Frank Parsons Father Of Career Development
Author: Charles Williams

Career development is considered by many to be an integral part
and parcel of anyone's training who fathoms her - or himself as
going into business.

It used to be the case that young people used to graduate from
school, take an entry-level position with a company, and then
over the years rise through the ranks and eventually retire
from that company after a life-long service.

In today's fast-paced and every-changing global economy, such
loyalty to a company – or to an employee for that matter – is
unheard of.

Add to this the fact that entry level jobs are no longer for
the recent graduates and young people, but more and more often
fall to the more seasoned job-changers, it is not surprising
that colleges have taken to preparing their graduates to excel
in the job market with classes on career development.

Yet did you know that the person who may very well be credited
with the concept of career development is all but forgotten.

If someone mentioned the name Frank Parsons to you, would you
recognize it?

Many probably would not, and it is not surprising, since he
died almost 100 years ago. A teacher by profession, an engineer
by training, and a suffragist and social reformer by passion,
Mr. Parsons soon realized that his true calling was to help
laborers, unemployed workers, recent immigrants, and those
ready to leave academia to think through their career goals and
choices.

Frank Parson's did not realize his true calling until about
seven years before his death, but in that short period of time
he succeeded in making his services used at the Civic Service
House which was a gift by a noted philanthropist of the time.

He went on to expand his services in response to what he saw to
be an overwhelming need for career guidance by not only the
select few, but also by the masses, and his work was rewarded
by the Boston heads of academia when they created a career
counselor certification program for others who wanted to follow
in the footsteps of Mr. Parsons.

His concepts were surprisingly simple, and are still in use
today. First and foremost, Mr. Parsons wanted everyone entering
the job market to consider what her or his talents and interests
were.

Not at all subscribing to the notion that any jobseeker should
be grateful for whatever she or he could get, he instead wanted
individuals to take stock of their abilities and really think
about what kind of work would make them happy and cause them to
feel fulfilled.

Secondly, he wanted the jobseeker to continue taking stock of
the employment situation by having knowledge about the jobs
that were available, the pay they offered, and the foreseeable
ladder of success that would await a qualified worker.

Then, he would help workers to decide if they liked what they
saw, or if perhaps a different line of work or even company
would be in their better interests.


About The Author: Charles Williams is a writer for
http://www.lsft.org which is an excellent place to find career
development links, For more information go to:www.lsft.org