This  advising  guide  provides  a  framework  for  how  an  advisor  may  approach  career   development  questions  and  concerns  during  an  advising  appointment.  Given  the  time   constraints  in  many  settings  and  array  of  student  needs,  advisors  would  likely  tailor  the  use  of   these  questions  for  particular  situations.
1.
Shift  the  Focus:   Help  students  re-­‐frame  thinking  about  career  success.  Success  doesn’t   come  from  making  a  single,  correct  career  decision.  Instead,  it  is  the  aggregate  set  of   actions  and  decisions  that  lead  to  success  in  both  career  and  personal  life.   o Reframe  the  conversation  by  moving  the  discussion  away  from  big  decisions  like   choosing  a  major  or  career  path  to  smaller  questions  about  the  student’s  interests,   motivations,  strengths,  etc.       o Explain  the  career  development  process  (http://careers.ls.wisc.edu/career-­‐ development-­‐-­‐facstaff.htm)  in  the  following  way:  “Each  decision  or  action  we  take  is   just  one  step  on  the  career  development  pathway.  You  always  have  the  option  to   continue  down  the  same  path,  or  take  a  step  in  a  different  direction.  Many  paths  can   get  you  to  your  end  goal.”   o Explain  the  value  of  “unplanned”  events  as  part  of  career  development  and  encourage   reflection  on  past  experiences.  This  may  take  prompting  if  students  do  not  see  their   past  experiences  as  valuable.  Experiences  could  include  a  course,  student
organization,  job,  volunteering,  hobby,  etc.   o Questions  to  ask:
 Tell  me  about  an  activity  that  you’ve  done  that  you  really  enjoyed  or  made  you   feel  energized?  What  did  you  like  about  it?
 How  did  you  get  involved  with/discover  this  activity?
 Let’s  discuss  a  big  decision  that  you  have  made  in  your  life.    What  were  the  factors   that  contributed  to  making  this  decision?
 How  did  you  discover  what  your  talents  and  strengths  are?   o You  could  also  provide  examples  from  other  student  experiences.
2.
Enable  Action:   Success  is  assessed  by  what  the  student  accomplishes  in  the  real  world  –   outside  of  the  advising  session.   o Use  successful  past  experiences  as  a  basis  for  current  actions.   o Empower  students  to  see  that  their  past  successes  contain  lessons  for  present  actions,   even  if  they  may  not  seem  directly  related  at  first.
o Questions  to  ask:
 What  had  you  done  that  put  you  in  a  position  to  be  influenced  by  that  event?
 How  did  you  recognize  the  opportunity?
 After  the  event,  what  did  you  do  to  capitalize  on  it?
 What  new  skills  did  you  learn?
 How  did  you  make  contact  with  key  people  then?
 How  did  others  learn  about  your  interests  and  skills?
 What  similar  types  of  actions  could  you  take  now?

3.
Foster  Learning:   Prepare  students  to  recognize  and  capture  potential  opportunities.
o Build  the  connection  between  the  actions  they  take  now  as  steps  to  their  career  goals.
o Questions  to  ask:
 Tell  me  a  chance  event  you  wish  would  happen  to  you.
 How  can  you  act  now  to  increase  the  likelihood  of  that  desirable  event?
 How  would  your  life  change  if  you  acted?
 How  would  your  life  change  if  you  did  nothing?
 How  would  your  life  become  more  satisfying  if  you  were  to  take  appropriate   action?
 What  action  will  you  take  before  we  meet  next?
 By  what  date  and  time  will  you  e-­‐mail  me  a  report  of  your  action?     o Students  could  also  use  the  worksheet  we  have  provided  as  homework.   o Reflection  on  the  student’s  action  during  the  next  session  should  mirror  steps  2-­‐3.
References  and  Resources  on  Happenstance
Ettinger,  Judy  “Career  Development  Theory  and  Its  Application,”  in   Facilitating  Career  Development ,  edited  by
Barbara  H.  Suddarth  and  David  M.  Reile  (National  Career  Development  Association,  2012)  3-­‐15  –  3-­‐18.
Krumboltz,  John  D.  “The  Happenstance  Learning  Theory,”  in   Journal  of  Career  Assessment ,  17:135  (SAGE,  2009).   http://www.stanford.edu/~jdk/HappenstanceLearningTheory2009.pdf
Krumboltz,  John  D.  &  Levin,  Al  S.   Luck  is  No  Accident  (Impact  Publishers,  2011).
Landon,  P.,  and  Hammock,  W.K.  “Planned  happenstance:  Preparing  liberal  arts  and  social  science  students  to   follow  their  hearts  to  career  success”  in   Academic  Advising  Today ,  33:1  (2010).
http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Academic-­‐Advising-­‐Today/View-­‐Articles/Planned-­‐Happenstance-­‐
Preparing-­‐Liberal-­‐Arts-­‐and-­‐Social-­‐Science-­‐Students-­‐to-­‐Follow-­‐Their-­‐Hearts-­‐to-­‐Career-­‐Success.aspx
Mitchell,  K.  E.,  Al  Levin,  S.  and  Krumboltz,  J.  D.  “Planned  Happenstance:  Constructing  Unexpected  Career
Opportunities”  in   Journal  of  Counseling  &  Development ,  77:2  (1999):  115–124.