Design Thinking in Career Development and Counseling   Alessandra Farrag 

 Design Thinking in Career Development and Counseling       Introduction     With almost twenty years of experience in organizational and people development , I have   never knowingly applied design thinking methodologies or tools in order to solve business   problems or people issues . I was not even aware that design thinking exists .   Thus , it struck me by surprise when I discovered the similarities between the design thinking   approach ( Malak , 2016 ) and the career coaching process based upon systems theory ,   success strategy and cybernetics ( Friedrich , Seiwert and Geffroy , 2003 , p.23 ): 

 Design Thinking   Career Design 

 What is ?   Looking inside : self assessment , analysis , synthesis 

 What if ?   Looking outside : orientation , options , and evaluation   What wows ?   What works ?   Looking forward : career action plan design and implementation 

 Design thinking in general with its procedures and instruments appears to be useful in   dealing with career development issues . It may help finding answers to the question how to   effectively design and propose a unique portfolio of competencies in a world of work that has   become increasingly volatile , uncertain , complex , and ambiguous ( Laurençon , 2014 ) .       1 . Challenge     A typical challenge in career counseling is to help the client discover and understand his or   her own work life story and its patterns without providing answers or even advice . Normally ,   people are not used to analyzing their own history and development including a reflection of   their values , motivated skills , preferred work settings and satisfiers , barriers and constraints .   However , without a thorough self - assessment a client wo n’t be able to figure out what might   be suitable and sustainable career options . The ‘ what is ’ or ‘ looking inside ’ phase should not   be cut short or skipped – even if the client is itching to apply for a new job immediately .   ‘ If you do n’t know where you are going , you might end up somewhere else ’ ( C. Stengel ) – but   if you do n’t know where you are coming from , you might get stuck in the middle of nowhere   again and again . As career counselors we are supposed to put our clients back into the   driver ’s seat from the very beginning in order not to waste time or talent or both .       2 . Selection     In this initial stage of the career coaching process the instrument of choice is storytelling .   Storytelling is not just a design thinking tool ( Malak , 2016 , Module 2 ) but also the foundation   of narrative management and communications in a broad variety of contexts ( Sammer , 2014 ,   p.36 ) . Narrative management encompasses personal and corporate storytelling , narrative   knowledge management , leadership communications , and narrative change management   ( Erlach & Müller , 2015/2016 ) . ‘ Stories or narratives are a unique derivative of systems theory   thinking and are key to constructivist approaches ’ ( Patton & McMahon , 1999 , p.235 ) .   Storytelling is very useful in human resources management in general , e.g. in recruitment   and selection . For instance , if you ask a candidate in a job interview to tell his or her story   rather than to take you through the stages of a polished résumé , the person will most likely   open up ( and tell you much more than previously intended ) .   We all love stories . We love to use our episodic brain . We ‘ think ’ in stories and tend to forget   unrelated facts ( Erlach & Müller , 2015 , pp.3 - 4 ; Sammer , 2014 , p.1 ) . We all have a personal 

 Design Thinking in Career Development and Counseling   Alessandra Farrag 

 and professional story to tell with a myriad of twists and turns , touch and pain points . So ,   administering standardized and primarily quantitative assessment tools ( e.g. , surveys or   psychological tests ) in career counseling to gather data , to analyze types , and to pigeonhole   someone is definitely not enough and does not do justice to a person ’s individuality and   character . These tools should be complemented by qualitative instruments like storytelling   ( Patton & McMahon , 1999 , p.236 ) .   Consequently , I start the career counseling process with a seemingly simple question :   What ’s your story ?       3 . Application     There are basically two reactions : a smile or a blank face . In our world of ‘ hard facts ’ many   people have forgotten how to tell stories , especially their own . Others get carried away as   soon as they are taken seriously and obtain ‘ permission ’ to talk about themselves .   In order to assist the client I ask guiding and probing questions ( Guerriero & Allen , 1998 ,   pp.26 - 37 and own compilation ) , for example : 

 •   Tell me be about your career to date . 

