03/01/2025

Strengths-Based Career Counseling: Ideas for School Counseling Practice

By Jill S. Minor

School counselors are uniquely positioned to lead a college and career readiness focus within their comprehensive school counseling programs. Preparing students for postsecondary college and career options is essential for their future success and wellness (Minor & Farley-Smith, 2024). As an ethical responsibility, school counselors research and implement research-based career counseling interventions for all students (ASCA, 2022). Well-designed and intentionally implemented school programs are essential for preparing students for college and careers, as they can promote positive mental health and enhance academic achievement among adolescents (Bas, 2021). Incorporating a strengths-based college and career approach into comprehensive school programming can be beneficial as it fosters students’ confidence, self-awareness, and a clearer vision for their academic and professional aspirations (Schutt, 2018).

Therefore, it is essential for school counselors to have the knowledge and skills to utilize a strengths-based approach emphasizing student wellness from a more holistic perspective.

Strengths-Based Career Counseling Approach

The Strengths-Based Career Counseling (SBCC) approach initially imagined by Littman-Ovadia and colleagues (2014) acknowledges that each person harbors unique aspirations and possesses the strengths and external resources necessary for success in academics, personal growth, and career exploration. SBCC also underscores character strengths and the student's desired future self (Li et al., 2019). The SBCC approach commences with assessing students' well-being dimensions and formulating a plan to further enhance these areas (Rashid, 2015). A strength-based career approach is best suited for one-on-one counseling, small group counseling sessions, or workshops (Schutt, 2018). When career interventions are initiated with a strength-based focus, school counselors can forge a therapeutic relationship that significantly impacts motivation, leading to more positive outcomes (Park & Peterson, 2008).

Incorporating VIA Character Strengths Assessment

When implementing a strengths-based career approach, the incorporation of career assessments is key. Career assessment serves as the cornerstone of effective career planning. The Values in Action (VIA) Character Strengths Assessment is a research-based tool, psychometrically sound and valid (Kretzschmar et al., 2023), designed to identify an individual's core character strengths across 24 universally valued traits, such as leadership, self-regulation, curiosity, and hope. The study of character strengths emerged over 20 years ago and is rooted in positive psychology, developed by psychologists Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman (2004). The VIA Character Strengths Assessment is a powerful tool that empowers individuals and/or students to recognize and leverage their strengths to enhance personal growth, career development, and overall well-being. While the VIA Character Strength Assessment is self-administered, a school counselor’s expertise and understanding of student development make them uniquely suited to enhance the assessment process to guide students in exploring their strengths, fostering self-awareness, and making informed decisions about their academic, college, and career pathways. These surveys are available online at no cost (https://www.viacharacter.org/).

Character Strengths Career Interventions

Another key component of a strengths-based career approach with students is to include career interventions that are based on character strengths. Incorporating character strengths interventions after the assessment can help connect the results to practical applications in student development. Two possible character strengths of career interventions include resume writing and letter of recommendation support.

Resume Writing Intervention. School counselors play a vital role in helping students craft strong, effective resumes highlighting their skills, experiences, and accomplishments. Their personalized feedback ensures resumes are professional, concise, and tailored to specific opportunities. Using the VIA Strengths attributes can provide a foundation for a chrono-functional resume (DeHorn, 2024), typically needed in college applications, scholarships or job searches. One example is a student could identify the construct of teamwork to describe themselves and their effort in group projects in both academic and volunteer settings. With this character strength career intervention, students may feel empowered to present themselves more confidently to colleges and/or prospective employers.

Letter of Recommendation Intervention. School counselors support students and their families in understanding the significance of letters of recommendation, emphasizing how these letters can play a pivotal role in enhancing the postsecondary planning process. When students request letters of recommendation, school counselors must balance supporting students using a strengths-based approach (beneficence) and providing honest, thoughtful communication that ensures no harm to the students (nonmaleficence; ASCA, 2020).

Specific to the content of letters of recommendation, Akos and Kretchmar (2017) recommended that school counselors focus on the constructs identified in the ASCA Mindsets and Behavior (2021) over cognitive characteristics represented in other measures of a student's application for college admission.  School counselors can use the wellness and/or pro-social attributes, which are personal qualities and characteristics unrelated to cognitive ability, from the VIA Inventory of Strengths coupled with concrete examples to showcase their students' unique strengths, skills, and behaviors. One example is the school counselor can showcase how the student applied curiosity by exploring project-based learning opportunities or a volunteer experience connecting to real-world applications. Since character strengths are valued across cultures (Bates-Krakoff et al., 2022), this may help reduce bias that has been noted in the practice of recommendation letter writing described in Akos and Kretchmar (2017).

