UNIT 5

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

What Is Career Development?

Career development is the process of self-knowledge, exploration, and decision-making that

shapes your career. It requires successfully navigating your occupational options to choose
and train for jobs that suit your personality, skills, and interests.

When someone pays careful attention to their career development, they identify their own
strengths and blind spots, then work hard to improve their skills. It also involved learning
about different roles and industries to find a match to their abilities, seeking out opportunities
to advance, and maybe even changing careers altogether if they find a more suitable one.

Methods of Career Development

The 5-STEP Career Development Model provides a comprehensive framework for assessing
skills and establishing learning outcomes that demonstrate knowledge of self, career paths,
and academic and career opportunities. Career decision-making is a process, and you can set
your own pace in pursuing career development accordingly. If you work with a career coach
and take advantage of the CEC's programs and resources you will be better prepared to make
informed and meaningful career decisions.

Step 1: Assessment

Get to know yourself - Begin to identify your values, interests, skills, personal traits and
career satisfiers in order to identify the ingredients of a good career "fit":
  Take self and personality assessments
 Meet with a career coach for help with assessments and early planning
 Begin to identify career fields and/or academic programs that fit your interests and
abilities
 Create a draft resume and have a career coach review it
 Complete your Handshake profile

Step 2: Exploration

Explore and research career possibilities - Learn the connections between academic
programs, experiential learning, previous professional experiences, and careers:

 Conduct career research and gather information from valuable online resources
 Gather information on different fields, industries and companies
 Decide on a major and learn what career paths a major can offer
 Conduct informational interviews with people in fields that interest you
 Explore opportunities to gain relevant work experience, such as internships, summer
jobs, or volunteer work
 Attend career and networking events

Step 3: Preparation

Develop your resume and cover letter writing skills; refine your career goals and strategy -
Through informational interviewing, internships, and part-time/temporary or summer jobs,
"test the waters" and determine a potential career direction:

 Create an effective resume and cover letter

 Research graduate schools and visit campuses
 Learn to present your goals and skills in an elevator pitch
 Conduct informational interviews and build your network
 Develop and practice your interview skills
 Test it out – for example, Obtain an internship. Internships may be limited to
undergraduate and graduate students, or recent graduates. Other populations can
consider doing volunteer or temporary positions.
 Develop a Career Action Plan

Step 4: Implementation

Develop and implement your job search or graduate school strategy - Develop the skills you
need to accomplish your goals:

 Sharpen your job search skills and develop a list of potential employers
 Prepare for interviews and practice interviewing skills with a mock interview
 Network with friends, parents, faculty, alumnae/i and others
 Gather graduate school application materials and write a personal statement
 Attend events such as career fairs, company presentations and career-related forums
with alumnae
Step 5: Decision-Making

Make an informed and meaningful career decision - Gain insight into necessary professional
development skills to be successful:

 Refer back to your career goals, interests, strengths, and values for guidance
 Analyse job offers/graduate school admissions and weigh your options
 Meet with a career coach to walk through your decision-making
 Consider the practical aspects of life after Simmons, and attend the senior series in the
spring to help make this transition
 Join the Simmons alumnae/I network
 Learn and practice the basics of negotiating
 Assess Your Career Readiness

Process of career development Career Path and Career Transition

Why people often go through a career change
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, there is no consensus on how many times
the average person changes careers. However, we do know switching careers, as well
as occupation and industry, happen often.
Common reasons for wanting to change your career include:
 Stress reduction
 Flexibility
 Salary increase
 Opportunity for advancement
 Feeling of appreciation
1. Take a personal inventory
Start a journal. First, consider your reactions to your current job and how they impact your
job satisfaction. Write down recurring themes, notable events and how they make you feel.
Ask yourself tough questions like, “What is it about my job that I do or don’t like?” Answer
them, then read your answers. From your own notes, you’ll begin to see a picture of what job
satisfaction looks like for you.
During this time, you’ll also want to take a personal inventory of skills, values and interests
pertinent to the work you enjoy. Consider times you’ve been successful and think about what
you were doing—be it a job, volunteer situation, internship or something else. Determine
what skills contributed to your success and how they can apply to various roles you might be
interested in.
2. Decide if you want to change industries
While you are discovering more about yourself and what fulfilling work means to you, you
should also define in what way you want to change career paths. For some, switching careers
might mean starting over in an adjacent industry or a completely new one, while others may
seek a new occupation within the same industry.