 •   What were you trained for in school / college / university ? 

 •   What career paths have you been following ? 

 •   What do you regret / resent ? 

 •   Which achievements are important to you and why ? 

 •   What do all of your jobs / assignments have in common ? 

 •   What have been the most rewarding / disappointing components of your jobs ? 

 •   What are the highlights of your job history or career chronology ? 

 •   Have you been repeating some of the same employment patterns that did not feel   right for you ? 

 •   What is your current level of satisfaction at work ? 

 •   Have you ever thought that you would be happier in a different work environment ? 

 •   How do you define success and how will you know it when you have it ? 

 •   When you are ninety - five years old , what will you want to say about your life ? 

 •   What is it for you to have a full , rich life ? 

 Telling one ’s life and career story will assist the client with uncovering patterns and themes   and forgotten events , with making meaning of his or her own career , with understanding   experiences , and with re - constructing ( Patton & McMahon , 1999 , p.148 , p.177 and p. 235 ) .   The client will interpret his or her background and uncover the influence of significant others ,   i.e. the roles in the career story : protagonist and antagonist ( a person or a barrier ) , objectives   and helpers or mentors ( Erlach & Müller , 2015 , p.5 ) . S / he will be able to deal with   ( suppressed ) emotions and focus on the WHY rather than the WHAT of his or her career   development to date ( Sammer , 2014 , p.56 ) . This includes dealing with change , challenges ,   and conflict as the key to and starting - point of any story ( Sammer , 2014 , p.117 ; Patton &   McMahon , 1999 , p.177 ) . Eventually , the client will find his or her unique strengths , motivated   skills , and a potential compelling offer ( Friedrich , Seiwert and Geffroy , 2003 , p.23 ) based   upon what constitutes individual success and failure .   For example , one of my clients , a gifted artist , realized throughout the process how much   pressure her parents had put on her in order to push her into a ‘ real ’ career . However , she   always wanted to be a painter and photographer . So , after getting a thorough understanding   of her own story , she worked hard to overcome the internalized parental voice , dominance ,   and resistance and eventually became a famous artist . Another client , a frustrated bank   clerk , realized in an intensive ( and painful ) storytelling session , that his dream to go and work   on a farm in Iceland was not a stupid fantasy but his calling . He gathered plenty of   information , designed an action plan , and hopped on a plane . 

