A Comparison of Strengths and Interests Protocols in Career Assessment and Counseling

Abstract

This study examined the relative performance of three career counseling protocols: a strengths-based protocol, an interest-based protocol, and a protocol that combined strengths and interests. Outcome measures included career exploration, occupational engagement, career decision self-efficacy, hope, positive and negative affect, and life satisfaction pre- and post-intervention. The participants consisted of 82 undergraduate students enrolled in a career and life-planning course. Each participant received a career counseling intervention and a Strong Interest Inventory (SII), StrengthsFinder, or both the SII and StrengthsFinder interpretation. While all three groups showed significant gains from pretest to posttest on most outcomes, results suggest the interests protocol (IP) was the most effective approach when considering the conservation of resources. However, results also merit further exploration of the combined protocol (CP; strengths plus interests) given the greatest gains were achieved by this approach on all but one construct, though not significantly different from the IP. Implications are discussed.

Highlighting Clients’ Strengths: The Benefits of Using the Balanced Diagnostic Impressions (DICE-PM) Model

“…Following strengthsbased career counseling, participants experienced increased strengths use, self-esteem, and a higher employment rate (Littman-Ovadia et al 2014). Finally, a two-session group counseling protocol with college students demonstrated career assessment and counseling that focused on strengths, interests, and a combination of strengths and interests were all effective; however, the combined approach demonstrated the greatest gains in facets of career exploration (i.e., focus, satisfaction with information, employee outlook) and life satisfaction (Owens et al 2016).…”

“…Similarly, in the academic context, strengths are associated with school-related positive affect, promotive school functioning, academic achievement, and college GPA and satisfaction (Allan and Duffy 2014;Lounsbury et al 2009;Weber et al 2016). In the career context, strengths are related to job satisfaction, adaptive coping, meaning, occupational exploration, and buffer workrelated stress (Harzer and Ruch 2013;Littman-Ovadia and Steger 2010;Owens et al 2016). Given the large body of research demonstrating the many benefits of strengths, it seems focusing energy towards identifying and assessing strengths is worthwhile to maximize this process.…”

Values in Action (VIA) and Counseling Psychology

“…We would like to point out that character strengths as a subject of study of positive psychology have long been studied and applied in the field of health care. Their application in the field of counseling began to emerge only a few years ago with the research done by Littman-Ovadia, Lazar-Butbul, & Benjamin (2014) and Owens, Motl, & Krieshok (2016). Nevertheless, if we look back into the history of psychology, we find a particular interest in character strengths in the field of professional counseling since the beginning of the twentieth century.…”

“…These different strength-based interventions have been conducted with different audiences and have proved their effectiveness (Owens, Motl, & Krieshok, 2016). However, the interest for character strengths in the field of vocational counseling remains nascent but offers interesting prospects in relation to the positive effects they may have on the functioning.…”

Career Planning Decision-making of College Students Based on Cognitive Science

“…In order to deeply understand the career decision-making of college students, many scholars have put forward traditional, standardized and even descriptive career decision-making theories. However, these theories are too quantitative and rational to be applied to contemporary college students (Owens et al, 2015;Lee et al, 2017). Braunstein-Bercovitz applied cognitive science to career decisionmaking for the first time and proposed cognitive science theory for the first time (Braunstein-Bercovitz, 2013).…”