about careers and influence how we perceive them. When used in career development exercises, personally meaningful metaphors can significantly impact how individuals engage with their careers.
The foundation for this work was established by Inkson and Amundson in 2002. Inkson refined this work in 2004, identifying nine key metaphors. These metaphors are explained in Table 1.1.
| Career Metaphors and Their Meanings | Examples of Client Statements | Career Theorists |
|---|---|---|
| Inheritance: The predetermined outcomes passed onto us through our historical background and parents. | “People like me just can’t do that where I come from.” “There is a glass ceiling here; no women have been able to break through it.” |
James G. Goodale, Monica Johnson, Donald Kirkpatrick, Jeylan T. Mortimer |
| Cycles: The stages that can be identified through which we pass in life. | “I’m graduating from school this spring and need to decide what’s next.” “My children are young and need more of my time. I don’t feel I can balance my work and family demands.” |
Diana Bilimoria, Daniel Levinson, Deborah A. O’Neil, Donald Super |
| Action: The behaviours we engage in through which we seek to impose our will on the world. | “Once I make a career decision, I will stick to it.” “Getting a college education is necessary to get a good job.” “Somewhere out there is the right job for me.” |
Douglas, T. Hall, John Krumboltz, Robert W. Lent |
| Fit: The extent to which there is a good match or not with the work we are doing. | “Somewhere out there is a job that fits like a glove.” “I feel like a round peg in a square hole.” |
R.V. Dawis, John Holland, Frank Parsons |
| Journey: The way in which we understand our career as a movement through space. | “My career feels like I am on a roller coaster ride.” “I am unsure if I want to keep climbing the company ladder.” |
John Arnold, Edgar Schein, Laurie Cohen |
| Roles: That which we act out through the theatre of our lives. | “I can’t keep managing the conflict between my work and family.” “Since I lost my job, I no longer have a clear sense of my identity.’ |
Donald Gibson, Hermina Iberra, Donald Super |
| Relationships: That which arises from our interactions with others and through our social networks. | “It’s not what you know; it’s whom you know that counts.” “I need to find a mentor to get ahead.” |
Sara Bosley, Don Cohen, Mark Granovetter |
| Resources: The view that individuals are inputs to serve the corporate purpose. | “I am wondering how to transfer my skills to a new industry.” “I want to extend my competencies and am looking for new assignments to improve my value to the organization.” |
Michael, B. Arthur, Jan Francis-Smythe, Sandra Hasse, Catherine Steele |
| Stories: The narratives about our lives. What we tell ourselves and other people. | “I wanted to work in the sports industry; I always loved sports. Then I went into…” “After the company closed, I did not know what to do next…” |
Laurie Cohen, Audrey Collin, Hermina Iberra, Mary Mallon, Richard, A. Young |
Source: Based on Inkson K. (2004). Images of career: Nine key metaphors. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 65. 96-111. 10.1016/S0001-8791(03)00053-8.
Storytelling
Understanding these career metaphors and their related theories will help career coaches develop relationships with their clients and understand their career challenges. However, what every career metaphor has in common is that it involves storytelling. Consider the examples of career metaphors in practice, and you may recognize that they are all story elements.
Storytelling is central to human endeavour (Polkinghorne, 1988). When clients talk about their careers, we hear a story about themselves and their world. So, no matter what metaphor we use, careers can be understood as a story or series of stories. As a career development professional, I have heard thousands of stories. This book is filled with career stories, like Haven’s story in this chapter. These stories provide a central means of understanding clients and the tools, techniques and processes presented in the following chapters.
Watch this TED talk on how the best career path isn’t always a straight line to see how career progressions typically happen in the real world.
Source: TED. (2021, June 11). The best career path isn’t always a straight line. | Sarah Ellis and Helen Tupper [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/1ALfKWG2nmw?si=zT8Rq4ZFmzajlYpF
Figures of speech that provide different perspectives through which to view career progression.
The predetermined outcomes passed onto us through our historical background and parents.
The identifiable stages through which we pass in life.
The behaviours we engage in through which we seek to impose our will on the world.
The extent to which there is a good match or not with the work we are doing.
The way in which we understand our career as a movement through time and space.
That which we act out through the theatre of our lives.
Interpersonal connections that arise from our interactions with others and through our social networks.
The view that individuals are inputs to serve the corporate purpose.
The narratives about our lives. What we tell ourselves and other people.
The act of sharing narratives about ourselves with other people.