 Design Thinking in Career Development and Counseling   Alessandra Farrag 

 It does not have to be Iceland , though . One of my clients really loved her sales job , but   figured out whilst telling her story , that the performance - driven corporate world was not the   ideal environment for her to creatively find unconventional solutions for her customers . Today   she works for a medium - sized organization sharing her values .   The prerequisite for and key ingredient of an effective application of storytelling in career   design is listening with unconditional positive regard . The experience of not being assessed   or judged or discriminated against for one ’s ideas and dreams , choices and decisions ,    ‘ mistakes ’ and ‘ failures ’ will most likely enable the client to get unstuck , to find answers to   burning career issues , and to move forward or into a completely different direction .       4 . Insight     Analyzing client stories helps me to understand work life values and stages , work adjustment   styles , the client ’s degree of career maturity , self - concepts and learning strategies ,   environmental conditions and events . These insights are the foundation of the career   counseling process and determine the direction the journey will take . By listening to the   client ’s story and by observing emotional reactions , I am able to adjust the focus , intensity ,   and speed of the entire consulting process and therefore to actively form and enrich the   coaching relationship .   For the customer , there is a ‘ dual use effect ’ and extra value deriving from storytelling :   knowing and understanding one ’s own career story inward and outward will be of great help   to present the ( essential parts of the ) story combined with a unique selling proposition to a   potential employer or customer at a later stage . It ’s always amazing to hear the exact same   career story in a myriad of truthful variations as soon as a positive attitude , self - confidence ,   and courage come into play . For example , one of my clients used to constantly point out   negative issues of her career in an interview . As a consequence she gathered a depressingly   high number of rejections to her applications . Once she was able to re - frame her own story ,   she came across much more self - confident and convincing and succeeded in obtaining a   position in a suitable work environment .   Career counseling is like working on a puzzle with a dizzying number of pieces . With the help   of storytelling the client will build and eventually see the bigger picture ( Malak & Malak ,   2011 , pos.1028 ) , i.e. his or her unique work life ‘ painting ’ . It may sound contradictory , but   knowing and understanding the value of storytelling as a powerful instrument of design   thinking enables me to combine it more effectively with other selected and individualized   tools ( e.g. , card sorts , work diaries ) in career counseling sessions .       5 . Approach     As mentioned previously , I sometimes encounter clients whose approach to any kind of work   issue is driven by facts and figures ( e.g. , the stereotypical engineer or financial analyst ) .   Thus , I initially need to find out what kind of career assessment method the person may   prefer . If s / he is more of a straightforward , analytic , numbers , procedures ( you name it ) type ,   other tools quickly providing structure ( e.g. , mind mapping , questionnaires , bullet point lists ) ,   may be more appropriate to begin with .   However , storytelling should always be the key instrument . It does not have to be called   storytelling explicitly as this may put some people off . Apart from this , some may need more   or different probing questions than others . For example , one client told me right away that he   was not interested in telling stories but in producing results fast and furiously . He was   convinced that it was my job to provide the network , contacts , and leads he needed . With a   few WHY questions he could not escape , we broke the ice and got to the core of his career   issues . All of a sudden he talked about a number of poor work experiences he was ashamed   of and desperately tried to hide from others . 

 Design Thinking in Career Development and Counseling   Alessandra Farrag 

 Ultimately , when applying storytelling in a career counseling session I need to avoid jumping   to conclusions too fast or steering the client into a specific direction ( in order to confirm my   own ideas or assumptions ) . As a skilled helper I am supposed to see , hear , and feel what the   client needs and select and apply the methodologies and instruments accordingly .       Conclusion     Discovering that a design thinking attitude has been part of my career counseling practice for   a long time ( without my knowing that there ’s actually a name to it ) , was demystifying ,   liberating , and enriching . There must be a reason why I initially called my consulting services   ‘ career design ’ .   It ’s more or less a confirmation that analytic approaches only have never been effective   enough in this entirely human - centered , complex area of expertise ( Malak , 2016 , Module 1 ) .   This is even more important when long - term career plans need to be complemented and   sometimes even replaced by constantly re - creating one ’s career and re - designing one ’s path   and place in our brave new world of work .                         References :     Erlach , C. and Müller , M. ( 2015 ) Corporate Storytelling . Narrative Management Course .   Module 1 . 13 - 14 November . Stuttgart : Hochschule der Medien .     Erlach , C. and Müller , M. ( 2016 ) Knowledge Management . Narrative Management Course .   Module 3 . 29 - 30 April . Stuttgart : Hochschule der Medien .     Friedrich , K. , Seiwert , L.J. and Geffroy , E.K. ( 2003 ) Das neue 1x1 der Erfolgsstrategie .   Offenbach : Gabal .     Guerriero , J.M. and Allen , R.G. ( 1998 ) Key Questions in Career Counseling .   Mahwah : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .     Laurençon , A. ( 2014 ) Arbeit in der VUCA - Welt . Kindle E - book . Berlin : Ununi Tv .     Malak , J. ( 2016 ) Design Thinking for Innovation . MOOC . 4 July – 7 August .   Charlottesville : University of Virginia .     Malak , J. and Ogilvie , T. ( 2011 ) Designing for Growth . Kindle E - book .   New York : Columbia University Press .     Patton , W. and McMahon , M. ( 1999 ) Career Development and Systems Theory .   California : Brooks / Cole Publishing .     Sammer , P. ( 2014 ) Storytelling . 1st edn . Cologne : O’Reilly . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: Alessandra Farrag, Alessandra Farrag, Alessandra Farrag, Alessandra Farrag
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Design Thinking in Career Development and Counseling   Alessandra Farrag 

