Why do people get into certain professions? Why do they seek out certain jobs or new work assignments? What causes individuals to expend time, resources, and effort in order to develop their professional skills? And importantly, how or why do people persist in working to a goal, even in the face of setbacks? There are many ways to frame how to best model such human behavior as it relates to the world of work. As described in this volume, a very traditional approach—that of using vocational interests—is clearly a leading contender. Toward this end, Christopher D. Nye and James Rounds provide a compelling case. They first reach back in time to set the stage of how, when, and where vocational interests emerged as a viable way to help us understand and predict the pursuit of educational opportunities and employment options. With this as the foundation, the chapters that follow go on to reveal how current thinking about vocational interests can be put to use in order to help us understand such phenomena as the development of task expertise, achieving high levels of job performance, managing career trajectories, or even making retirement decisions. Thus, each chapter adds to our understanding of the potential value of vocational interests as these relate to a wide range of work relevant behaviors. The authors contributing to this volume are all well-regarded thought leaders who provide a very readable compilation of what we know (and do not yet know) about vocational interests, based on the most up-to-date research. As such, this volume will be valuable to those who want to know about the state of the research literature on vocational interests, as well as those who may want to make use of research findings to address applied problems. But it will also appeal to those who wish to prepare the next generation of scholars to do work in this arena.
Richard Klimoski
Series Editor, SIOP Organizational Frontiers Series
11/26/2018