Readiness Assessment PDF

Effective Techniq..u.....
. . e"-'-'s'--- _
Using Readiness Assessment

to Improve Career Services:
A Cognitive Information-Processing
Approach
James P. Sampson, Jr.

Gary W. Peterson
Robert C. Reardon
Janet G. Lenz
This article begins with a review of the use of readiness assessment measures as
a strategy for improving career services. A 5-step process model for readiness
assessment is then proposed and current readiness measures are identified. Al-
though considerable research has been conducted on career decision-making
readiness and numerous measures have been developed, there has been limited
literature available on the application of readiness assessment in selecting
career interventions to meet specific client needs. This article continues with a
theory-based conceptualization of readiness and then links readiness assessment
to the selection of career interventions designed to meet clients' needs.
Clarifying the nature of an individual's career problem is an important

initial step in delivering a career intervention (Spokane, 1991). Assessment
(or diagnosis) ofclient needs at the beginning of the career service delivery
process helps ensure that the services individuals receive are congruent
with their needs (Amundson, 1996; Fredrickson, 1982; Gati, Krausz, &
Osipow, 1996; Heppner & Johnston, 1993; Miller, 1993; Osborne, Brown,
Niles, & Miner, 1997; Sampson & Reardon, 1998; Savickas, 1996;
Super, 1983; Super & Kidd, 1979; Watts, 1994). Decades of research
on career indecision have shown that individuals differ widely in their
James P Sampson, [r., and Gary W Peterson are professors in the Department of
Human Services and Studies, Florida State University, Tallahassee. Robert C.
Reardon is a professor and director ofInstruction, Research) and Evaluation in
the Career Center, Florida State University. Janet G. Lenz is an associatedirector
for Career Advising, Counseling, and Programming in the Career Center, Florida
State University. James P Sampson, [r., and Robert C. Reardon also codirect the
Centerfor the Study ofTechnology in Counseling and Career Development, Florida
State University. The authors thank Robert W Kolodinsky and Elisa Rudd for
assisting with the literature review and JeffW Garis and Sandra M. Sampson for
reviewing initial drafts ofthe manuscript. Correspondence regarding this article
should be sent to James P Sampson, Jr., University Center, Suite A41 00, Florida
State University, Tallahassee, FL 37306-2490(e-mail: jsampson@admin.ftu.edu;
Internet: www.career.ftu.edu/techcenter).
146 The Career Development Quarterly December 2000 • Volume 49

capability to make career decisions. As a result, a key component ofassess-
ing client needs involves the assessment of readiness for career decision
making (Crites, 1981; Gati, 1998; Herr & Niles, 1997; Levinson, Ohler,
Caswell, & Kiewra, 1998; Savickas,1990; Super, Osborne, Walsh, Brown,
& Niles, 1992; Toman & Savickas, 1997; Ward & Bingham, 1993). The
relevance of readiness assessment has been demonstrated by research
showing that readiness variables relate to how much and how well interest
inventory results are used by clients (Toman & Savickas, 1997). This
article begins with a description of the potential use of readiness assess-
ment measures, followed by the presentation of a five-step process for
integrating readiness assessment into career service delivery, and con-
cludes with a theory-based model for using readiness assessment to
make preliminary decisions about appropriate levels and types ofcareer
interventions for individuals.
The lIse of Readiness Assessment Measures

Readiness assessment can be used in screening, intervention planning,
program planning, and career intervention outcome evaluation. In screening,
readiness assessment is used to make preliminary decisions about the
level of practitioner support that is required in relation to the individual's
needs (Chartrand & Bertok, 1993; Gati et aI., 1996; Killeen, Kidd, Haw-
thorn, Sampson, & White, 1993; Sampson & Reardon, 1998). Spokane
(1991) noted that individuals with minimal indecision and goal stability are
likely to benefit from self-directed career interventions, whereas individuals
with low readiness, low self-esteem, low sociability,and goal instability will
require more individualized career interventions. Chartrand (1996) rec-
ommended that metacognitive-affective-behavioral response styles need
to be assessed in the beginning phase of counseling. The assessment of
automatic thoughts and dysfunctional beliefs contributes to an under-
standing of "core cognitive processes and related affective and behavioral
response styles" (Chartrand, 1996, p. 129). In intervention planning,
readiness assessment is used to clarify the needs of the client in order to
select appropriate counseling interventions (Chartrand & Bertok, 1993;
Gati et aI., 1996; Osipow, 1999; Phillips & Blustein, 1994; Super, 1983;
Toman & Savickas, 1997). Specific needs of the client will influence the
content ofcounseling (e.g., consideration of relationship issues for a dual-
career couple) and the process of counseling (e.g., progressing more
slowly with a client who has information-processing problems related to
anxiety). When integrated with instructional resources, such as a cogni-
tive restructuring exercise for dysfunctional career thinking (Sampson,
Peterson, Lenz, Reardon, & Saunders, 1996b), a readiness assessment
measure actually becomes part of a career intervention. In program plan-
ning, aggregate readiness assessment data from intact groups (Gati et
aI., 1996), such as all students in a specific grade level in high school or
entering college freshmen, can be used in planning developmentally ap-
propriate interventions. In outcome evaluation, readiness assessment can
be used to document any pre-post changes that occur after a career
intervention (Chartrand & Bertok, 1993; Gati et aI., 1996; Herr & Cramer,
1996; Killeen et aI., 1993; Osipow, 1999; Super, 1983), such as a career
planning course.
The Career Development Quarterly December 2000· Volume 49 147

A Model for Using Readiness Assessment
Measures in Delivering Career Services
The goal of readiness assessment is to help both the individual and the
practitioner to make an informed, collaborative decision about the level
ofstaff assistance that is most likely to meet the needs of the individual.
(In this article, individuals refers to clients and customers who are
seeking career resources and services, whereas practitioners refers to
professionals and paraprofessionals who are qualified by virtue of their
training, experience, and supervision to provide career resources and
services.) The following is a five-step sequence for implementing a readi-
ness assessment process in the delivery of career services. The sequence
includes selecting a readiness construct, selecting a readiness measure,
integrating readiness data and developing hypotheses, collaborating with
the client in goal setting and intervention planning, and monitoring
client use of resources and revising readiness hypotheses and interven-
tions as needed.
Step 1: Select a Readiness Construct

The practitioner begins by selecting an appropriate readiness construct
that is congruent with his or her understanding of the career develop-
ment process. A variety of constructs have evolved to explain why some
individuals appear to experience success or difficulty in making career
decisions, for example, vocational maturity (Super, 1974), career matu-
rity (Crites, 1996), career adaptability (Savickas, 1994; Super, 1983),
vocational identity (Holland, 1997), decision-making self-efficacy(Lent &
Hackett, 1987), careerbeliefi (Krumboltz, 1983), and dysfunctional career
thinking (Sampson, Peterson, Lenz, Reardon, & Saunders, 1998). These
constructs can be used to provide a conceptual and operational basis for
readiness assessment. For example, individuals who exhibit higher levels of
vocational identity are more ready to benefit from career interventions,
whereas individuals who exhibit dysfunctional career thinking are lessready
to benefit from a career intervention without counselor support.
Step 2: Select a Readiness Measure

