Identification the damages of job search and career counseling institutes: A qualitative study

The main of this study was to investigate and identify the damages of job search and career counseling institutes using qualitative research of grounded theory type. The sample of this study consisted of all managers of foreign and domestic job search and career counseling institutes (62 domestic and 6 foreign institutes) and jobseekers referring to these institutes in Isfahan province. 14 managers of the institutes (10 men and 4 women), and 9 jobseekers (6 men and 3 women) were selected using voluntary sampling method. Interviews and observation of the activities of the intended institutes were used in order to explore the damages. The collected data were coded and interpreted using thematic analysis method. The result of the analysis of damages using in-depth interview was identified four major damages in the participants of manager: Weak systems, constraints, disruption, and performance defects; and, in jobseekers participants, two major damages were identified: Performance defects, and weak system. Also, according to the findings the most important damages to the institutes were lack of attention to career counseling, job analysis, and evaluation of people; lack of familiarity with self-knowledge and not having psychological record; the absence of a professional counselor in the central board; not using specialist career counseling; transformation of the institutes into employment agencies; and non-familiarity of the job search and career counseling institutes with counseling models and job creation programs. Accordingly, with regard to the damages mentioned by managers and job-seekers, it is necessary for each job search and career counseling institute to use a career counselor with master's degree in career counseling in order to present career counseling services.