Asia Pacific Career Development Journal, Vol 8, No 2

Abstract: Career guidance and counseling (CGC) aims to support individuals in reflecting on, planning, and building their future careers. Young adults are among the most burdened populations in the post-pandemic period, as they face the challenge of rebuilding their professional trajectories and envisioning their futures. The future is a key concept in the CGC field. Through a narrative review of recent scientific literature, guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses flowchart and executed through content analysis, this study sought to identify how the future is conceptualized in CGC by examining young adults’ perspectives on their career futures in the post-pandemic context. The findings indicate that existing research does not center young adults’ views on their career futures and rarely employs specific future constructs in analysis. The study concludes by emphasizing the need to expand and diversify study populations, develop a clear conceptualization of the future, and address the often-overlooked consequences of the post-pandemic period.