A readiness measure should be selected on the basis of (a) congruence
with the readiness construct selected in Step 1 and (b) having appropriate
reliability, validity, norms, and utility for the population being served.
Some readiness measures are theory based (e.g., the Career Development
Inventory; Super, Thompson, Lindeman, [ordaan, & Myers, 1981), whereas
others are empirically based (e.g., the Career Decision Scale; Osipow,
Carney, Winer, Yanico, & Koschier, 1987). Some readiness measures are
population specific (e.g., the Career Attitudes and Strategies Inventory
for adults with work experience; Holland & Gottfredson, 1994), whereas
other measures are designed for a broad range of adolescents and adults
(e.g., My Vocational Situation; Holland, Daiger, & Power, 1980). Some
readiness measures consist of an instrument (e.g., the Career Decision
Profile; Jones, 1999), whereas other measures consist of an instrument
integrated with a workbook to support the delivery of interventions
designed to improve readiness (e.g., the Career Thoughts Inventory,

Sampson, Peterson, Lenz, Reardon, & Saunders, 1996a; and the Career
Thoughts Inventory Workbook, Sampson et al., 1996b).
Most readiness measures are hand scored, whereas some require mail-in
computer scoring. Hand-scored instruments are best for service delivery
intake where readiness assessment is used immediately to choose an
appropriate level of career intervention. Mail-in, computer-scored in-
struments are ideal for group administration where the assessment of
readiness is used to proactively plan developmental interventions for an
intact group. A partial listing of measures that can be used for readiness
assessment is presented in Table I. Although there are standardized inter-
views and measures of traits related to readiness, such as anxiety, attitude,
depression, goal stability, interests, irrational beliefs,job search knowledge,
job satisfaction, job stress, learning and information-processing style, oc-
cupational knowledge, pathology, perfectionism, personality, and prob-
lem solving, these interviews and measures are not included in Table 1.
See Kapes, Mastie, and Whitfield (1994); Levinson et aI. (1998); Killeen
et aI. (1993); and Perosa and Perosa (1997) for additional details on
measures that can be used for readiness assessment.
Step 3: Integrate Readiness Data and Develop Hypotheses

Data from the readiness assessment measure are then integrated with
information from the client interview to develop an initial working hy-
pothesis regarding client readiness for career decision making. It is not
recommended that practitioners set precise readiness instrument cut scores
for specific career interventions because of the lack of evidence relating
instrument cut scores to effective interventions. It is important to stress
that practitioners should not rely on a simple score on an assessment
instrument to assess a state of readiness; rather, a practitioner makes a
collaborative decision with a client about career interventions that are
appropriate for the client's level of readiness based on results from a
readiness assessment measure and interaction with the client (Crites, 1981;
Levinson et al., 1998).
Step 4: Collaborate in Goal Setting and Intervention Planning

The practitioner then collaborates with the client in setting goals and in
selecting a level (self-help, brief staff-assisted, or individual case man-
aged) and type(e.g., workshop, group counseling, individual counseling)
ofcareer intervention that is congruent with client readiness. A model for
matching client readiness with levels and types of interventions is pre-
sented later in this article. The counselor's willingness to collaborate with
the client in setting goals and planning interventions provides an impor-
tant therapeutic message that the client can influence the service delivery
process and is capable of contributing positively to the counseling out-
comes (Peterson, Sampson, Reardon, & Lenz, 1996). This collaborative
approach also affirms that clients are capable ofunderstanding their needs
and actively participating in the service delivery process, as opposed to a
less empowering approach in which the counselor is viewed as an expert
and the client is viewed as a passive recipient of predefined career ser-
vices, such as interest inventory interpretation and subsequent exposure
to career information (Savickas, 1993).

...
g: TABLE 1
A Partial Listing of Instruments That Can Be Used as a Component of Readiness Assessment
Instrument, Authors, and No. of

Publication Date Items Scales
Adult Career Concerns Inventory 61 A) Exploration (crystallization, specification, implementation)

(Super, Thompson, & Lindeman, 1988) B) Establishment (stabilizing, consolidating, advancing)
C) Maintenance (holding, updating, innovating)
D) Disengagement (deceleration, retirement planning, retirement living)
Assessment of Career Decision Making 94 Decision-Making Styles (rational, intuitive, dependent) and
(Harren, Buck, & Daniels, 1985) Decision-Making Tasks (school adjustment, occupation, major)
Barriers to Employment Success Inventory 50 Personal, Physical and Psychological, Career Planning, Job-Seeking Skills, Education and Training
(Liptak, 1995)
Career Attitudes and Strategies Inventory 130 Job Satisfaction, Work Involvement, Skill Development, Dominant Style, Career Worries,
(Holland & Gottfredson, 1994) Interpersonal Abuse, Family Commitment, Risk-Taking Style, Geographical Barriers
Career Barriers Inventory-Revised 70 Sex Discrimination, Lack of Confidence, Multiple-Role Conflict, Conflict Between Children and career
(Swanson & Daniels, 1995) Demands, Racial Discrimination, Inadequate Preparation, Disapproval by Significant Others, Decision-
Making Difficulties, Dissatisfaction With Career, Discouraged From Choosing Nontraditional Careers,
DisabilitylHeaIth Concems, Job Market Constraints, Difficulties With Networking/Socialization
Career Beliefs Inventory 96 Group 1: My Current Career Situation: Employment Status, Career Plans, Acceptance of
(Krumboltz, 1991) Uncertainty, Openness
Group 2: What Seems Necessary for My Happiness: Achievement, College Education, Intrinsic
Satisfaction, Peer Equality, Structured Work Environment
Group 3: Factors That Influence My Decisions: Control, Responsibility, Approval of Others, Self-
Other Comparisons, Occupation/College Variation, Career Path Flexibility
Group 4: Changes I Am Willing to Make: Post-Training Transition, Job Experimentation, Relocation
Group 5: Efforts I Am Willing to Initiate: Improving Self, Persisting While Uncertain, Taking Risks,
Leaming Job Skills, Negotiating/Searching, Overcoming Obstacles, Working Hard
(table continued on next page)
TABLE 1 (Continued)

Career Decision Making Difficulties 44 Lack of Readiness (lack of motivation, indecisiveness, dysfunctional myths)
Questionnaire Lack of Information (lack of knowledge about the process, self, occupations, and ways of obtaining
(Gati, Krausz, & Osipow, 1996) additional information)
Inconsistent Information (unreliable information, extemal conflicts, and intemal conflicts)
Career Decision Diagnostic Assessment 37 Decision Anxiety, Life-Goal Awareness, Luck and Fate Orientation, Authority Orientation, Secondary
(Bansberg & Sklare, 1986) Motivation, Total Career Decision Problems
Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy 50 Accurate Self-Appraisal, Gathering Occupational Information, Goal Selection, Making Plans for the
Scale 25 Future, Problem Solving
(Taylor & Betz, 1983) short
Career Decision Profile 19 Decidedness, Comfort, Self-Clarity, Knowledge About Occupations and Training, Decisiveness,
(Jones, 1999) Career Choice Importance, Extemal Barriers
Career Decision Scale 19 Certainty, Indecision
(Osipow, Carney, Winer, Yanico, &
Koschier, 1987)
Career Development Inventory 120 Career Planning, Career Exploration, Decision-Making, World of Work Information, Knowledge of
(Super, Thompson, Lindeman, Jordaan, & Preferred Occupational Group, Career Development Attitudes, Career Development Knowledge
Myers, 1981) and Skills, Career Orientation
Career Exploration Survey 62 Exploration Process, Reactions to Exploration, Beliefs
(Stumpf, Colarelli, & Hartman, 1983)
Career Factor Checklist 28 Familial, Societal, Individual, Socioeconomic, Situational, Psychosocial
(O'Neil & Ohlde, 1978) Emotional
...
~ (table continued on next page)
Ul
-... TABLE 1 (Continued)

