Making research real: Putting evidence to work in career development practices

In 2024, I was honoured to receive the Career Development Association Australia's Award for Excellence in Leadership. The award was given in recognition of my commitment to supporting career development practitioners to make use of insights from research and quality information in their program design and delivery.

So much of my leadership efforts have focused on bridging the gap between scholarly research and professional practice – not just disseminating information but making complex ideas accessible and applicable for practitioners in a range of professional settings. In this article, I summarise why practitioners should make the effort to engage with the wealth of career development theory and evidence available to us and offer some simple tips on how to do so.

We all want to make a difference in our clients' lives, it's one of the reasons we love the career development profession so much. But how do we know we're really helping? How do we have confidence that our choices of methods and tools are the best available? And how do we convince others of the value of what we do? These aren't academic questions – they're at the heart of providing quality career development services that genuinely transform lives.

I often hear practitioners say that scholarly research feels too removed from their daily practice and the needs of their clients. But engaging with research isn't about becoming an academic or reading research for its own sake. It's about constantly striving to be a better practitioner and advocate for our profession. When we understand the evidence behind what is known to have an impact in career development, we can design better programs, advocate more effectively for our services, and point toward the foundation of theory and evidence that underpins our professional judgment.

The impact of quality career development is remarkable. Meta-analyses consistently show that career interventions significantly help people make better career decisions, develop stronger professional identities, and achieve better employment outcomes. But equally importantly, I've seen how evidence-based practice increases the confidence, professionalism, and satisfaction of practitioners themselves. When we know why and how our interventions work, we deliver them with more confidence and get better results.

So how do we make research work for us? Start with your own practice questions. What do you want to know about your impact? What would help you design better programs? Use these questions to guide your engagement with research. Then, start engaging in the many conversations about evidence and impact happening in our professional community.

Here are some practical steps you can take:

• Connect with research-engaged peers. Join professional learning communities where practitioners share their experiences with evidence-based practice. Associations such as the Career Development Association Australia and the Career Industry Council of Australia offer numerous webinars, communities of practice, networking events, and resource libraries where you can learn about the latest information and ideas in the field.
• Subscribe to key journals or professional newsletters. You don't need to read everything – focus on what's relevant to your practice. Look for reports that summarise research and key principles of practice, such as the excellent myfuture Insights reports and webinars.
• Start collecting evidence about your own impact. Design simple but effective evaluation tools that measure what matters to your clients and stakeholders. Look for published, validated tools that measure the outcomes that you are targeting.
• Document and share your successes. When you have evidence that something works, share it with your colleagues and stakeholders. You can do this informally, through networking or social media, or more formally through conference presentations, webinars, or writing for newsletters or journals. 

Remember, this isn't about turning all practitioners into researchers. It's about building a profession that confidently uses evidence to improve practice and demonstrate impact. Every time I see a practitioner light up when they discover research that illuminates or innovates their practical expertise, or when they use the evidence-base to successfully advocate for better resources, I'm reminded of why this matters.

The evidence is clear: career development works. But it works best when practitioners engage with research, evaluate their practice, and use evidence to guide their decisions. Start small, focus on what matters to your practice, and remember - every step toward evidence-based practice is a step toward better outcomes for our clients.