Chapter 8

Chapter 8 in Brown's Career Information, Career Counseling, and Career Development (2016) discussed a value-based multicultural approach to career counseling as well as advocating to correct problems that influence whether or not a certain group in society will have problems getting a job or not. brown discusses 8 steps of value-based multicultural career counseling and how to implement them. They are as follows:

Step 1: Assessing cultural variables
This is the task of taking note of ones cultural background and describes ways in which an individual can determine someones cultural background. This is important to note cultural differences and take them into account when dealing with clients of different cultural backgrounds. Becoming informed of different customs and beliefs will help you, as a career counselor, be more effective when counseling a client.

Step 2: Communication style and establishing the relationship
The belief of those in the dominant culture believe their communication styles are the preferred styles. This is a huge misconception. By being negligent of others cultural communication styles can cause a career counselor to come off as aggressive or disrespectful. This will cause unwanted results as a career counselor.

Step 3: Selecting a decision-making model
Determining who will make the decisions of one's career and what the expectations of the client are critical in the career counseling process. Different cultures have different family dynamics, educational opportunities, and financial resources. These differences result in different techniques in the decision making process and should be taken into account.

Step 4: The identification of career issues
Everyone who seeks career counseling has different issues that are going on in their life. Some may not even be able to meet their basic needs. The need for short-term help may be a priority before any ideal career decisions can be met.

Step 5 & 6: The establishment of culturally appropriate goals and the selection of culturally appropriate interventions
A career counselor must be prepared to be the mediator between the client and the clients reference group. The goals that these two groups see fit may differ and cause issues in the clients life. Understanding different social values and expectations will benefit the career counselor and give an outside perspective to the situation.

Step 7: The implementation and evaluation of the interventions used
The active involvement of every party within the career counseling process is very important. Each step in the process begins in the step or multiple steps that proceeds it. The understanding of this and ability to implement what the client has learned in their daily life will benefit the client tremendously.

Step 8: Advocacy
Advocating for equality in the workplace is very important in the role of a career counselor. This issue of inequality is a real problem that many individuals face on a daily basis. Letting the public know,and those who can perform real change, of the problems that most cultural minorities face will help those seeking meaningful careers in the future.