Career Factors Inventory 21 Need for Self-Knowledge, Need for Career Information, Career Choice Anxiety, Generalized
(Chartrand, Robins, & Morrill, 1997) Indecisiveness
Career Mastery Inventory 110 Organizational Adaptability, Position Performance, Work Habits, Co-Worker Relationships, Advance-
(Crites, 1992) ment, Career Choice and Plans, Total Score
Career Maturity Inventory-Revised 50 Competence, Attitude
(Crites & Savickas, 1995)
Career Planning Confidence Scale 41 Readiness, Self-Assessment, Information Seeking, Deciding, Implementation
(Pickering, Calliotte, & McAuliffe, 1989)
Career Planning Questionnaire 120 Career Decisiveness, Involvement in Career-Related Activities, Career Salience, Self-Knowledge,
(Westbrook, Sanford, Merwin, Fleenor, & Career Concerns, Certainty of Career Values
Renzi, 1987)
Career Problem Checklist 100 Problems at School or College, Problems in Making Decisions, Problems at Home, Problems in
(Crowley, 1983) Obtaining Specific Occupational Information, Problems in Applying for a Job/Course, Problems
Starting Work, Problems Outside Work
Career Search Efficacy Scale 35 Job Search Efficacy, Interviewing Efficacy, Networking Efficacy, Personal Exploration Efficacy
(Solberg et aI., 1994)
Career Thoughts Inventory
(Sampson, Peterson, Lenz, Reardon, & 48 Decision-Making Confusion, Commitment Anxiety, External Conflict, Total Score
Saunders, 1996a)
(table continued on next page)

TABLE 1 (Continued)

Career Transitions Inventory 72 Readiness, Confidence, Control, Support, Independence

(Heppner, 1991)
Certainty of Occupational Preference Scale 8 Certainty
(Kidd,1982)
Cognitive Vocational Maturity Test 32 Fields of Work, Job Selection, Work Conditions, Education Required, Attributes Required, Duties
(Westbrook, 1995)
Commitment to Career Choices Scale 28 Vocational Exploration and Commitment (VEC),
(Blustein, Ellis, & Devenis, 1989) Tendency to Foreclose (TTF)
Coping With Career Indecision 35 SUbjective Career Distress and Obstacles, Active Problem-Solving, Academic Self-Efficacy, Career
(Larson, Heppner, Ham, & Dugan, 1988) Myths
Coping With Job Loss Scales 20 Proactive Search, Nonwork Organization, Positive Self-Assessment, Distancing From Loss, Job
(Kinicki & Latack, 1990) Devaluation
Decisional Process Inventory 70 Career Orientation, Decisional Involvement, Expressiveness, Perceived Opportunity, Decisional
(Hartung, 1995) Salience, Directedness, Clarity
Fear of Commitment Scale 40 Fear of Commitment
(Serling & Betz, 1990)
Job Search Attitude Inventory 32 Luck Vs. Planning, Uninvolved Vs. Involved, Help From Others Vs. Self-Help, Passive Vs. Active
(Liptak, 1994)
Keele Occupational Crystallization Self- 12 Occupational Crystallization/Decidedness
Appraisal Form (Daws, 1975)
... (table continued on next page)
III
Co>
...
~
TABLE 1 (Continued)

My Vocational Situation 26 Vocational Identity, Need for Information or Training, Environmental or Personal Barriers
(Holland, Daiger, & Power, 1980)
Occupational Alternatives Question 2 Decidedness
(Zener & Schnuelle, 1976; modified by
Slaney, 1980)
Occupational Self-Efficacy Scale 20 Traditional Self-Efficacy, Nontraditional Self-Efficacy
(Betz & Hackett, 1981)
The Salience Inventory 170 Participation, commitment, and values expectation in the areas of home and family, studying,
(Super & Nevill, 1985) working, community service, and leisure
Student Development Inventory 38 Identity-Confidence, Development of Purpose-Vocational
(Hood, 1986)
Task-Specific Occupational Self-Efficacy 230 Verbal and Interpersonal Skills, Quantitative, Logical, Scientific, and Business Skills, Physical
Scale (Osipow, Temple, & Rooney, 1993; 60 Strength and Agility, Aesthetic Skills
Rooney & Osipow, 1992) Short
Vocational Rating Scale 40 Global Measure of Self-Concept Crystallization
(Barrett & Tinsley, 1977)
Step 5: Monitor Client Use of Resources and Revise
Readiness Hypotheses and Interventions as Needed
The practitioner then monitors subsequent client behavior, cognitions,
and emotions related to client use of assessment, information, and in-
structional resources, confirming or disconfirming the initial readiness
hypothesis and making modifications as appropriate. Needs assessment
or diagnosis is recursive, continuing throughout the counseling process
(Dowd, 1995; Hohenshil, 1996; Ridley, Li, & Hill, 1998). When a series
ofcareer interventions are not effective, the practitioner returns to Step 2
to reexamine readiness, Step 3 to potentially revise hypotheses, and Step
4 to review career interventions.
Limitations of Current Readiness Assessment

Social and cultural factors can influence the results obtained from readiness
assessmentmeasures.Schmitt-Rodermund and Silbereisen(1998) and Leong
and Gim-Chung (1995) found that culture had an apparent impact on
levels of career maturity. Therefore, the results from readiness assessment
measures used with various multicultural groups need to be interpreted
with caution. One partial solution to this problem involves the creation of
local norms. Readiness assessment measures should also be evaluated dur-
ing test development and during application in service delivery for poten-
tial bias in terminology, content, constructs, and response (Prince, 1997).
Although considerable research has been conducted related to readiness
for career decision making and numerous measures have been developed,
limited literature is available on the application of readiness assessment in
selecting career interventions that are appropriate for the client's level of
readiness. Manuals for readiness measures typically make the general
observation that individuals with low readiness will need more counseling
support to benefit from career interventions. What is needed are theory-
based approaches for measuring readiness that practitioners can use to
help clients make decisions about appropriate career interventions that
ultimately lead to improved readiness for future career decisions. In the
remainder of this article, we present a theory-based conceptualization of
readiness and then describe a two-dimensional model for linking readi-
ness assessment to the selection ofcareer interventions designed to meet
clients' needs. We also discuss counseling strategies for enhancing client
readiness for career decision making. This portion of the article provides
an example of the application of the previously described five-step pro-
cess model for readiness assessment.
A Cognitive Information-Processing Approach to

Readiness
This section begins with a brief review of key constructs in the cognitive
information-processing (CIP) approach, followed by presentation of a
CIP theoretical-based model of readiness for career decision making, the
use of readiness assessment to make preliminary decisions about appro-
priate levels and types of career interventions, and counseling strategies
for enhancing client readiness.

