Abstract
This article takes stock of the factors that facilitate and hinder a professional transition as we know them today. It highlights their existence and their importance for information purposes in order to provide a starting point for reflection on how support during a professional transition could be designed to be of the best possible quality.
1. Introduction
Many workers are currently reorienting themselves during their working careers, either as a result of an occupational disease, a redundancy plan or by choice. In order for a professional transition to take place properly, i.e. for people to find the job of their choice easily and quickly, it is important to be aware of the factors that can facilitate or hinder it.
2. Factors facilitating a professional transition
In situations of career transition, it is important that people are supported and referred by career counsellors so that they can find the most appropriate career path for them. At the same time, several factors are taken into account when looking for a job and then for vacancies. Indeed, some people find it more difficult to find a job or to integrate into a company.
At present, it is, for example, essential to use professional networks such as LinkedIn, for example, as this facilitates the creation of knowledge in the world of work and therefore professional reintegration (Turtschi, 2016). The social and family network also provides moral support to people wishing to reorient themselves, indeed friends or family can act as confidants. Their presence is negatively correlated with social isolation (Martin & Baril, 1993).
Many people wish to reorient themselves as a result of a discrepancy between the values of their profession and their own professional values. The latter play a role on the perception of workers of their work. Occupational values are related to the meaning of work, which in turn is related to the meaning of life. In order to be fulfilled in life and at work, it is necessary to have a job where people find their priorities linked to the meaning of their life (Scnell, 2009, 2011). People in career transition must ask themselves about the meaning of the work they are looking for in order to quickly find a job that matches their professional values and in which they will be fulfilled (Thi-Van Patillon , Lin Lhotellier, Frédérique Pelayo, Caroline Arnoux Nicolas, Laurent Sovet, Even Loarer & Jean-Luc Bernaud, 2015).
Another factor facilitates a professional transition: having a good representation of oneself, not high but close to reality. In other words, being aware of who you are, how you are and, above all, how you act at work. This facilitates a return to employment (Baril, 2002).
The more people consider that the events that affect them are the result of their actions, the more job-seeking behaviour they will provide. These people have an internal attribution style regarding the notion of locus of control (Morin, 2008).
There are many other factors that facilitate job search behaviour and return to employment such as problem-centred coping strategies (Liu & al, 2014) or intrinsic motivation related to engagement in job search (Feather, 1982) or the sense of self-efficacy positively related to re-employment (Kanfer & al, 2001). All of these factors influence search intensity, the production of job search behaviour and the conditions of return to employment. It is then necessary to work on these concepts so that workers experience a pleasant, constructive and as short as possible job transition.
3. Factors hindering a professional transition
Conversely, there are also factors that hinder a professional transition, the majority of which are the opposite behaviours of the facilitating factors presented above.
In the first instance, the fact of having no support in finding a job is a hindrance. For example, young people often have a limited professional network, but they do have a personal or family network that can be useful when looking for a job (Turtschi, 2016; Pôle emploi, 2019).
A person who does not know the values he or she is looking for in his or her job will find it more difficult to be satisfied when he or she takes up a position. It is necessary to sort out what is considered really important and necessary and what is not (Patillon & al., 2015).
As with professional values, a person with poor self-representation at work does not know his or her strengths and limitations and will have difficulty finding a job (Baril, 2002).
Among people with low self-esteem, job searches are generally less intense and less persistent over time. (Wanberg et al., 2005). People who have been unemployed for a long time may experience a loss of dignity and autonomy, leading to a loss of self-confidence and thus hindering an active search for solutions and employment (Baril, 2002).
People with extrinsic motivation engage in a job search for external reasons and do not find it of sufficient interest and importance for the search to be productive. People with a high level of amotivation feel that their searches are useless and end up not doing any more (Amoura, 2013).
There are still many factors, such as the use of emotion-centred coping strategies or seeking support (Liu et al, 2014). There are also fears and anxieties related to the financial, relational or personal consequences of a career transition (New Working Life Study, 2019). The absence of a social or family network as a risk factor for social isolation and loss of motivation for job search is also included. It is important that these factors that can hinder a career transition are known and controlled by career support consultants.
4. Conclusion
Knowing the factors that can hinder or facilitate a professional transition has several advantages. It allows a better understanding of the questions, doubts, behaviours and attitudes of people in the process of professional reorientation. It therefore allows for better support for these people and the use of tools that are better adapted to them. And finally, their knowledge allows for better quality support, a quicker and more satisfying return to work for the individuals.