Career Intervention Outcomes

Effectiveness of Career Interventions

In examining the effectiveness of any intervention, researchers often compare those who have received the intervention to those who have not received it. Concerning the effectiveness of career interventions compared to no treatment, three meta-analyses have been published, and they indicate that career interventions tend to be moderately to very effective. In considering the results of these three meta-analytic reviews, it appears that the overall effect sizes for career interventions tend to fall in the range of .30 to .60. Although complicated weighting procedures are typically used in meta-analysis, an effect size is essentially the average difference between those who received the treatment and those who did not. Thus, an effect size of .30 means those who received a career intervention were about a third of a standard deviation above the control group, while an effect size of .60 reflects that the treatment group was closer to two-thirds of a standard deviation above the control group. Effect sizes in this range are often considered to indicate that the interventions are “moderately” effective. However, even the most conservative effect size of .30 shows that the average career client exceeds 62 percent of the control group. Furthermore, the benefits from career counseling appear to continue for clients. In following up with clients 1 to 12 months after receiving career counseling, Charles Healy found that 85 percent of the clients reported continued progress (e.g., pursuing degrees, gathering information, and changing occupations). Although career interventions appear to be moderately effective, it should be noted that different career interventions have been found to vary significantly in their effectiveness.

Which Career Interventions are Most Helpful?

Susan Whiston combined the average effect sizes from two previous meta-analyses and found that career classes and individual career counseling were the most effective interventions. In fact, both individual career counseling and career classes have very large effect sizes. A second group of interventions had effect sizes in the moderate range, and these interventions were group career counseling, group test interpretation, workshop or structured groups, and computer-assisted interventions. In another study, Whiston and her colleagues directly compared different career interventions and found that participants who used a career computer system supplemented by counseling had better outcomes than those who just used a computer system. In addition, they found that counselor-free interventions (e.g., reading occupational information or completing a self-directed activity) were consistently less effective than other types of treatment modalities, such as individual career counseling, workshops, or career groups. Their results indicate that counselors play a critical role in assisting individuals with their career development and decision making. Therefore, it is important, particularly given the substantial increases in Web-based career assessments and materials, that appropriate counseling interventions provided to individuals be and people are not encouraged to simply go and get some career information off the Web. Research findings clearly indicate that counselor-free interventions are the least effective approach in providing career interventions and that more systematic assistance provides better outcomes for most individuals needing help with their careers.

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