Key Constructs in CIPTheory
The readiness assessment model presented in this article is based on the
application ofClP theory to career problem solving and decision mak-
ing (Peterson et aI., 1991; Peterson et aI., 1996; Sampson, Lenz, Reardon,
& Peterson, 1999; Sampson, Peterson, Lenz, & Reardon, 1992). Two
key constructs in the ClP approach include the pyramid of information-
processing domains (the content of career problem solving and decision
making) and the CASVE cycle (which consists of the subcomponents
Communication, Analysis, Synthesis, Valuing, and Execution and is the
process of career problem solving and decision making). ClP theory
specifies that effective career problem solving and decision making
require the effective processing of information in the domains of the
pyramid of information processing, including self-knowledge, occupa-
tional knowledge, decision-making skills, and executive processing. Self-
knowledge includes one's perceptions of one's own values, interests,
skills, and so on. Occupational knowledge includes both knowledge of
specificoptions (i.e., occupations, programs ofstudy, or jobs) and schemata
for how the world of work is organized. A schema is a knowledge struc-
ture that helps individuals store and retrieve information necessary for
problem solving.
Decision-making skills are generic information-processing skills used by
individuals to solve problems and make decisions. The CASVE cycle is one
schema for describing the problem-solving and decision-making process.
During the Communication phase, individuals become aware of a gap
between an existing and a desired state ofaffairs as a result ofexternal cues
(positive or negative events or input from one or more significant others)
or internal cues (client perceptions of negative emotions, avoidance be-
havior, or physiological changes). During the Analysis phase, individuals
conceptualize a mental model of their problem and perceive relationships
among the components (e.g., relating self-knowledge with occupational
knowledge to better understand the necessary characteristics of the
occupation, education, or employment they seek). During the Synthesis
phase, individuals elaborate (expand) and then crystallize (narrow) the
options that they are considering. During the Valuing phase, individuals
consider the costs and benefits ofeach of the remaining options to them-
selves, significant others, their cultural group, and their community or
society in general, ultimately leading to a tentative first choice. During
the Execution phase, individuals create and commit to a plan for imple-
menting their tentative choice.
Returning to the pyramid ofinformation-processing domains, executive
processing includes metacognitions that control the selection and sequencing
ofcognitive strategies used to solvea career problem. Specific metacognitions
include self-talk, self-awareness, and monitoring and control.
A Two-Dimensional Model of Readiness for Career
Decision Making
Within the framework of the ClP approach, readiness is defined as the
capability of an individual to make appropriate career choices, taking
into account the complexity of family, social, economic, and organiza-
tional factors that influence an individual's career development. Another
way ofviewing these two dimensions is that capability represents internal

factors and complexity represents external factors that influence an
individual's ability to make appropriate career choices.
Capability refers to the cognitive and affective capacity ofan individual
to engage in effective career problem solving and decision making. Indi-
viduals who are in a higher state of readiness possess the necessary cog-
nitive capacity and positive affective states to effectively engage in career
problem solving and decision making. Individuals who are less ready for
effective career problem solving and decision making may be inhibited by
dysfunctional thoughts and negative emotions. The following conditions
influence individuals' capability to successfully engage in career problem
solving and career decision making. First, individuals are willing to hon-
estly explore their knowledge ofself (e.g., values, interests, and skills) to
attain a clearer sense of identity (self-knowledge). Second, individuals are
motivated to learn about the world ofwork to enhance the development
of occupational knowledge (occupational knowledge). Third, individuals
are willing to learn about and engage in career problem solving and deci-
sion making (career decision-making skills). Important components ofthe
ability to think through a career problem and arrive at a career decision
include (a) the capacity for thinking clearly about one's career problem,
its causes, and alternative courses of action to solve it; (b) confidence in
selecting a best alternative course ofaction to solve the problem and the
commitment to carry out a plan of action to implement a solution; and
(c) an acceptance ofpersonal responsibility for making a career decision.
Fourth, individuals are aware of how negative thoughts and feelings
potentially limit their ability to think clearly and remain motivated to
solve problems and make decisions. Individuals are willing to seek assis-
tance when they perceive that personal or external barriers are limiting
their ability to choose. Individuals also possess the capacity to monitor
and regulate lower order problem-solving decision-making processes
(executive processing).
Within the CIP approach, the constructs of decision-making confusion
and commitment anxiety from the Career Thoughts Inventory (Sampson
et aI., 1996a) can be used to measure the capability dimension of read i-
ness for career decision making. Almost all of the readiness instruments
in Table 1 can also be used to measure the capability dimension in this
readiness model. The readiness assessment measures in Table 1 tend to
emphasize the capability dimension over the complexity dimension.
Several instruments in Table 1 include the measurement ofindecision.
In terms of the capability dimension it is important not to jump to the
conclusion that increased indecision necessarily reflects decreased capa-
bility. Krumboltz (1992) has noted that indecision and keeping one's
options open may be a wise strategy as the individual gains more life
experience to aid in clarifying a future career choice. In this case, indeci-
sion reflects a higher level of capability. Frost (1991) noted that some
college freshmen who recognize they are in a state of indecision and use
college as an opportunity for exploration may actually be more develop-
mentally advanced than initiallydecided individualswho later change courses
of study. However, when external circumstances require an individual to
make a choice or experience negative consequences (e.g., inability to
register for courses as a result of not choosing a college major), indeci-
sion may reflect a lower level of capability. If indecision may at times be
The Career Development Quarterly December 2000 • Volume 49 157

