Reforming Career Appraisals to Meet the Needs of Clients in the 1990s

Career appraisals are intended to strengthen clients in recognizing and pursuing viable career options. However, this article shows that the structure of client and counselor roles and the focus of the assessments and interpretation in the typical appraisal obstruct this objective in four major ways. It proposes that radical reformations, rather than minor revisions, are required and offers methods for eliminating each obstacle. The four obstructions are: (1) casting clients as subordinates rather than as collaborators, (2) discounting self-assessment by favoring counselor assessments, (3) de-emphasizing the influence of contexts in clients' development, and (4) focusing on a single choice rather than on strengthening client decision-making and knowledge for follow-through.