Career Counseling in College - Essay Example

? Career Counseling in College Providing effective and realistic career counseling to single mothers can be challenging especially with the ever increasing complexity work environment and evolving stereotypes about working women. However, counselors have an opportunity to provide their advice to women who have chosen to be single mothers while at the same time working in a normal work environment. There is need for counselors to consider the specific needs of this group of women even as they offer their career counseling advice to ensure that single moms are in a better position to juggle between their work and home based responsibilities. This paper discusses main things to consider when offering career counsel to single mothers. The paper discusses how a career counseling theory can be used by counselors to address career counseling problems to single mothers. Key words: career counselors, single mothers, work environment Career Counseling in College Introduction The dynamic economic conditions and cultural obligations have caused many single women to look for jobs in order to be able to fend for their families. While the provisional conditions in a single parent family have dramatically changed, with the fact that mothers are the breadwinners in their families, the traditional role of motherhood has not changed. Single mothers are expected, whether by choice or coercion, to provide the same kind of love and care to their children in a more open upbringing as if they were living with a man (Uchendu, 1996). Therefore, single mothers have to carefully consider the type of career guide they choose for them to effectively juggle their roles between these demanding roles. Career counselors have always come in handy to help single mothers choose a career and by so doing need to consider several factors that will determine the kind of career a single mother enters. This paper addresses factors that career counselors consider in regard to careers to single mothers. Factors Career Counselors Should Consider with Regard to Single Mothers According to Fuller, Kershaw & Pulkingham (2008), working single mothers are less likely to return to their work when their children are born. This is because they have to deal with the responsibilities of providing care to their children besides doing other household chores. As such, career counselors need to consider the issue of family matters when advising would be single mothers because the responsibilities in future seem to overshadow the need to stay in a permanent job while ignoring the children. Morrison et al (1999) observed that single mothers can easily quit their job if they discover that their children are not likely to get the kind of upbringing that they want them to have. This, therefore,means that care counselors need to consider the issue of quitting a job to care for children without necessarily affecting the income that the family is going to have in the future. Therefore, career counselors need to advice single mothers to chose a career that will allow them time to care for their children while still keeping their jobs. Some jobs require people to be around in a fixed time like from morning to evening without necessarily working extra hours. In such a case, a single mother may find it difficult to attend to both demanding roles and in the end quit the job to care for the children. While this is the case, such mothers would have chosen a career that suits their schedule once in a while so that they have half of the day with their children and without necessarily quitting their jobs. Another issue that career counselors need to focus on is the workplace environment. According to Morrison et al (1999), some work place environment views single mothers as less productive that married women. The counselors while advising a single mother on the kind of job she needs to enter should consider the work environment that the woman is going to work. Characteristically, the traditionally male-dominated jobs will obviously present a challenge to a single mother who wants to pay attention for her family. The sexual advances from male colleagues in such an environment are likely going to be high, and this may disrupt the attention that the single mother wants to give to her family. Evidently, single mothers need to have support from their significant others in order to manage their time well between their work and family and not be disrupted with dates and other offers from male colleagues. This may cause the single mother to pay little attention to their work and family and cause insurmountable consequences to both responsibilities. Similarly, career counselors should consider giving counseling services that go beyond careers for single women because they are always dealing with other challenges besides the need to work. For instance, the careers can address the issues of single parenthood and the stigma that comes with such responsibilities (Collins, Tiedje & Stommel, 1992). They should also consider addressing the issues of relationship with male colleagues and other people that a single mother interacts with and give moral support to them. This is going to encourage them to seek for better jobs in the future since it will build confidence in them. The emotional support that career counselors are going to give to single mothers should help them to make a sound decision with regard to the kind of job they want to pursue. Ultimately, the career counselors also need to address the overall impact that the job that a single mother is hoping to enter in terms of upward growth and satisfaction that a single mother is expecting from that particular job. The impact that the job is going to have on children in terms of their basic needs, and other forms of support is also important since the single mother should not be advised to enter a job that will not assist the children in their development. Career theory and how its tenets will be used to single mothers Career decision-making theory stipulates that a person has the sole responsibility of making the final decision with regard to what they want to pursue as a career (Amundson, 2005). As such, the theory is applicable to the single mothers in the sense that after receiving advice from career counselors on the best career to pursue, a single mother should be able to make a personal and deliberate decision to enter a career that will be best suited for her dual roles as a mother and an employee. Additionally, the theory allows the person to evaluate and weigh the available career options before deciding which one is going to fit them well. Ultimately, single mothers should carry out an evaluation of the available options listing done the pros and cons of each option and determining which one is going to fit them well as single mothers. Single mothers also are likely to switch jobs regularly because of their responsibilities. Such mothers need to have a transition period when they decide to move to the next job so as to have enough time to deliberate over their decisions and ensure that the job they are entering will serve them right. Conclusion From this analysis, it is logical to conclude that single mothers face many challenges in the families as breadwinners. The fact that a woman is a single mother does not give her a reason to subjugate her maternal responsibilities for some formal responsibilities at work places. This means that a single mother needs to get it right from the word go to avoid future frustrations when it comes to performing her roles as a mother and a career woman. Both roles are equally demanding hence she will have to have the right job for her if she is going to manage the two responsibilities. References Amundson, N. (2005). The Potential Impact of Global Changes in Work for Career Theory and Practice. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 91-99 Collins, C., Tiedje, L. B., & Stommel, M. (1992). Promoting positive well-being in employed mothers: A pilot study. Health Care for Women International, vol. 13, no.1, pp. 77-85. Fuller, S., Kershaw, S.  & Pulkingham, J. (2008). Constructing ‘Active Citizenship’: Single Mothers, Welfare, and the Logics of Voluntarism. Citizenship Studies, vol.12, no.2, pp. 157-176 Morrison, W., Page, G., Sehl, M. & Smith, H. (1999). Single Mothers in Canada: An Analysis. Canadian Journal of Community. Mental Health, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 160-175 Uchendu, P.K. (1996). Female Education: An Essential Factor for Meaningful Sustainable Development. Counselor, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 227-231 Read More