wise, decidedness may be unwise if an individual is foreclosed (i.e., prema-
turely committed to a choice without deliberation or exploration; Blustein
& Phillips, 1990). Therefore, it is important to forgo automatically con-
cluding that increased decidedness necessarily reflects increased capability.
Complexity refers to contextual factors, originating in the family, society,
employing organizations, or the economy, that make it more difficult to
process information necessary to solve career problems and make career
decisions. Vondracek and Reitzle (1998) contended that any personal
attribute (with capability viewed in this article as integrating various per-
sonal attributes) "has meaning for psychological development only by
virtue of its interaction with contexts at a certain point in time-i.e., its
relation to a particular set of time-bound contextual conditions" (p. 8).
Fitzgerald and Betz (1994) noted that most career theories did not ad-
equately address structural and cultural factors. Betz and Fitzgerald (1995)
stated, "structural factors are characteristics of the society or organiza-
tion (including its people) that limit access to or opportunities in the
occupational and/or organizational environment.... Cultural factors
are beliefs and attitudes often found among group members--often these
are socialized by society (i.e., occupational racial stereotypes), but after
internalization they serve as self-perpetuating barriers to the individual"
(p. 272). The complexity dimension presented here incorporates struc-
tural and cultural factors that influence career development.
Individuals who are in a higher state of readiness have fewer family,
social, economic, and organizational factors to cope with in career prob-
lem solving and decision making. Individuals who are less ready for ef-
fective career problem solving and decision making may be coping with
one severely debilitating factor, such as blatant discrimination based on
group membership, or they may be coping with a combination ofcontex-
tual factors that collectively make career problem solving and decision
making more difficult, such as being a single parent who is working for a
large diversified employer with numerous positions that is downsizing
during a recession. These factors can generate emotional states, such as
anxiety, depression, and anger that subsequently make it even more diffi-
cult to process information necessary for effective problem solving. From
a CIP perspective, an individual with a more complex career problem needs
to develop more complex self-knowledge and occupational knowledge sche-
mata to process information effectively in problem solving. For example,
an individual who is attempting to balance his or her employment needs
with the employment needs of his or her spouse, while also attending to the
developmental needs of children, needs to develop schemata that are ca-
pable of coping with the large number of variables inherent in a career
problem of this complexity. Another approach would involve helping an
overwhelmed client cope by dealing with each factor independently and
sequentially, sometimes referred to as "chunking." In the previously men-
tioned example, the individual might begin by processing issues related to
his or her spouse before considering issues related to children.
Family factors can contribute to or detract from readiness for career
decision making. Individuals with few family responsibilities or stressors
have fewer constraints to cope with, which can contribute to reduced
complexity in career decision making. Individuals with supportive family
members typically have more resources for understanding and coping

with problems that exist. However, individuals with multiple family re-
sponsibilities or many stressors need to develop more complex schemata,
or isolate factors independently and manage them one at a time, in order
to cope with the increased variables in decision making. Family factors
can include deferral, which is the decision to compromise one's career
development to support the career progress of a spouse or to attend to
the needs ofchildren (Raskin, 1998). Career-family conflict may be par-
ticularly problematic for women who experience role overload as a result
of the perception that they have primary responsibility for homemaking
and child raising (Betz, 1994). Professional women report that having
children makes career development more difficult (Betz & Fitzgerald,
1987). Being a member of a dual-career couple (Betz & Fitzgerald,
1987) makes career decision making more difficult in reconciling the
needs and opportunities of one partner in relation to the needs and op-
portunities of the other partner. The amount of social support during
times of stress can make life transitions easier or more difficult (Solberg
et al., 1998). However, input from family members may not always be
supportive and may result in increased complexity in decision making.
Even in cultures in which family involvement in the decisions ofa child or
spouse is highly valued, dysfunctional family input may exist (Leong &
Gim -Chung, 1995). The External Conflict scale of the Career Thoughts
Inventory (Sampson et aI., 1996a) is designed to identify the extent to
which dysfunctional thoughts associated with input from significant oth-
ers impedes problem solving.
Social factors can also contribute to or detract from career decision-
making readiness. Although social support in the form of modeling, net-
working, and caring can greatly facilitate career development, other fac-
tors such as discrimination, stereotyping, lack of role models, bias, and
harassment make individuals' career decision-making processes more com-
plicated. Discrimination on the basis of group membership (e.g., gender,
race, ethnicity, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability status, obesity,
poverty, and immigration status) may limit opportunity in education, train-
ing, and employment. The aforementioned groups may also be negatively
affected by stereotyping, lack ofrole models, bias in education, and harass-
ment in education and employment (Betz & Fitzgerald, 1987; Pope, 1995;
Ridley et al., 1998). Anticipating or directly experiencing these problems
makes it more difficult for individuals to develop schemas to integrate self-
knowledge and occupational knowledge schemata in the context ofdebili-
tating social factors. Also, individualsexperiencing discrimination in educa-
tion, training, and employment may be denied accurate feedback on their
abilities, which complicates the development of self schemata (e.g., it is
uncertain if their failure, or success, was based on their group membership
or their actual ability to perform in class or on the job).
Economic factors can support or inhibit readiness for career decision
making. The influence of economic factors on readiness can be experi-
enced on a general and a personal level. General economic factors in-
clude economic trends that influence the rate ofchange in the labor mar-
ket. For example, individuals in stable occupations and industries may be
able to benefit from the stable occupational knowledge that is transmitted
from parents and mentors, whereas individuals in rapidly evolving occu-
pations and industries may have to cope with rapidly changing occupa-

tional knowledge with little informed assistance from parents and men-
tors. On a personal level, poverty and the related difficulty in obtaining
housing, health care, and childcare makes it more difficult to think clearly
and engage in the complex information processing necessary to solve
career problems and make career decisions. Limited personal income
may also make it more difficult to fund education and training once an
occupational choice is made, reinforcing negative self-talk that educa-
tional and occupational success is not possible.
Organizational factors can help or hinder the readiness of employed
adults to make career decisions. The size of the organization can affect
the opportunity structure and the nature of the decision-making variables
considered. Large organizations typically have an internal employment
market that an employee can explore in addition to seeking a job in a
different organization. The larger number of options for employment in
a large organization make the decision more complex than in small orga-
nizations with limited opportunities. Ballantine (1993) also noted that
individuals need to consider the mission and objectives of the organiza-
tion in relation to their own sense of purpose and plan of action in mak-
ing career decisions. In larger organizations, this process of reconciling
the individual and the organization is more complex because of the di-
verse sources ofinformation available. Organizational culture influences
complexity in relation to the amount of support provided for employee
career development. In an organizational culture that supports effective
mentoring, supervision, and performance appraisal, employees are more
likely to have higher readiness to make career decisions. Organizations
with a culture that does not support employee career development may
result in employees being less well prepared to make career decisions.
The stability of the organization can also influence complexity. Stable
organizations with predictable opportunity structures tend to be lesscomplex
to negotiate compared with organizations that are rapidly expanding or
are being downsized.
The family, social, economic, and organizational factors just described
may combine to further reduce an individual's readiness for career deci-
sion making. For example, an individual experiencing discrimination may
also be living with very limited financial resources and many family re-
sponsibilities while he or she is attempting to negotiate a career change in
an organization that is downsizing. In addition to the External Conflict
scale of the Career Thoughts Inventory, some of the readiness instru-
ments in Table 1 can also be used to measure the complexity dimension
in this readiness model.
Using Readiness Assessment to Make Preliminary Decisions

