A Guide to How Careers Develop at Different Stages of the Work Life

Work Careers brings together a stellar panel of experts from the fields of industrial and organizational psychology, counseling and clinical psychology, social psychology, organizational behavior, and human resource management. This volume offers a comprehensive exploration of how an individual's career unfolds from early childhood through retirement. Based on the most recent findings and current research, the volume also focuses on changes in the societal and organizational contexts of career development and reveals how context shapes and constrains individual career decisions. Contributors include:
Terry A. Beehr
Nathan A. Bowling
Jill C. Bradley
Allan Bird
Arthur P. Brief
Daniel C. Feldman
Barbara J. Feinberg
Jennifer M. George
Carrie R. Leana
Manuel London
Mark E. Mendenhall
Elizabeth Wolfe Morrison
Cheri Ostroff
Terri A. Scandura
Neal Schmitt
Yuhung Shin
Gregory K. Stephens
Harvey L. Sterns
Linda Mezydlo Subich
Jon M. Werner

Work Careers-- the seventeenth book in the prestigious Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology's Organizational Frontiers Series-- brings together in one comprehensive volume a panel of leading experts who explore the most recent psychological theories and up-to-date research on how careers develop at different stages of a person's work life.
This important resource focuses on the individual worker and offers a developmental perspective that links childhood and adolescent experiences with initial work values and preferences for work activities. Taking a chronological approach, the contributors analyze the basic building blocks of careers (personality traits, vocational interests, skills, and abilities) and explain how early experiences influence subsequent development of skill sets and career identities. They show how personal life issues interact with work demands and affect important career decisions. The book also reveals how changes in personal values and career interests change at different phases of the life cycle-- childhood and adolescence, school-to-work transitions, early adulthood, mid-career, and late-career.
Work Careers examines how the careers of individuals evolve, not only in response to changing organizational contexts, but also in response to internal developmental needs as well. The book explores why individuals make the particular career choices they do and helps explain how changes in organizational context facilitate or frustrate individuals' developmental needs. At the same time, this volume explores the role of organizations and public policy in facilitating or impeding employees-- developmental opportunities.
Finally, Work Careers explores the ever-evolving landscape of careers, including fundamental changes in job security, electronic commerce, and global business. The book also questions what it means to have a successful career and why individuals vary so greatly in how they experience their work. In short, Work Careers offers a wealth of information and analysis that can energize and guide both future research and innovative management practice in the area of career development.