 Design Thinking in Career Development and Counseling       Introduction     With almost twenty years of experience in organizational and people development , I have   never knowingly applied design thinking methodologies or tools in order to solve business   problems or people issues . I was not even aware that design thinking exists .   Thus , it struck me by surprise when I discovered the similarities between the design thinking   approach ( Malak , 2016 ) and the career coaching process based upon systems theory ,   success strategy and cybernetics ( Friedrich , Seiwert and Geffroy , 2003 , p.23 ): 

 Design Thinking   Career Design 

 What is ?   Looking inside : self assessment , analysis , synthesis 

 What if ?   Looking outside : orientation , options , and evaluation   What wows ?   What works ?   Looking forward : career action plan design and implementation 

 Design thinking in general with its procedures and instruments appears to be useful in   dealing with career development issues . It may help finding answers to the question how to   effectively design and propose a unique portfolio of competencies in a world of work that has   become increasingly volatile , uncertain , complex , and ambiguous ( Laurençon , 2014 ) .       1 . Challenge     A typical challenge in career counseling is to help the client discover and understand his or   her own work life story and its patterns without providing answers or even advice . Normally ,   people are not used to analyzing their own history and development including a reflection of   their values , motivated skills , preferred work settings and satisfiers , barriers and constraints .   However , without a thorough self - assessment a client wo n’t be able to figure out what might   be suitable and sustainable career options . The ‘ what is ’ or ‘ looking inside ’ phase should not   be cut short or skipped – even if the client is itching to apply for a new job immediately .   ‘ If you do n’t know where you are going , you might end up somewhere else ’ ( C. Stengel ) – but   if you do n’t know where you are coming from , you might get stuck in the middle of nowhere   again and again . As career counselors we are supposed to put our clients back into the   driver ’s seat from the very beginning in order not to waste time or talent or both .       2 . Selection     In this initial stage of the career coaching process the instrument of choice is storytelling .   Storytelling is not just a design thinking tool ( Malak , 2016 , Module 2 ) but also the foundation   of narrative management and communications in a broad variety of contexts ( Sammer , 2014 ,   p.36 ) . Narrative management encompasses personal and corporate storytelling , narrative   knowledge management , leadership communications , and narrative change management   ( Erlach & Müller , 2015/2016 ) . ‘ Stories or narratives are a unique derivative of systems theory   thinking and are key to constructivist approaches ’ ( Patton & McMahon , 1999 , p.235 ) .   Storytelling is very useful in human resources management in general , e.g. in recruitment   and selection . For instance , if you ask a candidate in a job interview to tell his or her story   rather than to take you through the stages of a polished résumé , the person will most likely   open up ( and tell you much more than previously intended ) .   We all love stories . We love to use our episodic brain . We ‘ think ’ in stories and tend to forget   unrelated facts ( Erlach & Müller , 2015 , pp.3 - 4 ; Sammer , 2014 , p.1 ) . We all have a personal 

 Design Thinking in Career Development and Counseling   Alessandra Farrag 

 and professional story to tell with a myriad of twists and turns , touch and pain points . So ,   administering standardized and primarily quantitative assessment tools ( e.g. , surveys or   psychological tests ) in career counseling to gather data , to analyze types , and to pigeonhole   someone is definitely not enough and does not do justice to a person ’s individuality and   character . These tools should be complemented by qualitative instruments like storytelling   ( Patton & McMahon , 1999 , p.236 ) .   Consequently , I start the career counseling process with a seemingly simple question :   What ’s your story ?       3 . Application     There are basically two reactions : a smile or a blank face . In our world of ‘ hard facts ’ many   people have forgotten how to tell stories , especially their own . Others get carried away as   soon as they are taken seriously and obtain ‘ permission ’ to talk about themselves .   In order to assist the client I ask guiding and probing questions ( Guerriero & Allen , 1998 ,   pp.26 - 37 and own compilation ) , for example : 

 •   Tell me be about your career to date . 