About Appropriate Career Interventions
The two-dimentional model just discussed can be used to link readiness
assessment to making decisions about appropriate career interventions. Our
intention is to devise a schema that is detailed enough to adequately reflect
the diversity ofclient needs, yet easy enough for busy practitioners to use in
actual practice. The cost-effectiveness ofcareer service delivery depends on
the level of staff support meeting, but not exceeding, the needs of the
individual. Therefore, individuals initially judged to have high readiness for
occupational and employment decision making generally have the potential

to be most cost-effectively served by self-help services. Individuals ini-
tially judged to have moderate readiness for occupational and employ-
ment decision making have the potential to be most cost-effectively served
by brief staff-assisted services, whereas low readiness individuals are po-
tentially best served by individual case-managed services. For example,
practitioners would rarely sit one-on-one with high readiness individuals
while they use career resources such as an interest inventory, occupa-
tional information, or instruction on the job search process. However,
practitioners may occasionally need to sit one-an-one with a low readiness
client to help him or her to monitor negative self-talk that may be limiting
the individual's ability to effectively use a career resource. The relation-
ship between CIP readiness constructs (capability and complexity) and
levels of career service delivery (self-help, brief staff-assisted, and indi-
vidual case-managed) is shown in Figure 1.
The two-dimentional model of readiness for career decision making is
implemented in practice as follows. The sequence for screening and se-
lecting service delivery options based on decision-making readiness is
shown in Figure 2.
Several assumptions provide a foundation for the model depicted in Fig-
ure 2. First, a career center in an educational, agency, or organizational
setting is being used to deliver resources and services to individuals seeking
assistance with career,educational,training, and employment decisionmaking.
"Career resources include assessments, information sources, and in-
Complexity
(High)
Low readiness Moderate readiness

High degree of Moderate to low degree
support needed of support needed
(Individual Case-Managed (Brief Staff-Assisted
Services) Services)
Capability
(Low) - - - - - - - - f - - - - - - - ( H i g h )
Moderate readiness High readiness

Moderate to low degree No support needed
of support needed (Self-Help Services)
(Brief Staff-Assisted
Services)
(Low)
FIGURE 1
A Two-Dimensional Model of Readiness for Career
Decision Making

FIGURE 2
Screening and Selection of Service Delivery Options
structional media.... Career services include varying interventions

from practitioners designed to provide individuals with the type of assis-
tance (e.g., counseling, career course, or workshop) and the amount of
assistance (e.g., brief staff-assisted or individual case-managed services)
they need to make career, educational, training, and employment deci-
sions" (Sampson, 1999, p. 245). Second, the model is based on the as-
sumption that individuals have the option to seek career resources on a
self-help basis via the Internet or other self-help resources without being
physically present in a career center. Third, if either clients or practitioners
identify a lack ofprogress in the successful use ofself-help resources, readi-
ness assessment may be subsequently used to better match client needs with
service delivery options. Fourth, readiness assessment occurs in one step for
some clients and two steps for others. Fifth, clients and practitioners may
collaboratively decide to move from one levelofassistanceto another levelto
more appropriately meet clients' needs. For example, a client initially receiv-
ing individual case-managed services may improve in career decision-mak-
ing readiness to the point that he or she moves to brief staff-assisted services,
or a client initially receiving brief staff-assisted services may be more cost-
effectively served with a self-help or an individualized intervention as his or
her level of readiness changes or is more accurately assessed.
The first step in this model involves a brief screening upon entry to the
career center where clients are greeted and asked their reason for seek-
ing resources or services. If the subsequent response is judged by the
staff member to be a concrete request with no indication of a problem,

then self-help accessto career resources is provided without further screen-
ing. Reception staff with good verbal ability and effective communication
skills can perform this brief screening function with on-the-job training.
If the request for information is vague or if a career problem is apparent
such as disabling emotions, confusion, or a complex array ofcircumstances,
then a second, more comprehensive screening step occurs involving the
completion and interpretation ofa readiness assessment measure. Although
we use the Career Thoughts Inventory (Sampson et al., 1996a), other
assessments from Table 1 could be used at this point. The use of a readi-
ness assessment measure provides clients and practitioners with a common
frame ofreference for discussing individual needs. Using the model shown
in Figure 1 a recommendation for an appropriate level of service (self-
help, brief staff-assisted, and individual case-managed services) is then
provided on the basis of the collaborative judgment of the practitioner
and the client. As stated previously, practitioners should use a combina-
tion of test and interview data in discussing readiness with clients. The
comprehensive screening function requires a professional or parapro-
fessional who has demonstrated knowledge of career development, as-
sessment, and career service delivery along with supervised experience in
the use of readiness assessment measures.
If screening is not completed prior to receiving career services, clients
with low readiness for decision making may be underserved by staff who
are unaware of their substantial need for help, whereas high readiness
clients may be overserved by staffwho deliver costly individualized inter-
ventions when less expensive approaches would likely be as effective. In
this model, screening clients at the beginning ofservice delivery increases
the likelihood that the services delivered are congruent with the needs of
clients. As a result of better allocating scarce staff resources (Holland,
1998), staff will have time to serve more clients with briefer interventions
or will have more time to deliver intensive individualized interventions to
assist clients with extensive needs (Sampson et al., 1999). The nature of
self-help, briefstaff-assisted, and individual case-managed services is de-
scribed in the following section.
Self-Help Services
Self-help services involve self-guided use of self-assessment, information,
and instructional resources in a library-like or Internet-based remote set-
ting, where resources have been designed for independent use by indi-
viduals with a high readiness for occupational and employment decision
making. Successful use ofcareer service interventions in a self-help mode
depends on (a) accurately assessing user needs during brief screening in
a career center to ensure that there is a reasonable likelihood that the
independent use ofcareer resources will meet the individual's needs; (b)
accurately linking individual needs to Internet Web site resources; (c) the
availability ofan effective "safety net" that provides reasonable opportu-
nities for identifying individuals who are not making successful use of
self-help career resources and then providing a higher level of service
(e.g., brief periodic checking with users to ask, "Are you finding the
information you need?"); (d) the availability ofstaff (in person or via tele-
phone, videoconferencing, or e-mail) to respond to basic questions about
career resource use (e.g., clarifying interpretation of self-assessment

instruments and solving problems related to the use of a specific
resource); (e) the availability of easy-to-understand text and multimedia
support materials and signage to assist individuals in selecting, locating,
sequencing, and using career resources and services that relate to indi-
viduals' needs; and (f) the availability of text and multimedia career re-
sources that are self-instructional and easy to use, including appropriate
readabilityfor the populations being served (Sampson, 1998, 1999; Sampson
& Reardon, 1998).
In self-help services, high readiness individuals are provided little or no
assistance from staff. Guiding and monitoring the selection, location,
sequencing, and use of resources is the responsibility of the individual
with support provided within the resources being used. Resource guides
that suggest selected assessment, information, and instructional options
for common career concerns can be used to facilitate the selection pro-
cess. Appropriate signage and indexes aid in locating resources. Effective
self-help resources are designed to help users understand when and how
the resource should be used, including the circumstances when counsel-
ing assistance may be needed. Aggregate data are maintained for pro-
gram evaluation and accountability.
Brief Staff-Assisted Services

