The Western notion of career is becoming more and more universal.  However, what career means, how it is manifested, and how the individual engages with career, can vary from one context to another.  It must be kept in mind that the prevailing post industrial approach to career guidance may not be relevant to all economies.  Indeed work in many economies is simultaneously pre-industrial, industrial and post industrial in nature.   

Pursing a personal career brings into play the dynamic tension that exists between the individual and the culture he/she is a part of.  Career by its very nature places  individual and his/her prosperity at center stage.  This works naturally well  in individualistic cultures.  However in other, more collectivistic societies, the family and society play a powerful role in the choices that the individual makes.  More often than not, the individual is obliged to follow the community’s ways of thinking.  It is important to note that both the family and the individual are important if appropriate career choices are to be made.  

The Jiva approach to career guidance aims at bringing the family and the individual together.  Jiva acknowledges that the individual is part of a wider cultural system, while at the same time creating the space to celebrate the individual’s uniqueness.