Summaries

In the Netherlands and Flanders, vocational interest inventories are frequently used to address (study) career dilemmas. In contrast to their popularity in practice, in the Dutch language region, there is relatively little research looking at vocational interest(s) (inventories). This article introduces the Spherical Model of Vocational Interests and the Dutch translation of the Personal Globe Inventory(PGI; Tracey, 2002), a measure for this model. The Spherical Model adds Prestige interests as a third dimension of vocational interests to the traditional two-dimensional circumplex. Additionally, the Spherical model splits the traditional circumplex in eight, rather than six, interest domains. The quality of the Dutch PGI was investigated with 12 samples. The psychometric qualities of the full Dutch PGI and its short version appeared to be acceptable to exemplary: the items of the scales largely fitted with the appropriate scales, the scales correlated according to the expected circumplex order, and the reliabilities were acceptable. The largest gender difference was found on the People-versus-Things dimension. Additionally, younger and more educated people scored higher on Prestige interests. Future research could further the understanding of the content of the Prestige dimension and how this dimension affects (study) career processes and outcomes.

The career decision-making competence: a new construct for the career realm

Purpose This paper aims to link findings from laboratory-based decision-making research and decision-making competence (DMC) aspects that may be central for career-related decision-making processes. Past research has identified individual differences in rational responses in decision situations, which the authors refer to as DMC. Although there is a robust literature on departures from rational responses focused on heuristics and biases (H&B) in decision-making, such evidence is largely confined to group-level differences observed in psychology laboratories and has not been extended to the realm of career development and workforce behavior. Design/methodology/approach By first introducing the concept of DMC and contextualizing it within organizations and the work environment, the paper outlines a review on recent development concerning debiasing interventions in organizations and provides insights on how these may be effective with regard to organizational performance and individual career development. Findings The contribution presents a perspective to improve knowledge about career decision-making competence (C-DMC) by presenting an approach linking decision-making research to interventions aiming at managing H&B and systematic misperceptions in career processes. Originality/value This contribution is one of the few linking decision-making research to the applied context of organizations and of career competences. Moreover, while some research has treated decision-making skills as traits, this contribution provides support to consider them developable as competencies.