Briefstaff-assisted services involve practitioner-guided use ofassessment,
information, and instructional resources in a library-like, classroom, or
group setting for clients with moderate readiness for occupational and
employment decision making. Successful use of career service interven-
tions in a brief staff-assisted mode depends on (a) accurately assessing
user needs during comprehensive screening to ensure that there is a rea-
sonable likelihood that minimally supported use of career resources will
meet the individual's needs; (b) the availability ofan effective "safety net"
that provides reasonable opportunities for identifying individuals who are
not making successful use of career resources; and (c) the availability of
staff in the career library to respond to basic questions about career
resource use.
In brief staff-assisted services, moderate readiness individuals are pro-
vided minimal assistance from staff. Practitioners are responsible for
collaboratively guiding and monitoring the selection, location, sequenc-
ing, and use of resources with the individual learning plan documenting
goals and resources selected with related outcomes. As with self-help
services, aggregate data are maintained for program evaluation and
accountability. Examples of brief staff-assisted services include (a) self-
directed career decision making, (b) career courses with large group
interaction, (c) short-term group counseling, and (d) workshops.
Self-directed career decision making involves practitioner-guided use of
self-assessment, information, and instructional resources in a career li-
brary. Practitioners complete scheduled periods ofservice delivery in the
library with clients served on a first-come, first-served basis. Continuity
in service delivery resides in staff teamwork and collaboratively devel-
oped written individual learning plans, as opposed to the behavior of any
single staff member. As a result, the client is not restricted to the available
appointment times of anyone practitioner. Clients can proceed quickly
or slowly, choosing to spend considerable time working with several staff

members or choosing to work with one staff member during their as-
signed times in the career resource room if they value the relationship
with one particular practitioner. Staff members need to be capable of
quickly establishing helping relationships, clarifying client progress in
completing the individual learning plan, and subsequently revising the
individual learning plan if new needs become apparent in working with
the client. Common staff training is needed to reduce the chances of
inconsistent or disjointed service delivery when multiple staff serve one
individual (Sampson & Reardon, 1998; Sampson et aI., 1999). The avail-
ability of practitioners in a library-like setting allows modeling of infor-
mation-seeking behavior and the provision of timely encouragement and
reinforcement ofclient exploratory behavior (Sampson & Reardon, 1998).
Staff can assist clients in selecting, locating, sequencing, and using re-
sources on the basisofthe creation and regular reviewofindividuallearning
plans. Practitioner availability also provides users with opportunities for
relatively immediate follow-up of resource use during the learning event.
Reardon (1996) noted that self-directed career decision making can be
used to cost-effectively deliver career service interventions.
Career courseswith large group interaction involve instructor-guided use
of resources in a classroom setting with minimal opportunity for inter-
personal interaction among students. Screening is accomplished by stu-
dents self-selecting to register for the course or by having an adviser or
instructor recommend the course. The use of career resources can be
individualized through student learning contracts, or the same career
resources can be assigned for all students in a predetermined order. Fac-
ulty grading of student assignments (e.g., completion ofcareer resources)
provides the "safety net" to identify students who may have low readiness
for occupational and employment decision making and who therefore
may need more individualized assistance.
Short-termgroup counseling involvespractitioner-guided use ofresources
in a group setting with minimal opportunity for sharing information or
for developing group cohesion. Screening for career services can occur
at the same time that screening for group membership occurs. The use
of career resources by members can be linked to specific needs via an
individual learning plan for each group member. Or, if a more structured
group approach is followed in which all members complete a common
set of career resources, group sessions can be used to process members'
experience in using specific resources.
Workshops involve practitioner-guided use ofresources in a group setting
with little or no opportunity for sharing information or for developing group
cohesion among individuals. If a workshop has a predetermined sequence
of topics, resource use follows the topic sequencing. Ifworkshop top-
ics vary each time according to participant needs, resource use will
also vary.
Individual Case-Managed Services

Individual case-managed services involve practitioner-guided use of
assessment, information, and instructional resources in an individual office,
classroom, or group setting for clients with low readiness for occupa-
tional and employment decision making. Successful use of career service
interventions in an individual case-managed mode depends on (a) accu-

rately assessing user needs during comprehensive screening to ensure
that there is a reasonable likelihood that the supported use of career
resources will meet the individual's needs, (b) the availability of staff in
the career library to respond to basic questions about career resource use
(e.g., clarifying interpretation ofself-assessment instruments and solving
problems related to the use ofa specific resource), and (c) the availability
of practitioners who are competent to integrate career and mental health
counseling in dealing with individual's low readiness for occupational and
employment decision making.
In individual case-managed services, low readiness individuals are pro-
vided substantial assistance from staff. As with brief staff-assisted ser-
vices, practitioners are responsible for collaboratively guiding and moni-
toring the selection, location, sequencing, and use of resources as docu-
mented on the individual learning plan. In comparison with other levels
ofservice delivery, the individualized approach includes the maintenance
ofindividual records to document services. Examples ofindividual case-
managed services include (a) individual counseling, (b) career courses
with small group interaction, and (c) long-term group counseling.
Individual counseling involves practitioner-guided use of resources in
an individual office setting. Individual counseling offers maximum flex-
ibility in relating counseling interventions to the needs of the individual.
The time available allows the practitioner to provide more detailed orien-
tations and follow-up to resource use, as well as providing assistance in
actually using resources (such as occupational information). The nature
of individuals' use of career resources provides practitioners with infor-
mation about factors that may be contributing to low readiness for deci-
sion making. For example, individuals' comments about potential occu-
pations resulting from the completion of an interest inventory may indi-
cate specific negative self-talk that can be identified, challenged, and al-
tered. The nature of the supportive relationship established between the
practitioner and the client over time may be a key element in client will-
ingness to risk the inevitable change associated with decision making.
Career courseswith small-group interaction involve instructor-guided
use of resources in a classroom setting with considerable opportunity
for interpersonal interaction among individuals and instructors. The pre-
viously described counseling interventions for a career course with large
group interaction apply here as well. The difference is that by meeting
with small groups of students in addition to large group lectures, in-
structors have the opportunity to gain more information about the na-
ture ofstudent decision-making difficulties and can provide more assis-
tance to students in improving their readiness for occupational and
employment choice. Dividing the class into small groups of students
can improve the capability of students to learn from each other via
modeling and reinforcement.
Long-termgroup counseling involvespractitioner-guided use ofresources
in a group setting with considerable opportunity for sharing information
and the development ofgroup cohesion among members. The previously
described counseling interventions for short-term group counseling ap-
ply here as well. The difference is that the longer duration of the group
allows the development of group cohesion necessary to confront and
change typically long established problematic patterns of thinking, feel-
166 The Career Development Quarterly December 2000' Volume 49

ing, and behaving. The longer duration of the group also provides poten-
tial support over a larger proportion of the decision-making process (e.g.,
supporting members in following through on an action plan to imple-
ment their goals). This type of group also allows for more integration of
career and mental health issues for low readiness clients.
In summary, self-help services, brief staff-assisted services, and indi-
vidual case-managed services vary in terms of the readiness of the user,
the level of assistance provided, who guides resource use, where the ser-
vices are provided, the selection and sequencing of resources and ser-
vices, and record keeping. Table 2 summarizes variation among these
three levels of service delivery.
Relating Readiness Assessment to Decision StatusTaxonomies

A variety of decision status taxonomies have been created to assist prac-
titioners in more readily understanding clients' needs and in selecting
appropriate interventions. Taxonomies typically integrate varying amounts
of theory, research, and practice in describing potential client needs. Some
taxonomies also include a specific measure of the elements in the tax-
onomy (e.g., Gati et aI., 1996; see Herr and Cramer, 1996, for a review
of taxonomies for identifying client problems in career decision making).
The CIP decision status taxonomy in career problem solving and deci-
sion making (Peterson et aI., 1991, 1996) comprises three major catego-
ries: decided, undecided, and indecisive. Decided individuals have made a
private or public commitment to a specific occupational choice. Unde-
cided individuals have not committed to a specific occupational choice
TABLE 2
Variation in Career Interventions by Level of Service Delivery

