Tomorrow I’m giving a webinar for the CDAA in Australia on all things internet and career. There is still time to sign up if you are interested.
As usual I’m sharing my slide from the presentation – so feel free to use and abuse them however you see fit.
digital guidance – how to career online
The presentation builds on the book that I did last year called You’re Hired! Job Hunting Online. So grab yourself a copy of that book if you haven’t got one yet.
Just in case you haven’t seen it yet, I published a book with Jim Bright and David Winter on job hunting (and career building) online.
You can buy the book on the Trotman website (as well as Amazon and in all good bookshops).
We’ve recently been reviewed in Careers Matters so I’ll let the review do the selling for us.
In essence, it is a no-nonsense guide to showcasing your career credentials in the best possible light and finding the relevant opportunities.
An exciting new book has just been released addressing the subject of the use of technology in mental health. I previously contributed to the first edition, but this new edition has been substantially updated and rethought.
In the half-decade since publication of the first edition, there have been significant changes in society brought about by the exploding rise of technology in everyday lives that also have an impact on our mental health. The most important of these has been the shift in the way human interaction itself is conducted, especially with electronic text-based exchanges. This expanded second edition is an extensive body of work. It contains 39 chapters on different aspects of technological innovation in mental health care from 54 expert contributors from all over the globe. The book is now presented in two clear sections, the first addressing the technologies as they apply to being used within counseling and psychotherapy itself, and the second section applying to training and supervision. Each chapter offers an introduction to the technology and discussion of its application to the therapeutic intervention being discussed, in each case brought to life through vivid case material that shows its use in practice. Chapters also contain an examination of the ethical implications and cautions of the possibilities these technologies offer, now and in the future. While the question once was, should technology be used in the delivery of mental health services, the question now is how to best use technology, with whom, and when. Whether one has been a therapist for a long time, is a student, or is simply new to the field, this text will serve as an important and integral tool for better understanding the psychological struggles of one’s clients and the impact that technology will have on one’s practice. Psychotherapists, psychiatrists, counselors, social workers, nurses, and, in fact, every professional in the field of mental health care can make use of the exciting opportunities technology presents.
I have contributed two chapters to this book.
Chapter 20. Online Research Methods for Mental Health (with Vanessa Dodd)
Chapter 37. The Role of Online Careers Work in Supporting Mental Health (with Siobhan Neary).
Buy the book online and use code GOSS0716 to get a 15% discount.
Last week we published a new paper which introduces Start, a new product from U-Explore which is designed to revolutionise the education and employment system through the provision of high quality, independent and impartial online career support. In the report we look at what Start does and explore some of its implications for career guidance in England.
We felt that Start built on the existing evidence base in online career guidance as it provides career and labour market information combined with personalised diagnostic tools which support career decision-making. Of particular interest is the Three Minute Hero campaign using a smart video-capture technology to populate Start with real career stories from real people, tagging them in order to help young people find inspiration from their local area, school alumni or people doing the jobs they aspire to do.
Crucially we liked the way in which it delivers career support for individuals whilst integrating with the wider career support that schools and colleges offer. One powerful feature is the opportunities that it provides for schools to monitor students engagement with career learning. We described Start’s model as being an ‘enriched virtual model’ for the delivery of career guidance.
U-Explore has made a substantial financial investment in the development and rollout of Start, which is independent of any direct government funding. Development capital has been provided by the entrepreneur and philanthropist Matthew Riley and the company has developed an innovative internet based business model. U-Explore reports that it has already signed up over 800 schools and that the company can see a clear pathway to the profitability and sustainability of Start, whilst ensuring that the core software is always free for schools and colleges.
There is much to be excited about with Start. It offers a new approach to an old problem and as it develops, it may pave the way to a much more effective education and employment system in England.
For more information on this view our paper at:
Hooley, T. and Sahar, A. (2016). The Right Start in Life: Exploring an Innovative New Online Career Solution. Derby: International Centre for Guidance Studies, University of Derby.
A year or so ago I edited a symposium of the British Journal of Guidance and Counselling on online practice.
As part of this Stephen Goss and I wrote an editorial. I have just made this editorial available in an open access format through the University of Derby’s research archive.
This means that you can now download it for free.
I’m giving an online presentation to the ACE/CACEE conference in Canada tomorrow.
You can watch the presentation online.
You can also download my Powerpoint.
I’ve recently been thinking about career guidance and mental health. One of the questions that I’ve particularly got interested in is whether it is possible to offer online career guidance/career support in a way that (1) supports individuals to maintain positive mental health e.g. by keeping them engaged in work and learning and supporting them to progress and improve job quality; and (2) whether people who are experiencing mental health issues ever turn to career guidance for support and whether when they do they look for online support.
I’d be really interested if anyone had any examples of policy, practice or research that addressed any of this. Let me know if you do.