3. Brainstorm careers
To become more informed on your career options, brainstorm the jobs and industries that
may be a good fit for your skills and values. If you’re finding it challenging to find a career
that fits your needs, ask others in your professional network. You can also seek guidance in
the form of career counselling, where you’ll likely learn more about your personality and
how it fits into today’s evolving workforce.
Using resources at your disposal like Indeed, you can brainstorm potential careers and make a
shortlist to research. Taking this preliminary step before diving into thorough research will
help you narrow your career focus.
4. Research potential job matches
With your career shift narrowed down to a few potential job types, you’re able to begin more
extensive research. One way to learn more about a field of interest is to conduct informational
interviews with people in that field. Talk to people you may already know or browse your
college alumni association.
5. Make an action plan
Creating your action plan means defining a clear goal and milestones to complete it. By this
point, you’ve done all the research and should be able to narrow your career change to a
specific occupation. It’s time to consider what it will take to get there.
Think about things like education and certification, skill development, attending networking
events and seizing opportunities to practice within the specific industry or field. Write down
what steps you plan to take and a timeline to completion.
6. Rebrand yourself
Before you start applying for new jobs, you may need to undergo a bit of personal
rebranding. It’s important that any candidates looking for a job use resources like a resume,
cover letter and social profiles to create a personal brand that makes sense to employers. This
may be even more important during a career change because your existing experience may
not clearly align with your desired goals without a little thought and planning.
Consider how your existing experiences make you a better candidate for the role you are
applying for and use that to make a powerful personal statement about why you are a good fit
across your resume, cover letter and any business networking sites. Remember to also update
any business cards, personal websites and contact info to reflect your new brand.
7. Use your network
Be mindful of what industry and position you want to work in as you select contacts to reach
out to. Speak with professionals you can trust to put in a good word and keep you aware of
opportunities. You can do this on the phone or via text, or even a referral email or note on
social media.
Additionally, seek out opportunities to job shadow, volunteer or intern. This will help you
decide if the industry or field is a good fit and give you the experience to make you stand out
from other job candidates.
8. Consider educational resources and develop new skills
If you’re considering moving into a field that requires a degree or certifications, you may
need to seek additional education beyond your current work experience. College courses,
continuing-education classes or even free online resources can help deepen your
understanding of your new potential career.
If you’re employed, find opportunities at your current job to gain the skills you need to make
a career change. For example, a marketer who wants to move into finance may ask for control
over the marketing budget to gain skills regarding working with ledgers. Seizing
opportunities like this is helpful, but only if you remember to apply those newly gained skills
to your resume and cover letter.
9. Stay motivated by tracking your progress
To keep yourself motivated in your career-change plan, consider using a spreadsheet to log
milestones as you make your way toward a full career change. Sometimes, changing your
career can take time. By tracking your progress, you acknowledge all the small victories
along the way—and that can make you feel a greater sense of accomplishment as you
successfully make the switch

Process of C a r e e r T r a n s i t i o n
STEP 1: MAKE THE DECISION
I know. You’ve already decided that c h a n g e i s n e e d e d , but I urge you to obtain feedback
from people you trust prior to deciding to transition careers and quit your job. Talk to your
spouse, your mentors and your personal board of directors. Be as confident as you can that
the step you’re about to take is the right one for you.

STEP 2: KNOW YOUR DIRECTION

Where are you going? It’s one thing to know what you don’t want, but do you have a good
idea of what it is you do want? You can hate your job all you want, but you don’t want to be
unemployed.
Make a list of careers you’ve considered. How viable are these choices? Be honest with
yourself. If you’re an accountant who can’t dance, you can probably take “ballroom dance
teacher” off the list.
It’s okay not to have a definitive career goal, but you need to have a few steps planned out. If
you think of your plan like a ladder, sometimes you can’t see what’s at the top until you’ve
taken a few steps up. But don’t confuse your lack of direction with a lack of information
about how to change directions. If you know you’d like to obtain a job in the healthcare field,
you should have an idea of why that works for you and what type of job you want, even
though you may not know exactly how to get started.

STEP 3: REMOVE OBSTACLES

Your family, friends, co-workers and even strangers know you hate your job and want to
make a change, but you haven’t done it yet. So, what’s different about today?
What has changed that’s provided you with the fortitude to act? What prevented you from
making a change before? Do the roadblocks that were there three years ago still exist? Do
you have new excuses — I mean, “obstacles” — in your path? If so, why? And what steps are
you planning to take to get around them?

STEP 4: ASSESS YOUR SKILLS

Is it really necessary to obtain another degree or certification prior to making your career
transition? W o m e n i n p a r t i c u l a r s t r u g g l e w i t h t h i s s t e p .
Review job descriptions for the career you want. Look at the skills and education the
employer requires versus prefers. Review your past jobs to see if you’ve ever had the
opportunity to perform the tasks listed. If you look really hard, you may find that you have all
the experience you need.

