Are you having trouble finding your bearings in a career transition?
Even when change is planned — a return to work, a new field, a restructure — the experience can feel more complex than expected.
The 4-S Transition Model offers a way to focus on some things you can influence — to help you cope and keep moving forward.
Developed by psychologist Nancy Schlossberg, the 4-S model is widely used in career development, adult learning, and coaching. It focuses on how people cope with transitions, rather than how they make career decisions.
The 4-S model suggests four ways of understanding and coping with change:
• Situation – What has changed, and under what circumstances? Was it expected, or did it come as a surprise?
• Self – What personal resources are you drawing on — such as confidence, values, mindset, or past experiences?
• Support – What kinds of support are available to you — emotionally, practically, or professionally?
• Strategies – What actions are you taking (or avoiding)? Are there routines or approaches that are helping you manage day to day?
Rather than trying to address everything at once, the model can help you identify one area you would like to focus on to gain some more control amidst the change.
For example, someone re-entering the workforce after time away might feel confident about their skills (Self) and have a plan for job searching (Strategies), but find they have lost contact with previous colleagues and networks they were a part of in their field (Support). Some options they could consider could include getting back in touch with former colleagues or joining relevant industry organisations and attending events.
Is one of these areas – situation, self, support, strategies - more difficult in your current transition?
What’s one small action you could take to influence that area this week?
References
Schlossberg, N. K. (1981). A model for analyzing human adaptation to transition. The Counseling Psychologist, 9(2), 2–18.
Goodman, J., Schlossberg, N. K., & Anderson, M. L. (2012). Counseling adults in transition: Linking Schlossberg’s theory with practice in a diverse world (4th ed.). Springer.
