Informational Interview Sharing: Career Development Program (Essay Sample)

Informational Interview Sharing
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Jane is a Ph.D. holder from Harvard University, school of mental counseling. After graduating from campus, Jane was lucky to be employed at Lighthouse Behavioral Health Center, Virginia. At the facility, Jane has passed through various ranks and currently working as head of the counseling department. Jane is an Indian-America residing with her parents in Virginia. According to Jane, environmental factors have played a huge role in her career development both in the workplace and at home. Because she is working with other people from different ethnic backgrounds, the working environment has enabled her to understand the need for upholding diversity in the workplace (Brown, 2015).
While supervising her juniors in the counseling department, career counseling is part and parcel of what she is doing. In most of the cases, Jane is approached by dignified patients to get personal assistance on mental-related issues. As a senior mental health counselor, she is tasked by the organization to offer coaching to assist her patients to manage their stress, emotions, anxiety, and mental health trauma and disorders (Chan & Thomas, 2015). As part of her job, she is also tasked by the organization to offer career counseling to junior staffs and students who are on industrial attachment. Jane also has the role to help addicts suffering from marijuana, heroin, and other substance abuse to recover from addictions.
As a mental health counselor, Jane employs theories such as Super's theory, Freud theory, behavioral theory, social cognitive theory, and Ginsberg's theory. Super's theory explores the importance of self-concept in career development (Brown, 2015). According to Super theory, the self-concept of individual changes over time as a result of experience. Freud's theory emphasizes the importance of unconscious mind based on the assumption that unconscious mind has a greater degree to control the conscious mind. The social cognitive theory argues that knowledge of an individual can be acquired through social interaction, outside media influence, and experiences.
In the workplace environment, Jane uses inventories such as Strong Interest Inventory, Kerseys Temperament Sorter, and Myers-Biggs Type Indicator. As the name suggests, Strong Interest Inventory is an interest inventory which is used to assess one's interest after or before engaging in career counseling process (Chan & Thomas, 2015). The goal of using Strong Interest Inventory is to provide insightful information about an individual's interest so that it becomes simpler to provide career guidance on which career path to choose. Myers-Biggs Type Indicator is used to assess the career preference of an individual depending on her or his personality traits. Kerseys Temperament Sorter is used to characterize an individual from the perspective of artisan, rational, idealist, and guardian.
To properly work with people of diverse ethnic backgrounds and culture, Jane argues that embracing diversity is a core pillar of success. She states that it is important to treat other people equally regardless of their race, gender, age, sex, and linguistic proficiencies. According to Jane, diversity is important because it increases adaptability of employees to the organization (Chan & Thomas, 2015). Jane further argues that diversity bring about a diverse collection of experience and skills which allows the organization to provide quality services to the clients.
To properly perform the management roles such as planning, administration, and organizing, Jane employs strategies for career development such as mapping to put all the tangible and coherent plan in place, online learning to provide skill development without straining employees, succession planning, leadership development to help the organization cultivate individuals to be in charge of projects, and creating a favorable environment for employees to grow. According to various studies conducted on the relationship between nature of environment and employees' retention, it has been found that employees working in favorable climate are four times more likely to stay in an organization as compared to those working in an unfavorable career climate.
As a head of the counseling department at the facility, the rewards which she embraces include job promotions, salary increment, and job recognition. Jane argues...