STEP 5: VOLUNTEER
Utilize external volunteer organizations to test-drive the skills needed for your new
career. For almost anything you want to do, there’s an organization that will accept your
offer of free Labor. You can try your hand at marketing, accounting, fundraising, grant-
writing, event planning, sales, website development, project planning, recruiting, legal
advice, negotiation, contract writing… the list goes on and on.
An additional b e n e f i t o f v o l u n t e e r i n g is the ability to grow your network. You’ll meet
a whole host of people you wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet had you stayed behind
your desk and not ventured out of your comfort zone. Let these people know what you’re
working to accomplish and the career change you intend to make. They may be able to assist
you.

STEP 6: CULTIVATE (OR BUILD) YOUR NETWORK

You should be doing this all the time, not just when you’re thinking about getting a new job.
If you have to build, rather than cultivate, your network, it will just take you a little longer.
Utilize your network by asking for advice from those who already work in the career you
want to get into. They can tell you all the ins and outs, introduce you to contacts and provide
advice when needed.

STEP 7: APPLY FOR THE JOB

All the planning in the world won’t transform your current job into the one you want without
you taking the final step of completing a job application. Now that you’ve built up your
confidence with volunteer organizations (which you can now use to pad your resume) and
you have a network of people who can provide a reference or a connection, you need to start
applying for the job you want.
Depending upon how different your new career is from your old one, it might take a little
longer to get the job you want, so don’t get frustrated. Be aware of the current economic
climate and the size of the job market for your new industry. Don’t get down on yourself.
Lean on your mentors, your sponsors, other volunteers and professionals in your network.
Different Methods used by employers to enhance career of Employees
Training
Task/job rotations
Coaching
Mentoring
Workshops/Committees/Working-Groups
Simulations
Conferences
On-the-job training
Self-study
360-degree performance review
Career planning

1. Training
This method includes developing employee skills through a combination of lectures, hands-
on-exercises, videos, podcasts, simulations, and individual/group-based assignments.
It includes both formal (classroom-based, instructor-led, eLearning courses) and informal
(watching YouTube videos, reviewing educational blogs and posts on peer-group forums like
LinkedIn or chat rooms, self-study) approaches to skills development.
Each option will be specific to an organization’s needs, and the subject at hand.
For example, a hands-on, instructor-led training may be the best option to teach a detailed
process or trade e.g., a complex manufacturing process or preparing a signature dish for a
restaurant.
These extremely specific tasks cannot be taught via YouTube or research, which may suffice
for more general subjects such as building codes or IT support issues.
Employees must actively undergo training (either paid for by themselves or by the
organization) throughout their career to enhance skills they (in consultation with their
managers/supervisors) deem necessary for the role they are performing.
However, organizations must also actively support employee skills development for future
roles/responsibilities that the company hopes to entrust these employees.
2. Task/job rotations

Employees could volunteer to rotate roles with colleagues on a shift/team, to put some of
those new skills into practice.
Employers can also encourage job rotation as a method for employees, who have indicated
their desire to get practical experience, to develop some additional skills.
The goal is to rotate the tasks and roles to learn something new or have a chance to practice
what has been learned.
Stretch assignments: This method involves management working with employees to
understand where they wish to improve, and then finding assignments for employees to
develop those skills.
Typically, the assignments will push the boundaries of an employee’s existing
role/responsibility, to expand its scope to include additional skills needing development.
Stretch assignments could either be horizontal (tasking an employee to use additional skills to
do more work similar to – though not the same - their existing role), or vertical (extending the
scope of an employee’s role to cover down-stream or up-stream responsibilities).

3. Coaching

When talking about various employee development methods and their benefits, we can’t
stress the importance of helping employees polish their skills through coaching.
This method of skills development typically involves senior staffers working one-on-one with
less experienced individuals.
This can fast-track an employee's understanding of a variety of topics, but be mindful that
this approach can be both times consuming (taking up the assets of seasoned/valuable staff)
and result in a clone-like knowledge of the subject – as opposed to an employee learning the
subject his/her way or through input from a broad range of coworkers and mentors.