Brief Individual
Self-Help Staff-Assisted Case-Managed
Element Services Services Services
Readiness of the High Moderate Low
user
Assistance Little or none Minimal Substantial
provided
Who guides The user A practitioner A practitioner
resource use
Where services Library-like or Library-like, Individual office,
are provided remote settings classroom, or classroom, or
group settings group settings
Selection and Resource guides Individual learning Individual learning
sequencing of plans plans
resources and
services
Record keeping Aggregate data for Aggregate data for Individual records
program program
evaluation and evaluation and
accountability accountability

because of knowledge gaps necessary for choosing. Indecisive individuals
have not made a commitment to a specific occupational choice because
of gaps in the knowledge necessary for choosing, while also having a
maladaptive approach to problem solving in general that is accompanied
by a dysfunctional level ofanxiety. In relation to the readiness assessment
model presented in this article, decided and undecided individuals are
most cost-effectively served by self-help and brief staff-assisted interven-
tions, whereas indecisive individuals are most cost-effectively served by
individual case-managed interventions.
Counseling Strategies for Enhancing Client Readiness for

Career Decision Making
Readiness for career decision making, like career maturity, is not a
static individual characteristic. Over time, it is possible for the capability
of the individual to increase and the complexity of his or her career
problem to decrease. When readiness assessment indicates "that an
individual's readiness has been less than optimal, intervention would be
directed to remediating those aspects of the individual's readiness that
have lagged" (Phillips & Blustein, 1994, p. 65). Savickas and Walsh
(1996) stated that career theory needs to go beyond clarifying voca-
tional behavior to include procedures for fostering the career develop-
ment of clients. Blustein and Flum (1999) stated that "interventions
need to help clients attain a readiness to make career decisions and
clarify their interests" (p. 362). Levinson et al. (1998) noted that a
primary goal of career counseling is fostering career decision-making
readiness. Super (1983) stated that individuals "need to be helped to
identify the types of experiences that they need in order to be equipped
to make the educational and occupational decisions required by their
own psychological and social development and the structure and con-
tent of our educational and occupational systems" (p. 559).
The counselor may assist the client to deal more effectively with the
capability dimension of readiness by helping the client view career
services as providing a potential opportunity to help her or him be-
come more adept at career problem solving and decision making. As a
result, the client will likely be more motivated to identify, challenge,
and alter past dysfunctional thoughts that have limited her or his deci-
sion-making capability. The client will also likely be better motivated
to follow through with the exploratory behaviors necessary to develop
the self, occupational, and decision-making schemata necessary to make
an appropriate career choice. The counselor can also assist the client
to deal more effectively with the complexity dimension of readiness
by helping the client acquire more adaptive coping strategies related
to family, social, economic, and organizational factors that influence
career development. The establishment ofan effective helping relation-
ship; collaboration in assessing needs, setting goals, and selecting
resources; the use of theory to better understand and manage the
decision-making process; the modeling and reinforcement of in for-
mation-seeking behavior; and framing the problem space in neutral
rather than in judgmental terms can help provide the conditions necessary
to help clients improve their readiness for career decision making
(Peterson et aI., 1996).

Conclusion
Additional research and development efforts are needed if readiness assess-
ment is to make a substantive contribution to improving the effectiveness
ofcareer interventions. When readiness assessment instruments are evalu-
ated in terms of content related to the constructs of capability and com-
plexity, there are proportionately fewer scales that measure complexity.
Given the increasing awareness of the importance ofcontextual factors in
career decision making, additional measures ofcomplexity need to be de-
veloped and validated. Current readiness measures vary considerably in
the quality ofreliability and validitydata reported in test manuals, especially
data related to the appropriateness of measures for various diverse popula-
tions. Those measures reporting limited evidence of reliability and validity
need further research before being adopted for general use by practitio-
ners. Finally, neither test manuals nor the professional literature provides
much information on the integration of readiness assessment measures
into career service delivery. Practitioners need recommendations, based
on research and evaluation studies, on how to use readiness assessment to
select a leveland type ofcounseling support that will best help clients benefit
from career interventions. For example, does the use of readiness
assessment contribute to more accurate appraisals of client need for
support during career decision making? What is the extent of consis-
tency among practitioners in making collaborative judgments about the
level of client readiness for decision making? To what extent do novice
and expert practitioners differ in their conceptualization ofclient career
decision-making readiness? Does readiness assessment contribute to
improved cost-effectiveness of career interventions?
The five-step sequence presented in this article for implementing readiness
assessment into the delivery of career services is intended to provide a
generic process for the use ofa variety ofreadiness constructs and measures
identified in this article. The two-dimensional model ofreadiness presented
in this article, based on the cognitive information-processing approach to
career problem solving and decision making, is a theory-based approach
to use readiness assessment to make preliminary decisions about appropri-
ate career interventions for individuals. The ultimate goal of this model is
to avoid overserving or underserving individuals by increasing the congru-
ence between client needs and the capacity ofcareer interventions to cost-
effectively meet these needs. Appropriate use ofreadiness assessmentshould
increase the likelihood that the right career resource will be used by the
right person with the right level ofsupport at the lowest possible cost.
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Using Readiness Assessment

James P. Sampson, Jr.

Clarifying the nature of an individual's career problem is an important

146 The Career Development Quarterly December 2000 • Volume 49

The lIse of Readiness Assessment Measures

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Step 1: Select a Readiness Construct

Step 2: Select a Readiness Measure

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Step 3: Integrate Readiness Data and Develop Hypotheses

Step 4: Collaborate in Goal Setting and Intervention Planning

The Career Development Quarterly December 2000· Volume 49 149

A Partial Listing of Instruments That Can Be Used as a Component of Readiness Assessment

Instrument, Authors, and No. of

Adult Career Concerns Inventory 61 A) Exploration (crystallization, specification, implementation)

A Partial Listing of Instruments That Can Be Used as a Component of Readiness Assessment

Instrument, Authors, and No. of

A Partial Listing of Instruments That Can Be Used as a Component of Readiness Assessment

Instrument, Authors, and No. of

(table continued on next page)

A Partial Listing of Instruments That Can Be Used as a Component of Readiness Assessment

Instrument, Authors, and No. of

Career Transitions Inventory 72 Readiness, Confidence, Control, Support, Independence

A Partial Listing of Instruments That Can Be Used as a Component of Readiness Assessment

Instrument, Authors, and No. of

Limitations of Current Readiness Assessment

A Cognitive Information-Processing Approach to

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Using Readiness Assessment to Make Preliminary Decisions

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Low readiness Moderate readiness

Moderate readiness High readiness

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structional media.... Career services include varying interventions

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Brief Staff-Assisted Services

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Individual Case-Managed Services

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Relating Readiness Assessment to Decision StatusTaxonomies

Variation in Career Interventions by Level of Service Delivery

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Counseling Strategies for Enhancing Client Readiness for

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