Bringing it Together

Research has consistently supported interventions that focus on strengths as contributors to well-being (Kumar & Mohideen, 2021), and school counselors all value enhancing the sense of well-being in the students they serve. Focusing on student strengths as part of career development intervention positively impacts growth for developing valuable work habits and life skills needed for future employment and earning potential (AlAzzam et al., 2021; World Health Organization, 2021). School counselors may consider integrating the VIA Character Strengths Survey, a tool with the potential to significantly enhance the comprehensive school counselor program, to provide a strength-based intervention that promotes student resources, career development, and well-being (Dubreuil et al., 2021). This integration can bring about a positive change and a sense of hope for the future of career counseling practices in schools.                                                                                                    

References

Akos, P., & Kretchmar, J. (2016). Gender and ethnic bias in letters of recommendation: Considerations for school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 20(1), 102. https://www.doi.org/10.5330/1096-2409-20.1.102

AlAzzam, M., Abuhammad, S., Tawalbeh, L., Dalky, H. (2021). Prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety, and suicidality among high school students: A national study. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 59(8). 43–51. https://doi.org/10.3928/02793695-20210426-02

American School Counselor Association. (2022). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/44f30280-ffe8-4b41-9ad8-f15909c3d164/EthicalStandards2022.pdf

American School Counselor Association. (2020). ASCA position statements. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/Standards-Positions/Position-Statements/ASCA-Position-Statements/The-School-Counselor-and-Letters-of-Recommendation      

American School Counselor Association (2021). ASCA student standards; Mindsets and behaviors for student success. Author.               

Bas, G. (2021). Relation between student mental health and academic achievement revisited: A meta-analysis. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95766

Bates-Krakoff, J., Parente, A., McGrath, R. E., Rashid, T., & Niemec, R. M. (2022). Are character strength-based positive interventions effective for eliciting positive behavioral outcomes? A metaanalytic review. International Journal of Wellbeing, 12(3), 56-80. https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v12i3.2111

DeHorn, A. (2024). Using the power of chrono-functional resumes to develop high schoolers’ confidence. Career Convergence. https://careerconvergence.org/aws/NCDA/pt/sd/news_article/574026/_self/CC_layout_details/false

Dubreuil, P., Meyers, M. C., & Freidlin, P. (2021). Editorial: VIA character strengths: Theory, research and practice. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 653941. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.653941

Kretzschmar, A., Harzer, C., & Ruch, W. (2023). Character strengths in adults and adolescents: Their measurement and association with well-being. Journal of Personality Assessment, 105(1), 34-47. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2022.2043879

Kumar P. A., & Mohideen, F. (2021). Strengths-based positive schooling interventions: A scoping review. Contemporary School Psychology, 25(1), 86-98. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-019-00260-1

Li, P. F. J., Wong, Y. J., & Cawthra, J. N. (2019). I’d like to have all the characteristics of a hero: A case study of strength-centered therapy. Clinical Case Studies, 18(3), 200-219. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534650119837353

Littman-Ovadia, H., Lazar-Butbul, V., & Benjamin, B. A. (2014). Strengths-based career counseling: Overview and initial evaluation. Journal of Career Assessment, 22(3), 403-419. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072713498483

Minor, J., & Farley-Smith, K. (2024): Career counseling and wellness: Recommendations for school counseling practice. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 97(5), 134–144. https://doi.org/10.1080/00098655.2024.2415582

Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2008). Positive psychology and character strengths: Application to strengths-based school counseling. Professional School Counseling, 12(2), 85-92. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759x0801200214

Peterson, C., & Park, N. (2011). Character strengths and virtues: Their role in well-being. In S. I. Donaldson, M. Csikszentmihalyi, & J. Nakamura (Eds.), Applied positive psychology: Improving everyday life, health, schools, work, and society (pp. 49–62). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. (2004). Strengths of character and well-being. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23, 603–619.

Schutt, D. A., Jr,. (2018). A strengths-based approach to career development using appreciative inquiry, second edition. National Career Development Association.

World Health Organization. (2021). Adolescents: Health risks and solutions. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescents-health-risks-and-solutions                                                                          

Dr. Jill Minor, LSC (OH), is an Assistant Professor at Marshall University in Huntington, WV, and a seasoned school counselor with over 17 years of experience spanning K-12 education. Her research explores teaching effectiveness, career counseling, wellness, and the professional development needs of school counselors. A recognized speaker, Dr. Minor has presented on various topics, including the role of school counselors in fostering school culture and climate, ethical leadership, gifted education, and college and career counseling services. She is passionate about advancing the counseling profession and supporting student well-being. Connect with Dr. Minor at minorj@marshall.edu