Merging Two Worlds: Linking Occupational and Organisational Career Counselling

Abstract

This article proposes a merger between the traditionally separate worlds of occupational and organisational career counselling. It is suggested such a merger can be achieved through a self-organising view of careers, and of helping people exercise greater influence over their own career directions. This view is supported by describing the combined application of ‘intelligent career’ theory and ‘active engagement’ practice, and by illustrating that application through a complementary career counselling tool called the Intelligent Career Card Sort. The article proceeds with a brief report on how a related approach might be used within ‘career communities’, where these are self-organising phenomena in which people find career support. The conclusion invites career counsellors to develop a career community of their own, in order to pursue the proposed merger of counselling approaches.