What's Your Story? Narratives and Career Development
Disciplines
Organizational Communication
Abstract (300 words maximum)
People have many different reasons why they choose to pursue certain careers. In our research, we are gauging how the use of narratives influences our decisions on what career paths we choose to take. Based on the research we conducted for the purpose of this study, we have found that the use of narratives often does have a direct impact on how people choose to approach their career paths. Sometimes these impacts push them toward the career path they’ve been told about while other times it steers them away and in other directions. To get a bigger picture of what exactly these impacts are, we asked a few critical questions: What are some stories that you’ve heard in your life that have shaped your career direction? What are your major and/or career goals? Is there someone who has inspired you to make this decision, and how so? These questions have brought about a great deal of conversation from different perspectives, some whose stories led them down a certain path and others who have only been pushed in a direction, but not onto a set road. We conducted our research in a methodical way by interviewing students and holding focus groups, taking into account gender, racial, ethnic, geographic, class, and age-related differences. In these interviews and focus groups, we have found that the environment in which people grew up, the interests or career paths of those around them, as well as the stories that they’ve heard while growing up all have a major impact on their future career path. We are continuously attempting to understand how narratives impact the career choices of people and will continue to interview people to get a better view of it. We know that stories have a powerful impact on career choices and that the way that they are communicated is equally as powerful. These results will be presented at the Spring Symposium of Student Scholars.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - Communication & Media
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Dr. Robin Mathis
What's Your Story? Narratives and Career Development
People have many different reasons why they choose to pursue certain careers. In our research, we are gauging how the use of narratives influences our decisions on what career paths we choose to take. Based on the research we conducted for the purpose of this study, we have found that the use of narratives often does have a direct impact on how people choose to approach their career paths. Sometimes these impacts push them toward the career path they’ve been told about while other times it steers them away and in other directions. To get a bigger picture of what exactly these impacts are, we asked a few critical questions: What are some stories that you’ve heard in your life that have shaped your career direction? What are your major and/or career goals? Is there someone who has inspired you to make this decision, and how so? These questions have brought about a great deal of conversation from different perspectives, some whose stories led them down a certain path and others who have only been pushed in a direction, but not onto a set road. We conducted our research in a methodical way by interviewing students and holding focus groups, taking into account gender, racial, ethnic, geographic, class, and age-related differences. In these interviews and focus groups, we have found that the environment in which people grew up, the interests or career paths of those around them, as well as the stories that they’ve heard while growing up all have a major impact on their future career path. We are continuously attempting to understand how narratives impact the career choices of people and will continue to interview people to get a better view of it. We know that stories have a powerful impact on career choices and that the way that they are communicated is equally as powerful. These results will be presented at the Spring Symposium of Student Scholars.