4. Mentoring

This method involves senior leaders/management taking junior staff under their wing to help
develop important skills that the mentored individual might lack.
The more formal mentoring programs are typically used for senior executive/leadership roles,
while less formal structures might be implemented amongst junior management as well.
As with Coaching, be mindful of the time asset, and the even narrower funnel of a one-on-
one teaching model.
5. Workshops/Committees/Working-Groups

These are methods that give employees an opportunity to interact with peers/colleagues from
within and external to the organization.
The benefit here is rich access to similar colleagues (internal) and dissimilar colleagues
(external).
This broad range of input and knowledge can be useful in gaining new insights,
troubleshooting, and opening up communication on best practices.
This is ideal for communication skills and teamwork but can also be applied to anything else.

6. Simulations

These are becoming very popular due to both how engaging and effective they have become.
In its simplest form, a simulation could be role-playing a customer service interaction, for
example, learning how to diffuse an irate and confrontational client in person, or responding
to an emergency situation such as mock first aid scenarios.
At its highest level, simulations can involve completely virtual worlds, such as fire rescue or
flight training where employees can learn the skills required in a nonconsequential setting.
This is extremely useful in taking conceptual or textbook knowledge and applying it to the
real world which gives the employee both the know-how as well as the exposure and
comfortability in handling such tasks.

7. Conferences

Much like workshops and committees, conferences are a useful way to network and gain
exposure to a vast knowledge base of both interdisciplinary and outside industries.
Specific sessions are generally available to increase awareness and training of relevant topics,
often in a pick and choose a format that can be of interest/usefulness to particular subgroups
within an organization.

8. On-the-job training

Employees who have attended some basic training on a technical skill (whether it be in
operating a new machine, or learning new financial analysis methods) will often find on-the-
job training a great method to hone those skills.
This is basically learning by doing, which is typically done right after the training.
The main goal of on-the-job training is to provide everything to the employee for self-study
while at work. Employees learn how to use something or apply the methods as they complete
the assigned tasks.
This is a very popular way to develop employees as companies typically don’t have the time
to train every single employee on every single skill especially if that skill does not require
specific/advanced knowledge.

9. Self-study

This can be accomplished through different methods: reading/researching, taking classes, etc.
outside of work hours.
The subject doesn't always relate to the skills that an organization needs, but rather something
new that they believe will improve their performance.
While the time invested for self-study isn't directly compensated, if an employee purchased a
course that will improve his performance, the company should compensate him by paying for
that course.
The benefit is that the employee decides what’s of interest, and pursues it independently.
Conversely, it is often difficult to motivate employees to spend off-work time devoted to
work-related endeavours.

10. 360-degree performance review

This method involves getting feedback about an employee, from a cross-section of peers,
subordinates, supervisors and external vendors, and then identifying skills development
opportunities based on those inputs.

11. Career planning

While this method is usually viewed as something that is "employer-driven" – where HR

decides which employee should fill what role – it shouldn't be so!
Employees can also suggest future/alternative career paths for themselves, to their
supervisors/managers, and initiate career planning discussions.
Based on a business goals review and organizational workforce assessment (see Employee
development plan), employers can identify existing skills that need to be enhanced across the
organization, or prospective new skills that the business must acquire.
Through discussions with management, individual employees should then analyse their own
strengths and shortcomings, and volunteer to take on some of those roles. Individual career
plans can then be mapped out, in consultation with HR, with specific skills development
milestones identified for each role.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT ISSUES

A vocational psychologist studies many important issues that people might encounter in their
career development process. Often these same issues are what prompt an individual to seek
the assistance of a psychologist or career counsellor. These issues include career transitions
(i.e., school to work, midlife changes, and work to retirement), work and well-being, job sat-
isfaction, career advancement, career coping strategies, networking, work motivation, and
stress and burnout. Motivation and stress are two of the most common issues of importance to
the career development process.

Motivation to work varies from person to person. For many people, work is more than
earning a wage. Most individuals share the basic human need for self-fulfilment through
meaningful work. Choosing a particular career may fulfil other needs, such as status, security,
or satisfaction. The type of tasks required for a particular occupation, the working conditions
(both physical and interpersonal), and the working hours required (e.g., shift work) may also
influence motivation to work.

The work environment and the demands of work have the potential to be stressors that may
interact with stressors outside work (e.g., family stressors). These stressors, as frequently
cited in the literature, include poor physical working conditions (e.g., excess heat), work
overload or underload, home and work pressures, job dissatisfaction, shift work, and poor
relationships with colleagues or management. Stressors may also stem from the person. For
example, a Type A personality is characterized by excessive competitiveness and ambition,
which may cause the person to experience greater occupational stress. Stress overload may
result in burnout, which is the depletion of physical and mental resources that results in non-
productive behavior, job dissatisfaction, boredom, accidents, or interpersonal conflicts.