What is the essence of narrative or life-design interviewing in career exploration?

• A. Elicits clients' stories to reveal values, meanings, and future trajectories; narratives help re-author careers aligned with identity; practice includes future-oriented questions.
• B. Focuses on strengths exclusively.
• C. Tests cognitive abilities.
• D. Uses only group activities.

Answer: (A)

Narrative or life-design interviewing centers on drawing out a client’s life story to understand how experiences shape values, meanings, and the direction of future work. By inviting clients to tell their stories, the counselor can see what matters most to them, how they’ve interpreted key events, and what kind of future they envision. This approach also uses future-oriented questions to help clients imagine possibilities, test them against their identity, and begin to co-create a path that feels authentic. The goal isn’t just cataloging experiences or skills; it’s helping someone re-author their career in a way that aligns with who they are becoming.

This perspective fits because life-design emphasizes meaning, identity, and adaptability—crafting a coherent narrative that links past, present, and possible futures. Other options miss that core focus: focusing only on strengths narrows the view to competencies; testing cognitive abilities shifts away from personal meaning and narrative; and relying solely on group activities overlooks the individualized process of constructing a personal career story.