Career Development Process

Today’s career development process has become a threat for students, especially a question that may stun many students who have recently completed their education and that’s about where to go next and how they should step into the market to get the most out of it.  The same goes for the employees who are currently working, but because of financial problems, are in search of ways to increase their skill levels and thus, increase the cash flow. What they all need is an action plan, or even a little clue to an effective career development process may also do the job.

Even though it is tough to give a full-fledged universal plan that guarantees to work in every condition, since the situation that everyone faces is different, still, it is possible to sketch a general shape of how it all works. You can think of it as a guide to the career development process that will help you know your true worth, different career paths on which you can move without heavily risking their careers and academic as well as career opportunities that you might come across on your way.

Step by Step Career Development Process

Self-Assessment – Career Development Process

The first and foremost step towards making the career development process a success, is assessing oneself up. In this step, one has to identify what matters in his life, like interests, skills, personality, values and motivational means, since these assist in letting him know his current status in life, which he can compare with what he has in his mind.

The method for such an assessment is not a fixed one. Instead, it is recommended to see you from different angles. Since, it lets one see the errors and unprofessional points in the personality of the person, which he might never see if he kept, persistently, stuck with just one method. Moreover, the good thing is that this point applies to anyone. So, it does not matter whether you are an employee looking for chances to enhance your current skill set, either for the good of the company or for yourself, or even a student, who is just a newcomer to the labor market.

Exploring the Options

Just as its name suggests, the second stage of the career development process requires one to step out in search of options that he can go with. It is important to get the feel of the significance of different fields that affect the labor market differently. In this way, one can get a better idea of which career he should go with. Moreover, keeping an eye on the rise and fall graphs of the employee demands in the market can also come handy on the way.

This step involves a lot of research by making use of publications (both print and online), career exploration books, taking different courses, participating in different activities, even gatherings, and seminars. For publications, you might want to take Online, Occupational Outlook Handbook, and career exploration books.

Making a Decision – Career Development Process

Once all of the options are mined and sorted out, it is necessary to get detailed information about the potential fields, the ones that you can expect yourself to get engaged in. On the way, explore your own interests and concerns, since they play a major role in the success of stepping up while retaining your positions. Furthermore, keep narrowing down the list of options and careers while you progress.

 For example, one can ask himself that have I considered the best of my abilities and skills in detail and how can they help me in near future, or is there something still left for me to focus on?” Once you are fully satisfied with all the information which you have gathered, then it’s time for you to make your next move, the most awaited decision. This is where you are going to need all of the explorations and assessments in the selection of your career.

Taking Action – Career Development Process

Just as the name suggests, this step involves the subject to start developing a career action plan while keeping an eye on the progress of the career development process. This will help you to clarify that you are really heading towards the right direction in your career. For this purpose, you can ask yourself a few questions like which plus points of my personality and skills will reinforce my future career goals, or do I have necessary skills for prospering in the field and how do I improve those. The main idea behind the concept is to match the self-assessment results with what the subject has been facing so far. Moreover, it also uncovers the motivational means that highly affect the subject.

Evaluation of the Decisions

Evaluating the success level of your decisions is an important aspect of human life that keeps you motivated and provides you strength for moving on. So, in the final step, you will have to review how quickly you are making progress and if there’s something else that you can do to improve the success rates. It is also a possibility that you might not be able to understand why you are doing this, so highly likely, you will find yourself stuck with repetition of initial steps.

Career development process is like a game-changer which if implemented correctly, can change the future but in the case of even the slightest of carelessness, one might end up losing his career altogether. Moreover, choosing a field to move on does not mean that you are safe to leave the other aspects of everyday life routine like your employment, studies, daily jobs, etc.