Question

What do you mean by career exploration and career anchor? Explain how the eight career
anchors developed by Edgar Schein could be taken as a basis for career choice.​

Answer 1

Answer:

Career Anchors Overview One of his most well-known concepts is the idea of career anchors. Schein suggested that each and every individual possessed specific and unique 'anchors' - one's perception of one's own values, talents, abilities and motives, which form the basis of individual roles and development.

Answer 2

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Career Anchors:

These syndromes are composed of a combination of needs, values, and talents and serve to anchor the person to one or a few related type of careers throughout his life. Knowledge of these anchors helps in planning career development.

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There are eight career anchors themes and has shown that people identify primarily with one or two. The anchors can enable people to recognise their preferences for certain areas in their job which can help career planning e.g. a person with a primary theme of autonomy/ independence will seek to work under their own rules and be less likely to conform to organisational norms. People are generally more fulfilled in their careers when they can satisfy their career anchors and seek roles that are aligned with these.

1. Technical/Functional

If your key Career Anchor is strongly placed in some technical or functional area, what you would not give up is the opportunity to apply your skills in that area and to continue to develop those skills to an every higher level.

2. General Managerial

If your key Career Anchor is general managerial, what you would not give up is the opportunity to climb to a level high enough in an organisation to enable you to integrate the efforts of others across functions and to be responsible for the output of a particular unit of the organisation.

3. Autonomy/Independence

If your key Career Anchor is autonomy/independence, what you would not give up is the opportunity to define your own work in your own way. If you are in an organisation, you want to remain in jobs that allow you flexibility regarding when and how to work.

4. Security/Stability

Anchor is security/stability, what you would not give up is employment security or tenure in a job or organisation. You main concern is to achieve a sense of having succeeded so that you can relax. The value is illustrated by a concern for financial security (such as pension and retirement plans) or employment security. Such stability may involve trading your loyalty and willingness to do whatever the employer wants from you for some promise of job tenure.

5. Entrepreneurial Creativity

If your key Career Anchor is entrepreneurial creativity, what you would not give up is the opportunity to create an organisation or enterprise of your own, built on your own abilities and your willingness to take risks and to overcome obstacles.

6. Service/Dedication to a Cause

If your key Career Anchor is service/dedication to a cause, what you would not give up is the opportunity to pursue work that achieves something of value, such as making the world a better place to live, solving environmental problems, improving harmony among people, helping others, improving peoples safety, curing diseases through new products and so on.

7. Pure Challenge

If your key Career Anchor is pure challenge, what you would not give up is the opportunity to work on solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems, to succeed over tough opponents, or to overcome difficult obstacles.

8. Lifestyle

If your key Career Anchor is lifestyle, what you would not give up is a situation that permits you to balance and integrate your personal needs, your family needs, and the requirements of your career. You want to make all of the major sectors of your life work together toward an integrated whole, and you therefore need a career situation that provides enough flexibility to achieve such integration.