Recognized by business managers as a useful and practical tool to assist them in responding to a set of complex business challenges, the need for outplacement counseling-- the process of assisting employees who have lost their jobs to develop effective career plans and to find new employment --has grown dramatically during the past two decades. Given this rapid expansion of the field, assembling, organizing, and clarifying the body of knowledge and information available about outplacement has become critically important. The first comprehensive effort in the field, this book presents authoritative, up-to-date information on an exhaustive range of outplacement topics. A psychologist and experienced outplacement practitioner, the author has recently been chosen as one of the charter fellows of the Outplacement Institute, the sole certifying organization for outplacement practitioners.

Of value to all those interested in the field including current and future practitioners as well as human resources professionals, this volume contains essential information for candidates receiving outplacement services, counseling students, and researchers involved in the study of counseling in business and industry. With such a broad audience in mind, it contains a wide range of information--counseling theory and practical suggestions geared expressly to the needs of practitioners, descriptive material on all topics, and brief case histories of actual outplacement candidates. Written in non-technical language, the volume brings to life the flavor of outplacement practice.

This unique volume covers topics not addressed elsewhere in the current outplacement literature including:

• the psychological barriers to a successful job search,

• the behavioral and counseling implications of the outplacement setting,

• the theoretical basis of outplacement counseling,

• the relation between outplacement and psychotherapy,

• the professional development opportunities for outplacement practitioners,

• the supervision of outplacement practitioners,

• the cross-cultural issues to be considered in outplacement,

• the relation of outplacement to other career development professionals, and

• the marketing of outplacement services.

Also of importance, the appendices offer data not previously disseminated to the general public including:

• competencies standards for OPC practitioners as established by the International Association of Outplacement Professionals (IAOP),

• standards of ethical practice for outplacement professionals as established by the IAOP, and

• listings of information resources for OPC practitioners and candidates featuring a section on computer-based sources for conducting career-related research.

Outplacement counseling is an important and growing professional service industry in the United States and abroad. In general terms, outplacement counseling is a process of assisting employees who have lost their jobs to develop effective career plans and to find new employment. The need for outplacement services has grown dramatically in the past 15 years, as major U.S. corporations in a wide range of industries have eliminated jobs at the rate of approximately 400,000 per year.

Outplacement counseling has come to be recognized by business managers as a useful and practical tool to assist them in responding to a set of difficult business challenges. With the rapid expansion of the field has come the need to assemble, organize, and clarify the body of knowledge and information that is now available about outplacement. This book is designed as the first one in the field to present authoritative, up-to-date information on a comprehensive range of outplacement topics.

This volume is of value to all those interested in the field including current practitioners, "would-be" practitioners, and human resources professionals. It is also of interest to candidates receiving outplacement services, counseling students, and researchers interested in counseling in business and industry. With such a broad audience in mind it contains a wide range of information. There is both counseling theory and practical suggestions designed especially to assist the practitioner. In addition, there is broad descriptive information around a range of topics that are of value to all readers looking to become more familiar with the field. The book also contains many brief case histories of actual outplacement candidates. Written in nontechnical language, these descriptions bring to life the flavor of outplacement practice.

Work is a central and vital part of adult life. It has always been complicated to assist individuals in making sound career-related decisions. It is more complicated than ever given the rapid social and technological changes taking place throughout the global economy. Millions of individuals have already lost their jobs as a result of these changes. More will, undoubtedly, follow. During the past 20 years the outplacement industry has come to play a significant role in assisting individuals in securing employment and in helping organizations respond to their changing human resources challenges. As a result of its importance, the field of outplacement deserves to be more fully understood, judiciously improved, expertly delivered and wisely used. This book is presented to assist in these efforts.