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Career writing as a dialogue about work experience: A recipe for luck readiness?

  • Reinekke Lengelle
  • Frans Meijers
  • Rob Poell
  • Femke Geijsel
  • Mijke Post
Article
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Abstract

In this article, we examined whether career writing—creative, expressive, and reflective writing—can increase luck readiness, which is the ability to respond and make use of (career) opportunities. Two 2-day writing courses were taught to third-year bachelor students, one before and one after work placements. In this exploratory study, results showed that luck readiness and work competence increased when students engaged in career writing. Specifically, flexibility, risk, and persistence increased among students in the experimental group. They also made jumps in optimism and efficacy, though no statistically significant differences were found in these domains.

Résumé.

Ecrire sur son expérience professionnelle : Une recette pour se préparer à saisir les opportunités de carrière? Dans cet article, nous examinons de quelle manière écrire au sujet de la carrière - des écrits créatifs, expressifs, et réflexifs - peut augmenter la promptitude à saisir sa chance, qui se réfère à la capacité de réagir et de saisir les opportunités de carrière. Deux cours d’écriture de deux jours ont été proposés à des étudiants en troisième année de Bachelor, l’un avant et l’autre après l’insertion professionnelle. Dans cette étude exploratoire, les résultats ont montré que la préparation à saisir sa chance et les compétences professionnelles augmentaient quand les étudiants s’étaient engagés dans une activité d’écriture. Spécifiquement, la flexibilité, le risque et la persévérance ont augmenté parmi les étudiants du groupe expérimental. Ils ont également amélioré leur optimisme et leur efficacité, bien qu’aucune différence statistiquement significative n’ait été trouvée dans ces domaines.

Zusammenfassung.

Schreiben über die berufliche Laufbahn als Dialog über Berufserfahrung: Ein Rezept für Glück-Bereitschaft? In diesem Artikel untersuchten wir, ob das Schreiben über die eigene Laufbahn - kreativ, ausdrucksstark und reflektierendes Schreiben - die Glücks-Bereitschaft erhöhen kann, welche die Fähigkeit darstellt, Laufbahn-Chancen zu nutzen und darauf zu reagieren. Im dritten Bachelor Jahr wurden den Studenten 2-Tages Schreibkurse, einer vor und einer nach Praktika, unterrichtet. In dieser explorativen Studie zeigten die Ergebnisse, dass die Glücks-Bereitschaft und die Arbeitskompetenz sich erhöht, wenn die Studenten sich im Schreiben über die berufliche Laufbahn engagierten. Insbesondere Flexibilität, Risiko und Ausdauer steigerten sich bei den Studenten in der Versuchsgruppe. Sie machten auch Anstiege in Optimismus und Wirksamkeit, wenn auch keine statistisch signifikanten Unterschiede in diesen Bereichen gefunden wurden.

Resumen.

Escritura profesional como un diálogo sobre la experiencia laboral: ¿Una receta para disponer de éxito? En este artículo, hemos examinado si la escritura profesional – escritura creativa, expresiva y reflexiva - puede incrementar la disponibilidad de éxito, que es la capacidad de responder y hacer uso de las oportunidades (de carrera). Se llevaron a cabo dos cursos de escritura de 2 días con estudiantes de tercer curso de carrera, uno antes y otro después del período de prácticas. En este estudio exploratorio, los resultados mostraron que la disponibilidad de éxito y la competencia laboral aumentaron cuando los estudiantes participan en los cursos de escritura. En concreto, la flexibilidad, el riesgo y la persistencia aumentaron entre los estudiantes del grupo experimental. También se incrementó el optimismo y la eficacia, aunque no se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en estos dominios.

Keywords

Narrative career guidance Creative writing Expressive writing 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  • Reinekke Lengelle
    • 1
    • 2
  • Frans Meijers
    • 3
  • Rob Poell
    • 4
  • Femke Geijsel
    • 5
  • Mijke Post
    • 3
  1. 1.WijchenThe Netherlands
  2. 2.EdmontonCanada
  3. 3.De Haagse HogeschoolThe HagueThe Netherlands
  4. 4.TilburgThe Netherlands
  5. 5.AmsterdamThe Netherlands

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