Exploring Pathways: A Comparative Experiment on Career Counseling Modalities
Let’s face it, career decisions are tough! For young Jordanians, they’re even trickier with rising unemployment rates, high societal expectations, and limited access to career counselling resources. The UNDP Accelerator Lab in Jordan is approaching this issue in a fresh way by “sensing, exploring, and testing” how Jordanian youth navigate their career paths. Let’s take a closer look at this experimental journey and what it’s uncovering.
Why Jordan’s Youth Needs a Career Counselling Boost
Picture this! every year, around 100,000 young Jordanians step into the job market, eager to make their mark. Yet, nearly a third face unemployment, and for women, finding a job can be even tougher. For many, career counselling is like a mysterious luxury, something they know they need but aren’t sure how to access. So, UNDP’s Accelerator Lab decided to step in, unravel the mystery, and bring career guidance to the forefront.
The 3-Step Adventure: Sense, Explore, Test!
Here’s how the Accelerator Lab got the ball rolling in their career guidance quest:
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Sense: First, we assessed the current landscape, finding that career counselling was limited and fragmented. Efforts to provide guidance were largely uncoordinated and often failed to reach those who needed it most.
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Explore: Time to dig deeper! The lab launched an online survey targeting university students and recent grads to understand what factors influence their career choices. Salary, work-life balance, and, of course, job passion topped the list of priorities for young people. Interestingly, 34% of participants said family advice influenced their decisions, and many wanted more independence in choosing their paths.
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Test: In this phase, the lab tested three modalities of career counselling: in-person, phone, and chat sessions to see what worked best. Each modality brought its own insights, and the results were eye-opening!
Experiment Highlights: Chat vs. Phone vs. In-Person
The Lab’s experiment brought valuable insights:
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In-Person Counselling: This was the top rated! Participants loved the realness of face-to-face sessions, where body language, eye contact, and natural conversation flow made it easier to connect and share.
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Phone Sessions: Convenient but slightly distant, phone sessions let participants talk freely, though without the helpful Facial expressions. They were great for quick, on-the-go advice but felt a little less engaging.
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Chat Sessions: Chatting was a. However, without the warmth of a voice or a face, these sessions felt more formal, which wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
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