 •   What were you trained for in school / college / university ? 

 •   What career paths have you been following ? 

 •   What do you regret / resent ? 

 •   Which achievements are important to you and why ? 

 •   What do all of your jobs / assignments have in common ? 

 •   What have been the most rewarding / disappointing components of your jobs ? 

 •   What are the highlights of your job history or career chronology ? 

 •   Have you been repeating some of the same employment patterns that did not feel   right for you ? 

 •   What is your current level of satisfaction at work ? 

 •   Have you ever thought that you would be happier in a different work environment ? 

 •   How do you define success and how will you know it when you have it ? 

 •   When you are ninety - five years old , what will you want to say about your life ? 

 •   What is it for you to have a full , rich life ? 

 Telling one ’s life and career story will assist the client with uncovering patterns and themes   and forgotten events , with making meaning of his or her own career , with understanding   experiences , and with re - constructing ( Patton & McMahon , 1999 , p.148 , p.177 and p. 235 ) .   The client will interpret his or her background and uncover the influence of significant others ,   i.e. the roles in the career story : protagonist and antagonist ( a person or a barrier ) , objectives   and helpers or mentors ( Erlach & Müller , 2015 , p.5 ) . S / he will be able to deal with   ( suppressed ) emotions and focus on the WHY rather than the WHAT of his or her career   development to date ( Sammer , 2014 , p.56 ) . This includes dealing with change , challenges ,   and conflict as the key to and starting - point of any story ( Sammer , 2014 , p.117 ; Patton &   McMahon , 1999 , p.177 ) . Eventually , the client will find his or her unique strengths , motivated   skills , and a potential compelling offer ( Friedrich , Seiwert and Geffroy , 2003 , p.23 ) based   upon what constitutes individual success and failure .   For example , one of my clients , a gifted artist , realized throughout the process how much   pressure her parents had put on her in order to push her into a ‘ real ’ career . However , she   always wanted to be a painter and photographer . So , after getting a thorough understanding   of her own story , she worked hard to overcome the internalized parental voice , dominance ,   and resistance and eventually became a famous artist . Another client , a frustrated bank   clerk , realized in an intensive ( and painful ) storytelling session , that his dream to go and work   on a farm in Iceland was not a stupid fantasy but his calling . He gathered plenty of   information , designed an action plan , and hopped on a plane . 

