Life's Work
"'Life's Work' is excellent. It demonstrates four clearly delineated career counseling styles by gifted counselors working with an interesting and motivated client. This series will surely be a treasure for years to come."
 -- Sharon Shostrom, Psychology and Educational Films,
Producers of Three Approaches to Psychotherapy (the Gloria films)

 

Life's Work is the first documentary video to explore career counseling as practiced in the field. The film features four prominent career counselors as each conducts a session with the same client. Produced in conjunction with Radcliffe Career Services, Radcliffe College, "Life's Work" offers opportunities to examine and compare diverse methods and objectives for success in career counseling today.  

Scroll down for more information

The featured counselors are:
  • Howard Figler, PhD, of Howard Figler and Associates, author of The Complete Job Search Handbook
  • Priscilla Claman of Career Strategies in Boston (a firm working primarily with corporate clients)
  • Acy Jackson, Associate Dean of Students and Director of Career Placement at Colgate University, and author of How to Prepare Your C.V.
  • Barbara Sher, career counselor and author of Wishcraft; How to Get What You Really Want.
 These four counselors each conduct an initial session with Deirdre Pierce, a cable industry professional in her late twenties, who sought career counseling after eight years with the same company. Hers is the plight of the "stuck" client -- restless in her current position but uncertain and hesitant about moving on. As Dede presents her case, each counselor attempts to elicit her skills and values as well as her hopes and fears about the career exploration process. The result is a fascinating study of counselor-client interaction, as well as a unique examination of the different methods and goals of career counseling.  

The idea for this project originated in the planning sessions for "Global Strategies," a career counseling conference sponsored by Radcliffe Career Services at Radcliffe College. The coordinators of this conference recognized a growing desire among career counseling professionals to see their colleagues at work - to watch and analyze real counseling sessions. Since a "live" session in front of an audience posed obvious ethical and logistical problems, videotaped sessions offered the best vehicle for observation and discussion.  

"Life's Work" reflects the input of hundreds of counseling professionals who told us what they hoped to see in an educational and training resource for their field. It is appropriate for praticing career counselors, interns and trainees, human resource professionals, counselor educators and students.
Related Resources:
Download the Life's Work study guide:
Adobe PDF or Microsoft Word


Back To Top
Return to Film Index