The Factory

I’ve been trying to upgrade the blog site, bear with me while I struggle with the IT

We have developed a new online psychometric test called the Change Management Scale and it is online right now. Even better for a short time it is available free of charge.   To access the test go to: http://www.brightandassociates.com.au/tests/register.php Many people are confronted by change in their careers, and they way in which they respond to change can influence their career paths and potential.  Some people see the creative possibilities in change, whereas others are confronted by change and develop strategies to minimise the impact of change, or even strive to resist or avoid change happening.  This scale, derived from our Chaos Theory of Careers compares people on ten-subscales that highlight different reactions to change.  The scales are:  Continual Change; Control/Certainty; Non-linearity (appreciating the potential of small changes); Phase Shift (appreciating the potential for revolutionary change); Emergence (adopting a try and see what happens approach); Goal Attractor (reducing complexity to simple goals); Role Attractor (reducing complexity to two competing alternative roles or options); Routine Attractor (taming change by imposing rules, policies, routines and procedures), Complexity Attractor (embracing inherent uncertainty and seeing creative possibilities in change) and the Bigger Picture (seeing change and self in bigger interconnected ways). The test has undergone a process of psychometric development and has acceptable scale reliabilities and factor structure (see Bright & Pryor, 2007, Career Planning and Adult Development Journal).  The on-line version has 139 items and will take about 10 minutes at least to complete.  You need to register (no cost) to take the test, and at completion you will receive an email containing your results and a brief interpretive report.  During the free trial we will use the data collected to refine and analyse the on-line version of the test. Several studies are at the advanced stage of planning to adapt this and another related test for specific populations such as high school students and minority groups.  If you have interest in being part of this please let us know. As always we appreciate your feedback.     To access the test go to: http://www.brightandassociates.com.au/tests/register.php Jim Bright May 2008ps look out for next Factory Podcast with Spencer ‘Skip’ Niles - will be online soonest I promise! 

Welcome to the latest Factory Podcast, an interview with Dr Janet Lenz from Florida State University. Janet is in conversation with Jim Bright. The conversation was recorded at the National Career Development Association Annual Conference, held in Seattle in July 2007.  She talks about running a University Careers Service that integrates theory, practice, research and student training.

 

 The Factory Podcast Interview with Janet Lenz: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In June this year, Jim Bright caught up with Professor John Krumboltz at Stanford University. We talked about his learning approach to career development and the Happenstance learning theory - based on the idea that you need to capitalize on unplanned events in careers.

 

 The Factory Interview with John Krumboltz [42:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

look out over the coming weeks and months, as I will be posting Factory Podcast interviews with some of the leaders in our field including John Krumboltz talking about learning, happenstance and an exciting new web project, Spencer (Skip) Niles on life-span approaches to careers and his work with Donald Supper, Janet Lenz on running a careers service, integrating theory and practice and her Cognitive Information Processing model of careers. All will be available for free and for nothing at the Factory Blog and Podcast. And there are more to come!

This has been an excellent conference presided over by Barry Chung, NCDA President. I would strongly recommend any career practitioner making the effort to visit the USA for this annual event. The next one is in Washington DC and there will be a public policy forum here, reflecting the increasing recognition of our role in shaping a more socially just world for all clients, not only those privileged to have jobs, or the resources to access services.

This theme was taken up by David Blustein in his keynote address, and I can strongly recommend his new book, The Psychology of Working. A New Perspective for Career Development, Counseling, And Public Policy. LEA (2006).

Rosie Phillips Bingham gave an excellent keynote address on the impacts of globalisation and the importance of social inclusion.

This is a short handout that sets out the key themes of our talk on the 7 essential plots, counseling interventions and Bright and Pryor’s Chaos Theory of Careers.

Enjoy!

Cheers

Jim

 Handout for NCDA Seattle talk on Narratives: Download

This is the presentation that myself and Robert Pryor are due to give at the National Career Development Association Conference in Seattle, Washington USA on Friday July 6th 2007. The presentation covers our very recent work linking Christopher Booker’s magnificent work “The 7 essential plots: why we tell stories” published by Continuum Press, to narrative counseling techniques and how these relate to our Chaos Theory of Careers. There is an interactive exercise within the Podcast that you might like to try. If so, have a pencil and paper handy!

We hope you enjoy this Factory Podcast!

Cheers

Jim Bright

 

 7 narratives, a counseling intervention and some questions about knowing [67:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Here is the second Factory Podcast, which features a keynote address given by Jim Bright at the Pathways 8 conference at the Casino, Hobart, Tasmania, on 1st December 2006. The podcast provides a general introduction to some of the key notions in Pryor and Bright’s Chaos Theory of Careers (2003ab, in press). It also covers ideas about the relationship between probability thinking and possibility thinking (see also Pryor, Amundson and Bright, in press) for more details. It also includes an unplanned event at the end of the keynote!

Happy listening.

Cheers

Jim

 

 The Factory Keynote address on Chaos Theory of Careers by Jim Bright [57:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Here are some interview tips that will help you or your clients in preparing for the all important interview.

Cheers

Jim

 Ebook: Download

The career plateau is the term used when people feel they are no longer climbing the ladder and who maybe feeling as though there career has stalled or is going nowhere.  These are a few brief notes about this topic.  Happy reading.

Cheers

Jim

 Ebook: Download

here is a transcript of an interview with me on the Stress myths

Jim

 Ebook: Download

Here are some tips that cover all aspects of job hunting, from the search, through written applications and interviews. Happy reading!

Jim

 Ebook: Download

Ever wondered about the concept of Stress? Here is an article based upon the book that my friend Fiona Jones wrote with me that tackles some of the main misconceptions about stress. Happy reading

 Ebook: Download

Get our archived newsletter here from 2006

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Get our Strange Attractor Newsletter for May 2007 here.

 Ebook: Download

Jim Bright caught up with Career Counseling guru Prof. Norm Amundson just before they co-presented a workshop in Brisbane, Australia. He discusses Active engagement and dynamic counseling.

 

 The Factory Podcast Interview with Norm Amundson [16:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Welcome to the Factory, the new Blog and occasional Podcast from Bright and Associates. This blog will provide news about career development around the world, bring you opinions, research, evidence, news, gossip and frankly anything that takes our fancy.

The blog’s chief contributor is Jim Bright, but others will join me from time to time!

Cheers

Jim