Faith may be defined as a state of confidence in the face of uncertainty, a positive mindset or mental attitude which accepts a degree of uncertainty, remains open to events as they unfold and trusts that the best course of action will become clear in time. Faith therefore may be found in the religious, the spiritual and the agnostic and, in an increasingly uncertain and rapidly changing world, may be regarded as an asset to both career management and employability. However, there is evidence to suggest that UK policy and practice is largely influenced by a technical-rational approach to decision making that neither reflects the fluidity of the market nor the complexities of the human psyche (Bimrose, 2006). The challenge for career practitioners is to move beyond an over-reliance on traditional matching theory and incorporate the reality of how decisions are actually made.
This paper considers the findings of a small scale study into the career decision making of people who identified as having faith. The majority of respondents appeared to balance a high degree of personal responsibility for decision making with an acceptance of not being able to control events. To support decision making they tended not only to research options and talk with others, but also to use prayer and meditation to discern the best course of action. Rather than regard faith-aided decision making as lying outside the remit of professional practice, the paper argues that there are existing approaches such as Narrative and Planned Happenstance, which not only provide practitioners with a framework for understanding and working with faith, but which may also enhance wider practice.
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Faith may be defined as a state of confidence in the face of uncertainty, a positive mindset or mental attitude which accepts a degree of uncertainty, remains open to events as they unfold and trusts that the best course of action will become clear in time. Faith therefore may be found in the religious, the […]