 Design Thinking in Career Development and Counseling   Alessandra Farrag 

 It does not have to be Iceland , though . One of my clients really loved her sales job , but   figured out whilst telling her story , that the performance - driven corporate world was not the   ideal environment for her to creatively find unconventional solutions for her customers . Today   she works for a medium - sized organization sharing her values .   The prerequisite for and key ingredient of an effective application of storytelling in career   design is listening with unconditional positive regard . The experience of not being assessed   or judged or discriminated against for one ’s ideas and dreams , choices and decisions ,    ‘ mistakes ’ and ‘ failures ’ will most likely enable the client to get unstuck , to find answers to   burning career issues , and to move forward or into a completely different direction .       4 . Insight     Analyzing client stories helps me to understand work life values and stages , work adjustment   styles , the client ’s degree of career maturity , self - concepts and learning strategies ,   environmental conditions and events . These insights are the foundation of the career   counseling process and determine the direction the journey will take . By listening to the   client ’s story and by observing emotional reactions , I am able to adjust the focus , intensity ,   and speed of the entire consulting process and therefore to actively form and enrich the   coaching relationship .   For the customer , there is a ‘ dual use effect ’ and extra value deriving from storytelling :   knowing and understanding one ’s own career story inward and outward will be of great help   to present the ( essential parts of the ) story combined with a unique selling proposition to a   potential employer or customer at a later stage . It ’s always amazing to hear the exact same   career story in a myriad of truthful variations as soon as a positive attitude , self - confidence ,   and courage come into play . For example , one of my clients used to constantly point out   negative issues of her career in an interview . As a consequence she gathered a depressingly   high number of rejections to her applications . Once she was able to re - frame her own story ,   she came across much more self - confident and convincing and succeeded in obtaining a   position in a suitable work environment .   Career counseling is like working on a puzzle with a dizzying number of pieces . With the help   of storytelling the client will build and eventually see the bigger picture ( Malak & Malak ,   2011 , pos.1028 ) , i.e. his or her unique work life ‘ painting ’ . It may sound contradictory , but   knowing and understanding the value of storytelling as a powerful instrument of design   thinking enables me to combine it more effectively with other selected and individualized   tools ( e.g. , card sorts , work diaries ) in career counseling sessions .       5 . Approach     As mentioned previously , I sometimes encounter clients whose approach to any kind of work   issue is driven by facts and figures ( e.g. , the stereotypical engineer or financial analyst ) .   Thus , I initially need to find out what kind of career assessment method the person may   prefer . If s / he is more of a straightforward , analytic , numbers , procedures ( you name it ) type ,   other tools quickly providing structure ( e.g. , mind mapping , questionnaires , bullet point lists ) ,   may be more appropriate to begin with .   However , storytelling should always be the key instrument . It does not have to be called   storytelling explicitly as this may put some people off . Apart from this , some may need more   or different probing questions than others . For example , one client told me right away that he   was not interested in telling stories but in producing results fast and furiously . He was   convinced that it was my job to provide the network , contacts , and leads he needed . With a   few WHY questions he could not escape , we broke the ice and got to the core of his career   issues . All of a sudden he talked about a number of poor work experiences he was ashamed   of and desperately tried to hide from others . 

 Design Thinking in Career Development and Counseling   Alessandra Farrag 

 Ultimately , when applying storytelling in a career counseling session I need to avoid jumping   to conclusions too fast or steering the client into a specific direction ( in order to confirm my   own ideas or assumptions ) . As a skilled helper I am supposed to see , hear , and feel what the   client needs and select and apply the methodologies and instruments accordingly .       Conclusion     Discovering that a design thinking attitude has been part of my career counseling practice for   a long time ( without my knowing that there ’s actually a name to it ) , was demystifying ,   liberating , and enriching . There must be a reason why I initially called my consulting services   ‘ career design ’ .   It ’s more or less a confirmation that analytic approaches only have never been effective   enough in this entirely human - centered , complex area of expertise ( Malak , 2016 , Module 1 ) .   This is even more important when long - term career plans need to be complemented and   sometimes even replaced by constantly re - creating one ’s career and re - designing one ’s path   and place in our brave new world of work .                         References :     Erlach , C. and Müller , M. ( 2015 ) Corporate Storytelling . Narrative Management Course .   Module 1 . 13 - 14 November . Stuttgart : Hochschule der Medien .     Erlach , C. and Müller , M. ( 2016 ) Knowledge Management . Narrative Management Course .   Module 3 . 29 - 30 April . Stuttgart : Hochschule der Medien .     Friedrich , K. , Seiwert , L.J. and Geffroy , E.K. ( 2003 ) Das neue 1x1 der Erfolgsstrategie .   Offenbach : Gabal .     Guerriero , J.M. and Allen , R.G. ( 1998 ) Key Questions in Career Counseling .   Mahwah : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .     Laurençon , A. ( 2014 ) Arbeit in der VUCA - Welt . Kindle E - book . Berlin : Ununi Tv .     Malak , J. ( 2016 ) Design Thinking for Innovation . MOOC . 4 July – 7 August .   Charlottesville : University of Virginia .     Malak , J. and Ogilvie , T. ( 2011 ) Designing for Growth . Kindle E - book .   New York : Columbia University Press .     Patton , W. and McMahon , M. ( 1999 ) Career Development and Systems Theory .   California : Brooks / Cole Publishing .     Sammer , P. ( 2014 ) Storytelling . 1st edn . Cologne : O’Reilly .
### Output: 