Career Counseling of Student Veterans:
Theory and Application of a Cognitive Information Processing Approach
Leigh Eskin - Educational Psychology and Learning Systems (EPLS)
Introduction
Abstract
Veterans transitioning from military to civilian life often utilize their
GI benefits to obtain various educational degrees. Student veterans
sometimes struggle when supports are not present to assist them in
an educational setting. Career counseling provides a tangible means
of supporting student veterans in identifying fields of study and
accompanying vocational options suited to their interests. This
presentation will discuss the use of Cognitive Information
Processing (CIP) Theory in the career counseling of student
veterans. A needs assessment was collected which indicates what
student veterans are seeking in career services, and an intervention
is being developed to assist these students.
Introduction
A needs assessment was administered to veteran students at Florida
State University. This assessment provided information regarding this
population such as areas in career development of interest, and the
preferred type of intervention. The FSU Career Center’s goal is to
meet the needs of these veteran students and create an intervention
that can better serve this specific population.
Method
The FSU Career Center paired with the Student Veterans Center and
discussed goals and objectives when working with the student veteran
population. A needs assessment was created with their assistance, and
was delivered to student veterans at Florida State University
identified by their contact with the Student Veterans Center. Forty
students completed the short assessment via a Qualtrix survey.
The questions gathered information about the student veteran
population at Florida State University, areas of career development
they are interested in, and the type of intervention these students
would be interested in receiving. Results have been organized, and
information obtained through this needs assessment will be used in
formulating an intervention that will begin in April.
Results
Population Breakdown
All 40 respondents were student Veterans who were contacted
through the Student Veterans Center at Florida State University.
More than half of them (53%) indicated that they were Graduate
students on the needs assessment. The other half of the respondents
consisted mostly of Senior (25%) and Junior (18%) students, with
only 2 sophomores. Majors spanned areas including business, law,
communications, helping professions, medical professions, and
technology.
This information was very informative. From this population, it was
evident that more focus on the job hunt would be needed, rather than
areas such as choosing a major.
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Findings and Comments
Of the 40 respondents, 88% of them had heard of the Career Center
at Florida State University, but only 31% of the respondents had
visited the Career Center. While these veteran students knew of the
services available, something was stopping them from coming to
seek career guidance.
Interestingly, when students were asked to indicate areas they would
like to learn more about in the career development process, all of the
areas received at least a 20% recognition. The highest marked option
was transferring skills gained in the Military to the workplace, with
59% of respondents indicating an interest. Preparing a Resume/CV,
Negotiating Job offers, and Networking effectively were also highly
endorsed options. Other areas students expressed an interest in was
learning job-search strategies, gaining experience (e.g. internships),
succeeding at career fairs, navigating social media sites (e.g.
LinkedIn), developing interview skills, making an e-portfolio,
applying to graduate school, and how to pay for school when GI-Bill
runs out.
Veteran students were asked to indicate the type of intervention they
may be interested in receiving. The options were a workshop series,
group career counseling, and other. Surprisingly, about 60% of
students were interested in the group career counseling, while less
than 30% wanted a workshop series. Some of the other options
included career fairs, individual counseling, and posting links. 38%
of these individuals indicated that they would be very likely to
attend the option they indicated, 44% were somewhat likely, and
only 18% were unlikely. 18 students shared their email addresses so
they could be contacted for the intervention.
Evaluation
In response to the item that asked veteran students to indicate their
preferred method of career development (group counseling vs. workshop
series), a majority (59%) indicated a desire for a more individualized
group counseling format. From the populations statistics and the
endorsements of varying areas of career development, a group
counseling curriculum is being constructed.
Though some respondents indicated no interest in an intervention, it is
our hope that the upcoming intervention can be used as a sample of how
to provide services to best assist this veteran student population at FSU.
Conclusion
The Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) Theory of career
development focuses on the importance of career functioning and
dysfunctional thinking (Peterson, Sampson, Reardon, & Lenz, 2002). In
the CIP model, there is the assumption that career decision making
involves an interaction of both cognitive and affective processes
(Peterson, Sampson, Reardon, & Lenz, 2002). Cognitive Information
Processing has demonstrated some benefit in assisting veterans with their
career development (Bullock, Braud, Andrews & Phillips, 2009). Little if
any discussion has focused on the use of CIP with student veterans.
The Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) approach will be used with
students who participate in the upcoming intervention. Veteran students
will be brought through the CASVE cycle (Communication, Analysis,
Synthesis, Valuing, and Execution), and will gain the skills to make
effective career decisions. The Career Thoughts Inventory (Sampson,
Peterson, Lenz, Reardon & Saunders, 1994) and the the My Vocational
Situation (Holland, Daiger & Power, 1980) will be used to assess change
in self-perceptions for participants in the intervention.
Based on needs survey results, co-leaders will place more focus on the
job search rather than on major or occupational choices, and the
intervention will be in a group counseling format with co-leaders. Results
from this intervention will provide data related to a potential intervention
to assist student veterans in their career development.
References
Bullock, E. E., Braud, J., Andrews, L., & Phillips, J. (2009). Career concerns of unemployed U.S. war
veterans: Suggestions from a cognitive information processing approach. Journal of Employment
Counseling, 46(4), 171-181.
Peterson, G. W., Sampson Jr, J. P., Lenz, J. G., & Reardon, R. C. (2002). A cognitive information
processing approach to career problem solving and decision making. Career choice and
development, 4, 312-369.
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