Is the Concept of Calling still Relevant to Career Decision Making in Norway? Validating the Calling and Vocation Questionnaire (CVQ) with Norwegian Career Counsellors

The concept of calling has been developed to recognise that much career decision making does not follow a rational model. Many people feel ‘called’ to an occupation in a way that
transcends an analysis of capabilities and opportunities. Dik and Duffy (2009) have argued the concept of calling is comprised of transcendent summons, purposeful work, and
prosocial motivation and that can be measured using the Calling and Vocation Questionnaire (CVQ). In this study we attempted to validate the CVQ with a sample of 143 Norwegian
career guidance practitioners. We found that the CVQ did not meaningfully describe and measure calling for this group and were therefore not able to revalidate the instrument for
the Norwegian context. However, we argue that the concept of calling remains interesting and that the revalidation has provided firstly, important insights on the process of cross cultural validation. And, secondly that it has identified a need to enrich the vocabulary of Norwegian career theory. The article concludes by hypothesising the value of building a
culturally relevant concept (tentatively called meningsfull karriere) which could capture a more indigenous Norwegian sense of calling and setting out a programme of quantitative
and qualitative work that could support the development of such a new concept.