Running Head: VOCATIONAL GENOGRAM FORMAL REFLECTION 1

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1 Running Head: VOCATIONAL GENOGRAM FORMAL REFLECTION 1 Reflections on my Vocational Genogram Cheryl Ryan Bridgewater State University

2 VOCATIONAL GENOGRAM FORMAL REFLECTION 2 Vocational Genogram Creating a vocational genogram requires one to view his or her family members in a light they may not have previously considered. It was most definitely an eye-opening experience for me to create a vocational genogram for my family members, as it required me to look at a broader picture of their life, history, experiences, values and beliefs, that were always there; however, I had never thought about them to recognize that these additional components made up the person that stood before me. I might now have a better understanding of who they are, or were, and why. Assigning Holland Codes Reviewing Holland Codes against the variety of personalities that make up my family was enjoyable and somewhat nostalgic for me as I explored. It caused me to pause and reflect upon how well I felt I knew each person based on the visible personality traits I have been witness to over the years, and recall the memories of snippets of dispositions of those who have passed, some gone many years now. At times, I felt a sense of pride towards those who had suffered through difficult times, yet still maintained a sense of self and self-worth. In particular, I consider my maternal grandmother, who faced the risk of being ridiculed and outcast as she divorced my grandfather in the early 1940 s, a time when divorce and breaking up a family was frowned upon. However, in reviewing the Holland Personality Codes, I can see her personality patterns fall in line with SEC, with her inspirational persona, and the fight in her to lead her family out of poverty and oppression by maintaining frugality and organization. The majority of my family s personalities had elements of Realistic, Social or Conventional personality patterns. With the exception of my grandfather s eccentricities, the

3 VOCATIONAL GENOGRAM FORMAL REFLECTION 3 majority of my family seems to gravitate towards orderly and conservative tendencies. Looking at the jobs my family members took and remained at, they are also conservative and organized. Many worked with their hands, building, fixing things, while others worked in offices with specific duties requiring organizational skills. When thinking about their personalities, I recognize that majority of my family members had jobs that suited their personality. Person-Environment Correspondence The common theme in my family of having a strong work ethic is something that I have always been aware of. No one has ever tried to take advantage of government assistance without first persisting in generating income on his or her own. My family is anything but lazy, and is willing to stay in a job that provides security and stability regardless of whether they enjoy the work. In this regard, I found it reassuring when I reviewed the work they do/did and compared it to whether or not their existed correspondence with it. In conjunction with reviewing their personality code and reflecting on the level of satisfaction achieved by working in whatever job they were in, there appears to be a strong enough correlation linking job satisfaction or correspondence to personality. Super s Career Ladder I was surprised how much the steps of Super s Career Ladder rang true when looking at my family s individual ages and levels they have achieved in their careers. I found it especially compelling that most of us adhered to the steps patterns regardless of the global factors and Holland s personality codes. However, I am left to consider that much of this pattern is true based on level of education for most of my family members. It could be that the lack of advanced degrees has required many in my family to maintain positions that do not provide opportunities for advancement/promotions.

4 VOCATIONAL GENOGRAM FORMAL REFLECTION 4 Savickas External Factors I found it difficult to find a trend of common influences pertaining to all family members. One factor I can say that I noticed was a trend of not being present among all generations is the priority being placed on education beyond high school. Most family members did not achieve a college education beyond a semester or two. Conversely, a lot of emphasis was placed on having a strong work ethic among all generations, and I believe that this was attributed to how hard my great-grandparents had to work in order to support large families. Furthermore, most of my great-grandparents were immigrants who had additional hurdles to overcome including adjusting to a new environment, country and culture as well as learning a new language However, family members of my generation have made it quite clear to the subsequent generation - our children that this trend of lack of education has been abruptly brought to an end. My generation is very well aware that strong work ethic alone will not be enough to allow future generations to succeed in the world of work. They will be competing for jobs against a global workforce as never before, and additional education or training in a specific field will be needed beyond what is acquired in high school or vocational schools in order for them to be considered viable candidates for employment. I did notice that the majority of my family members were able to adapt to changing economic climates, and were able to find and keep jobs within reasonable amounts of time with little disruption to lifestyle. Most of the jobs that were found were similar to work they had previously done, likely because it was work they were comfortable doing and found rewarding in one way or another.

5 VOCATIONAL GENOGRAM FORMAL REFLECTION 5 Childhood Influences In regards to childhood influences on my family members, I found it interesting, when reviewing my 3 cousins birth order, how different each one s perspective was in their family dynamic and values. I can now see where Adler s suggestions that one s order of birth can influence one s personality, which in turn could potentially influence the type of work one may find himself working in. However, I also had to consider the older generation in my family. Values of days gone by were expressed primarily by gender. In the early through mid-1900s, not much had changed in terms of the assignment of gender-specific careers, and that influence was imposed on my grandparents. Although wars may have required women to take on jobs usually carried out by men, there was a clear message put out that this situation was only temporary; women would be sent back home where they belonged once the men returned from service. I think that some of that perspective carried over to some extent, towards the younger generation, in particular, my parents and aunts generation. However, when I reflect on when the women began to work outside of the home, I can see that there was a shift away from being required to stay home with the children until they are out of the house. Both my mother and my aunt began working outside the home once their children we school age, and both entered full-time careers once the children were nearly grown. Reflecting upon my years of child rearing, I followed a similar path, until my divorce required me to seek full-time employment and after-school care for my sons. Conclusion Creating my personal vocational genogram was a very positive experience for me. It will be an effective visual tool; I can refer to it to help me see what influences may have affected certain decisions I have made regarding work and other personal choices. The genogram will be

6 VOCATIONAL GENOGRAM FORMAL REFLECTION 6 a good reminder for me that I need to make sure to look at all of the facets that make up a student and what sway his family history may have on the decisions he makes. The fact that the vocational genogram is an informal assessment makes it appealing and not likely to promote anxiety or stress for a student to work on. It will be interesting to work with students when they look at their genograms and see if they can recognize common trends or patterns within their own family history, and the student maybe gain some insight as to the origins of some thoughts or ideas that have been churning in them prior to and during the career exploration phase.