IntroductionHuman Computer Interaction
Module purpose
understand what a career is and what career development involves
explain key theories and models of career development
understand how career development theories and models support your personal career development.
Getting to know each other…
Module 1:
Theories & models of career management
This module unpacks the idea of what a ‘Career’ is and explores di!erent career options with a focus on
Hospitality careers. Whilst we don’t often think of a career in terms of theories, this module will introduce you
to six key theories related to career development and demonstrate how these theories can assist you to
develop your own career.
By the end of this module you will be able to:
Key Concepts (Recordings)
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You never know who you might end up working with in the future. Potentially, your next job might come from
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HOTL5007-2023-T3 Professional Industry Development  Unit Content Module 1: Theories & models of career management
Activity: Networking opportunity – Getting to know each other
What is your name?
Where are you from?
Why are you studying at The Hotel School?
Where do you want to be in “ve years’ time?
Are you working now?
What has been your greatest achievement to date?
What is Professional Development
CareerSuccess
What is Professional Development
one of your connections in class, so let’s get to know each other.
Photo by Bundo Kim on Unsplash
Please post your answers to the following questions on the Discussion Board:
CareerSuccess is your one-stop shop for all thing’s careers. Access sample resumes, job alerts and self-paced
online modules. These resources will help you “nd part-time and graduate jobs, learn valuable networking and
career management skills and kick start your career. You will be using the Career success site to complete
some of your assessment tasks. Take time now to sign in to Career Success and familiarise yourself with the
resources available to you.
The Hotel School provides support speci”c to our students’ requirements in the hospitality industry. Head over
Activity: Welcome to CareerSuccess
Careers
Activity: What is a career?
to the MySCU Professional Learning Centre site on Blackboard to familiarise yourself with the resources
available there.
From the CareerSuccess home page – locate the “Start Here’ tab and complete the “Welcome to
CareerSuccess” to get you started.
According to Collinsdictionary.com a career (used as a noun) can also be referred to as:
Activity: What is a career?
Career development
Activity: Traditional vs non-traditional career
Source: Adapted from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-thesaurus/career
Discussion: Before reading any further, take time to think about how you de”ne a career. What do you see a
career as? Head over to the discussion board thread and post your de”nition. Share your thoughts with the
class and look at how each other’s views are similar and/or dissimilar.
What is career development?
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Career Development is the lifelong process of managing learning, work, leisure, and
transitions in order to move toward a personally determined and evolving preferred
future.
– Source: Canadian Standards and Guidelines for Career Development Practitioners
Read: Society for Human Resource Management, 2021, Developing Employee Career Paths and Ladders,
1. What sort of job to I want?
2. Where do I want to work?
3. Should I do more training?
4. When should I move on?
5. Am I happy in this role?
6. How to relate to the working world.
7. How to make sense of events that a!ect and impact our careers (e.g. Covid-19!).
Career development theories
Trait factor theory
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-andsamples/toolkits/pages/developingemployeecareerpathsandladders.aspx
This article provides a detailed discussion on the traditional vs non-traditional view of what a career is. It is
written from the perspective of how an employer could assist its employees. About half way down the page,
you will “nd a clear overview of the ‘traditional career ladder’ and some of the challenges with the traditional
view in the contemporary world. As you skim through this article please also notice key terms highlighted
throughout the article and take note of any terms unfamiliar to you.
Why is career development Important?
Career development allows you to make decisions and choices, such as:
This section looks at six key career development theories and how they can be useful for your own personal
career development.
Activity: Reading
Activity: Quick quiz
Lifespan theory
Activity: Reading
Activity: Re#ection
Parson’s career model is “based on matching personal traits like skills, values and personality, with job factors,
such as pay and work environment. The better the “t, the higher an individual’s job satisfaction and success”
(careers.govt.nz).
Careers.gov.nt n.d. Parsons’ theory
Read this article about Parson’s trait factor theory before attempting the quiz below.
Occupational decision making occurs when people have achieved:
 All of the above
rational and objective judgement about the relationship between their individual traits, and the
labour market

 an accurate understanding of their individual traits
 a knowledge of jobs and the labour market
 Check 
Source: Adapted from https://www.careers.govt.nz/resources/career-practice/careertheory-models/parsons-theory/
Where traits factor theory focused on skills and abilities, Super’s Lifespan theory asserted that career choice
should be seen as an ‘unfolding process’ (iresearchnet.com). One of the interesting aspects of this theory is
that the “rst stage of career development occurs between the ages of 4 to 13.
Read: Careers NZ, n.d Donald Super Developmental self-concept
Having read the article describing Super’s lifespan theory take time to consider what career views you
developed between the age of 4 to 13. What were the ideas that you formed in the ‘Growth’ stage that you
think relate to your career choice now?
Theory of work adjustment
1. Achievement
2. Comfort
3. Status
4. Altruism
5. Safety
6. Autonomy.
Activity: Reading
Activity: Sample job description
Hours of work will generally be between 7.30am and 1pm.
These hotels are not close to convenient public transport, so your own car is essential, however free on-site
parking is available.
Rates of pay are as per the Hospitality Industry Award (Level 2).
Experience in housekeeping is great, but if you are physically !t and enthusiastic, then we are happy to consider
entry level sta” for these positions, with training to be o”ered.
Independently clean guest rooms to the required standards of the hotel.
