THE OZ EFFECT
Supporting students through phases
of transition
Stephanie Birk, M.A.
Assistant Director of Career Services,
University of Illinois at Chicago
Self Professed “Transition Specialist”
OBJECTIVE
 Developmental insights
 Re-energize your work
 A Re-fresher
 Communicating career wisdom
“OZ” ANALOGY
EXERCISE TO EMPATHIZE
 Your young adult self
 Feelings
 Challenges
 Opportunities
BAD JOB, OR BAD TRANSITION?
• Higher rate of job turnover – less than
50% of graduates remain with their first
employer 2 years after graduation
(Sturges & Guest, 2001 in Wendlandt &
Rochlen, 2008).
• Nearly 1/3 of students transfer to a new
school during the first years of college.
(Pemberton, 2012)
TRANSITIONS
UNIVERSAL PROCESS
Phases of Transition (Bridges, 2004)
 An Ending
 “letting go”
 Period of Confusion/Distress/Chaos
 “neutral zone”
 A New Beginning
 “new way of being”
HO: Personal Transition Reflection
JOHN FISCHER’S “TRANSITION CURVE”
HO: Transition Curve
TRANSITIONS
4 CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUNG ADULT TRANSITION
(FOX, 2011)
• Managing loss
• Establishing place
• Focusing on self
• Searching for purpose
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY OF
EMERGING ADULTHOOD
LIFE-PHASE SPECIFIC PROCESS
Erikson’s Developmental Tasks (Erikson, 1968)
• Identity vs. Role Confusion
•
High school graduate entering college or work
• Intimacy vs. Isolation
•
College graduate entering work
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY OF
EMERGING ADULTHOOD
LIFE-PHASE SPECIFIC PROCESS
Seven Vectors (Chickering & Reisser, 1993)
 Gaining competence
 Managing emotions
 Moving through autonomy towards interdependence
 Developing mature interpersonal relationships
 Establishing Identity
 Developing purpose
 Developing Integrity
IDENTITY FORMATION
Marcia’s Identity Formation Model
Experiences Crisis
Commitment
Made
No
Commitment
Made
Not in Crisis
Identity
Achievement
Identity
Forclosure
Undergone a “crisis”
and made a
commitment
Not undergone a
crisis but made a
commitment anyway
Identity
Moratorium
Identity Diffusion
Undergone a “crisis”
but failed to commit
to a value
Neither crisis nor
commitment has
been made.
MILLENIALS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-enHH-r_FM
MILLENIALS
The GAP: 3 differences from Millenials to today’s working culture…
Experimentation, Collaboration and Movement.
Tried &True vs. Trial & Error
 Tip 1: Channel experimental creativity through useful tools, i.e. social
media/technology
Work out Loud vs. Confidentiality
 Tip 2: Accept the “need to know” basis of confidentiality of the workplace
Instantaneous Progress vs. Climbing the Ladder
 Tip 3: Walk, Don’t Run
(Blain, NACE, 2010)
HO: Educational Vs. Corporate Culture
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES
 Anticipation
 I can’t wait for the freedom! But… I’m
scared!
 Adjustment
 Who do I want to be now? Who am I? Will
I succeed, or will I fail?
 Achievement

My friends are my family, my college is my
home
HO: Preparing for Change
COLLEGE GRADUATES
DEVELOPMENTAL CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES
 “Novice” period of adulthood, age 22-33
(Levinson, 1978)
 “Experimenting stage”
 “Starting over”
 Common Experiences
(Erikson, 1968)
COLLEGE GRADS
 Anticipation
 Time for the real world!
 Adjustment
 I’ve got an “expectation hangover” (Hassler, 2008)
 Out with the old, in the with new
 Achievement
 I’m doing it!
HO: Are You Ready for A Culture Shock?
NO WORK?
AFFECTS OF UNEMPLOYMENT
 Leads to an erosion of self-esteem
 Questioning self
 Becoming more externally focused (loss of sense of control) and feeling
helpless
 Higher levels of anxiety, depression.
 Unemployed workers are twice as likely as their employed counterparts to
experience psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, psychosomatic
symptoms, low subjective well-being, and poor self-esteem (Paul & Moser, 2009).
Social support can also mitigate the negative impacts of unemployment and
underemployment (Belle & Bullock, 2011). Apa.org
(Goldsmith, 2008)
SOCIAL SUPPORT/MENTORSHIP
• Shifting Sands
• Shared Experience
• Wise Guides
HO: Identifying your Mentors
TO SUMMARIZE…
 A final note
STUDENT TOOLKIT
 1: Transition Curve
 2: Expectation Hangover
 3: Educational vs. Corporate Culture
 4: Awareness, Inquiry, Adaptive Action
 5: Personal Transition Reflection
 6: Identifying Mentors
THANK YOU!
Stephanie Birk
sbirk@uic.edu
www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniebirk
Presentation copy available
REFERENCES

Arnett, J.J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: a theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, Vol
55(5), 469-480.

Arndt, T. & Ricchini J. (2003). Backpack to briefcase: steps to a successful career. Alexandria, Virginia: Life After Graduation, LLC.

Bridges, W. (2004). Transitions: making sense of life’s changes. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.

Chickering, A.W. and Reisser, L. (1993). Education and identity. (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Erikson, E. H. Identity, youth and crisis. (1968). New York: WW Norton. 128-135.

Fischer, J. (2003) accessed online at: www.businessballs.com. 1/20/12.

Fox, K. (2011). Figuring it out: a grounded theory of college to post-college transitions.

Hassler, C. (2008). 20 something manifesto: quarter-lifers speak out about who they are, what they want, and how to get it. Novato
California: New World Press.

Helkowski, C. and Hettich, P. (2005). Connecting college to career. California: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Krumboltz, J.D. and Levin, A.S. (2004). Luck is no accident: making the most of happenstance in your life and career. California:
Impact Publishers.

Larose & Boivin (1998). Attachment to parents, social support expectations, and socio-emotional adjustment during the high school to
college transition. Journal of Research on Adolescence. 8(1). 1-27.

Levinson, D.J. (1978) The Seasons of a man’s life. New York,: Knopf. 78-84.

Marcia, J. E. (1973). Ego-Identity Status, in Michael Argyle, Social Encounters. p. 340.

Parks, S.D.(2000). Big questions, worthy dreams. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Pemberton, S. (2012). Road to college. accessed online at http://www.roadtocollege.com/.

Wendlandt, N.M., and Rochlen, A.B. (2008). Addressing the college to work transition. Journal of Career Development. Vol 35 (2).
MEDIA
 Emerging Adulthood: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_f8DmU-gQQ
 Millenials: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-enHH-r_FM
 20-something shared experience: http://www.thegraduateguru.com/
 8 tips for College Freshmen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wcQGXQEcTQ