As previously stated, the expanding and narrowing phases are not totally dichotomous activities. Some narrowing inevitably occurs in the early phase when the client rejects an occupation encountered in the preliminary stage. If the client's rationale for discarding it appears reasonable there is little advantage to pursuing it further. If, however, the response appears hasty, based on inadequate or biased information, or as an outgrowth of lack of self-understanding, some discussion at that point may be useful to retain the option for further consideration. Similarly, a client well along in the narrowing phase may encounter information or insight relative to an option being considered that leads to recognition of an entirely new group of occupations not already being investigated. Nevertheless, it is usually advantageous to think of the two-step sequence of first building a broadly based list related to those criteria identified by the client as most important in his or her choice process, and then, second, examining that list more critically by matching the listed items against the set of personal criteria as grouped and weighted by the client.
If the first phase involves a heavy teaching role for the counselor because of the use of various translating devices, the second phase turns to major emphasis on counseling. During this phase it is essential for the client to have a clear enough picture of self, motivations and goals, and his or her situation to be able to set priorities consistent with that total picture. Further, it is crucial for the client to have sufficient self-confidence in that evaluation to use it to reject occupational options. The counselor is likely to find the client often needs help in balancing the necessary contradiction between flexibility and commitment, in searching for further clues to support his or her present self-concept, and in accepting new insights of self that may open new opportunities or close ones previously considered. It is the counselor's task to facilitate the process, not by directing, selling, or entreating, but rather by providing support, enhancing self-understanding, and helping gain access to the necessary information.
The narrowing phase usually starts with rejection of those alternatives that are clearly incongruous with the client's self-image. As the process moves forward, the client focuses more sharply on the comparison of his or her view of self with the mental image he or she has of each occupation on the list.
It is readily apparent that many of the procedures described above can also be used just as easily and properly in the narrowing phase. We will avoid duplicating discussion of application of those devices, since the use in this phase remains constant and only the purpose has changed. There are also other aspects to consider in the narrowing phase and our discussion here will focus on those. We will look at four broad topics, namely, self-oriented factors, externally oriented factors, career information, and the choice process. The reader must keep in mind that the client has now developed a fairly extensive list of occupations, each of which has positive relevance to one or more of his or her personal attributes. The client and counselor are now concerned with reducing that list, -after appropriate exploration and discussion, to a few occupations that can be described as "best fit," "apparently appropriate," "best bets," or similar terms and from which tentative choices can be made. In general, our purpose is to help the client identify those occupations that reflect the area in which the client's most valued personal attributes and other relevant factors interact. Successfully completing this task requires the client to match his or her assessment of self and environment against credible information about the occupations on the extended list.
Self-oriented factors
Previous counseling sessions with the client, while aimed primarily at identifying the nature of the problem, have also provided considerable opportunity for the client to clarify the depth and breadth of self-understanding. In situations where that has been thoroughly covered, this portion of the narrowing phase can be completed rapidly and provides a basis for client and counselor to check on the extent to which the client is aware of the impact of these factors on career planning and has resolved or is ready to resolve the effect of that impact. In those situations where the client has not dealt with these matters, consideration is now necessary before the narrowing of options can be undertaken.
Attitudinal propensities-- this heading includes a group of personal characteristics that bear on the individual's likelihood of making and completing plans. Many of these are abstract and difficult to measure precisely, yet each is an important component of the individual. Terms like "idiosyncrasy" and "quirk" suggest an aspect of peculiarity that distorts the nature of these factors, and words like "trait" or "characteristic" fall short of the particularity that really applies to the individual. Each is a product of the previous interaction between individual and environment and can be modified over time. The items discussed here are intended to be representative, rather than to constitute a comprehensive list.
The amount of drive or motivation possessed by the individual is important to evaluate early because this factor will bear on retaining or eliminating occupations on the list according to their location on the easy-difficult continuum. Individuals with high desire for achievement may be able to cope successfully with occupational challenges that lie beyond the range where average drive would be expected to succeed. Similarly, highly able individuals with low motivation may prefer to consider occupations that demand less than their abilities might suggest.
Another factor that must be considered is the client's ability and willingness to accept delayed gratification. Individuals with short fuses-those with low tolerance for delayed gratification-are unlikely to persist through lengthy training programs or situations where the payoff is likely to be slow.
Similarly, another important attitudinal propensity is the client's definition of acceptable risk. Some occupations, for example, medicine, require outstanding achievement in a lengthy preliminary preparatory program before individuals are selected for the specific training program. Consideration of such an occupation requires acceptance of high risk because several difficult obstacles, each involving considerable hazard, must be overcome in the process of gaining admission to the field. The person who cannot live with a high degree of uncertainty over an extended period may feel that the pressure is greater than he or she wishes to sustain.
The client may react to perceived attitudes and viewpoints of family members or important others. Such reactions can occur in either direction: one in which the client almost automatically acts to please that other person and accepts unquestioningly that person's opinion, or one in which the client sees the view of that other as a challenge and tends to choose the opposite position. Either tendency can distort the individual's ability to evaluate self and occupational options, thus leading to complicating attitudes in the narrowing phase. Consideration of such possibilities before discussion of specific alternatives may help the client to keep such influences in better perspective.