Ensure guest supplies are maintained.
Report all lost property following correct policy and procedure.
Handle cleaning equipment with care and report all in-room defects.
Promote a safe and secure workplace by recognising hazards and upholding safe work practices.
Ensuring you present yourself to each shift well-groomed and on-time.
The theory of work adjustment examines factors that relate to job satisfaction and identi”es six key ‘values’
that individuals seek to satisfy (The Careers Group – University of London n.d.). These are:
Read: The Careers Group – University of London n.d. Theory of work adjustment. This short article provides a
brief overview of key aspects of the Theory of work adjustment.
Read the sample job description below. With reference to the six key values from the Theory of work
adjustment – how could the job be improved?
The properties are reputable 4-star and 4.5-star hotels who have on o”er regular rostered shifts, with the prospect of
transitioning to in-house employment if vacancies arise. We are a hotel housekeeping company that actually
supports transitions to in-house employment when the opportunity presents itself.
A few things to note about this position:
These positions are casual to begin with, however permanent part-time positions may become available in due
course.
Your responsibilities in this role will be:
Social cognitive theory
Activity: Read and re#ect
Social cognitive theory “describes how people’s environments expose them to career-relevant activities that
in#uence the development of self-e$cacy, outcome expectations, interests, and goals which in#uence career
choices and behaviour” (Lent et al. 1994, cited in Zikic and Saks 2009).
– Source: (iresearchnet.com)
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Self-e$cacy beliefs are relatively dynamic (i.e., changeable) and are speci”c to
particular activity domains. People vary in their self-e$cacy regarding the behaviors
required in di!erent occupational domains. For example, one person might feel very
con”dent in being able to accomplish tasks for successful entry into, and performance
in, scienti”c “elds but feel much less con”dent about his or her abilities in social or
enterprising “elds, such as sales.
Social cognitive theory does make a couple of assumptions with regard to the individual. It assumes that the
individual has both a realistic assessment of ability and realistic expectations of rewards which may not always
be the case.
Social cognitive career theory model of person, contextual, and experiential factors of career choice
(Source: Adapted from Lent et al 1994 cited in Međugorac et al 2020)
From this diagram, we can observe that there are many factors that impact career choice.
Re!ect: What are your interests? And, are they aligned with your career goals?
Read: IResearchNet n.d,. Career development: Social cognitive theory.
IREsearchNet provides a simplistic overview of the concept of social cognitive theory. For a more detailed
understanding of social cognitive theory you might like to read Zikic and Saks (2009).
Further reading:
Zikic, J & Saks, AM 2009, ‘Job search and social cognitive theory: The role of career-relevant activities’, Journal of
Theory of career choice
Activity: Holland’s career choice theory
Vocational Behavior, vol. 74, no. 1, pp. 117–127.
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“John Holland’s Theory of Career Choice (RIASEC) maintains that in choosing a career,
people prefer jobs where they can be around others who are like them. They search
for environments that will let them use their skills and abilities, and express their
attitudes and values, while taking on enjoyable problems and roles” (careers.govt.nz).
Image source: https://afterhighschooltransitions.weebly.com/john-hollands-career-theory.html
Watch: This video provides a brief overview of Holland’s Career choice theory
RIASEC at Work – Match Your Personality to Careers
After watching the video consider what your personality type is based on the RIASEC model. Hospitality is not
speci”cally mentioned in the RIASEC model, where do you think hospitality jobs would most likely “t?
Further reading on this theory of career choice:
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1. https://runninginaforest/
2. https://www.careers.govt.nz/
Chaos theory
Activity: Reading
Chaos theory asserts that we can learn from our ‘failures’ – whilst our career plans might not always go
according to plan, the ‘failures’ we experience are part of our career development.
From this next image we can see that Chaos theory is trying to teach us that whilst there can sometimes be
factors that we may not be able to control, there are things that we can control to help us in our career
journey.
Source: https://www.careers.govt.nz/articles/spotlight-on-the-chaos-theory-of-careers/
Read the following article from Pryor, RGL, Bright, JEH, 2012, The value of failing in career development: A
chaos theory perspective, International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, vol.12, pp. 67–79.
Additional resources Module 1
Hospitality In=uencers | Season 2 – Episode 2: Clare Smyth
From Dishwasher to CEO: How One of the Youngest Hoteli…
The following videos are interesting vignettes relating to hospitality careers
1. Hospitality In#uencers: Clare Smyth
2. From Dishwasher to CEO
Final activity: Assessment Portfolio Activity 1
1. Provide a brief overview of your work experience to date.
2. Thinking ahead to your future career, what career development theory(s) will you be applying to your
career? Give examples to support your argument.
3. Re#ect on your personal career situation using one of the career development models.
This requires you to consider your current view of your career, apply your understanding of career
management theories and use a career development model.
Summary
What is a career?
Theories of career development.
Applying career development theories to help guide your own career.
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In this module you had the opportunity to get to know each other, bearing in mind that connecting with others
is an important part of networking. Next, this module examined the idea of what a career is, with readings that
provided an insight into the traditional vs non-traditional career. This module has helped you to appreciate the
relevance of career development theories in helping to guide your own career.
The key concepts for this module were:
 HOTL5007: Module 1 reference list
Additional Resources
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This folder contains any additional resources for this module provided by your Lecturer, e.g. Tutorial
materials
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