Clients sometimes establish financial and/or time limitations, especially applicable to preparatory programs, or to such intermediate goals as reaching a level of income or independence. If such limitations are held by the client and they appear to be realistic and appropriate, their impact on possible choices must be considered. If, however, the limitations are due to inadequate information, unfamiliarity with potential resources, or similar factors, the client deserves help in evaluating them before they are used to eliminate options that otherwise might be appropriately considered.
The client also needs to consider and verbalize, in generalities, the personal goals that he or she holds. Considering these dreams for certain time points of the future (maybe five, ten, and twenty years from now) in terms of desired achievements, lifestyle, and opportunities may also provide a useful basis for considering occupational options in the narrowing phase.
Multiple personal attributes-- Although personal attributes are usually considered singly in the expanding phase, it is simplistic to think that only one factor is important in the narrowing phase. Individuals are composites of many attributes that exist in variable quantities from one person to the next, and these characteristics are valued by each individual in unique ways. It is probably just as simplistic to think that an occupation exists that requires exactly the mix of all attributes that any one individual possesses.
Either during the initial interview or during the discussion of test results, time is often spent helping the client to evaluate his or her attributes and to identify those valued most highly. A review of that earlier discussion, or consideration of the topic at this point, will help the client to establish some priority in viewing those factors. This is important for the client because, almost always, choices among attributes must be made in the narrowing phase. Attempting to place major emphasis upon several different characteristics can result in the elimination of almost every occupation on the expanded list.
The impact of this failure to set priorities can be demonstrated vividly to a client by using a random array of the overlay transparencies in the Occupational View-Deck, Almost any mix of five or six of these variables will exclude all code numbers. Some clients will emphasize attributes that conflict with each other, for example, a strong desire to work in a people-oriented and in a things-oriented situation. Holland (1973) describes such preferences as incongruent. The result is a drastic reduction in the number of occupations that can fit such an inversion, sometimes necessitating an either-or choice.
Establishing some priority among the personal attributes and other factors also assists the client in understanding the compromise aspect of the narrowing phase. Further, identifying and reviewing those factors most prized by the client will expedite the use of career materials in the narrowing process since it helps the client maintain focus on the job-related characteristics he or she considers most important.
Externally oriented factors
Restrictive externally oriented factors that seriously affect the choice process have been discussed. Because every individual interacts with the environment, it is useful to review that interaction as the client begins the narrowing phase. Factors to be identified are any matters that may cause some occupations on the list to appear more or less desk- able, available, or appropriate to the client. When such influences are found, client and counselor should consider whether there are ways to overcome, minimize, or capitalize on their impact, or if it is wiser to proceed with the narrowing process while accepting the restrictions. Examples of externally oriented influences include access to opportunity, employment trends, or economic conditions.
Access to opportunity includes both the availability of preparatory programs and the possibility of subsequent employment. The individual who is geographically bound for whatever reason cannot realistically consider occupations in which both local training and local employment are not present. Client and counselor need to review such limitations before moving forward. If the identified boundaries of mobility appear to restrict opportunity, it may be useful to explore the availability of alternative programs. For example, a homemaker now contemplating employment outside the home would like to complete her interrupted college degree program but feels that her family responsibilities prevent regular attendance at the nearest degree-granting school. Before limiting consideration to locally available non-degree fields, the client can be helped to explore the existence of external degree programs, intensive courses, extension work for credit, and similar methods for overcoming the barriers she has identified. If suitable alternatives cannot be developed, then realistic consideration can only be given to those occupations that do not require a degree. Similarly, the geographically bound person needs to evaluate the chances for later employment and, unless such opportunities exist within the geographic area, preparation may be meaningless. Geographic limitation is only one example of factors that may restrict access to both preparation and later employment. Other restrictive elements might include local attitudes and practices, family attitudes or needs, financial problems, transportation difficulties, care for dependents, and other reasons.
Technological Changes
Employment trends may also be an important factor for some individuals. Long-run changes affect some groups of occupations in different ways. Technological changes may cause some occupations to undergo extended periods of readjustment, with some fields declining over a long time while others grow. Sometimes these changes may occur on an industry-wide basis with many different causes interacting. The increased use of robot machines, greater use of components produced in foreign factories, reduced sales because of higher prices, difficult credit terms, and greater competition from foreign manufacturers have all changed employment patterns in the American automobile industry. Many of the changes may be long-lasting or permanent. If the client's list of occupations to be considered includes several that are subject to factors such as these, the client may wish to clarify his or her attitudes toward the pressures exerted by such outside forces and determine the extent to which they are to be included in the evaluation of occupational possibilities.
Economic conditions are often viewed from a national perspective, and long-term cyclical trends clearly have a broad impact on the expansion and contraction of occupational opportunities. In addition to national/regional economic conditions, one must also be aware of the considerable variations that occur within smaller geographic units. For example, two adjacent areas may have sizable differences in both short-term and long-range employment possibilities. This is clearly seen in communities that are dominated by one or two industries with a resulting "boom or bust" economic situation.
Total freedom from externally oriented factors is a mythical state because every individual relates to his or her environment in numerous ways. Some of the ties to family, community, educational background, ethnic group, and other aspects of the world that surround the person affect in significant ways the choices that can be made. The client who sees and understands these influences and who decides to deal with them is clearly in a better position to make appropriate choices than the person who either is unaware of these factors or decides to ignore them.
