Career Mapping and Self Development

Part One : Career Management What is Career Management? “A process by which individuals develop, implement and monitor career goals and strategies” (Managing Career: Theory and Practice, Y. Baruch 2004)

There are various aspects to career management: a. Many phenomena can contribute to career management (e.g. personal thoughts & actions; organized events; policies laid down by organizations) b. Career Management should have defined goals (set goals, plan paths, execute, evaluate) c. Different stakeholders may have different aims (individuals/organisation)

Shifts in Careers: AspectTraditional dealTransformed deal EnvironmentStabilityDynamism Career choiceMade onceSeries, at different stages Main responsibilityOrganisationIndividual WorkplaceSingle organisationSeveral Time frameLongShort Employer expectsLoyalty and commitmentLong working hours Employee expectsJob securityInvestment in employability Progress criteriaTenureResults/knowledge Success meansHierarchical progressFeelings of achievement TrainingFormal, generalistCompany specific

The shift in the way we look at careers is due to a number of changes that have occured in the recent past namely: Culture & society (e.g. values, demographics) Labour markets (e.g. changes in economic sectors) Economic conditions (e.g. global economic crisis) Technology (e.g. contributed to knowledge society) Globalization (e.g. call centres, fish farms, ST) Employment practices (outsourcing, temping, teleworking, expatriation etc) Organisations (e.g. rationalizing, delayering, flattening, downsizing, restructuring)

Today, from the organisational part, things have shifted from a paternalistic command and control to support and direct. In fact, today we are increasingly talking about Protean Careers (Hall, 1976) - “The protean career is a process which the person, not the organization, is managing. It consists of all the person’s varied experience in education, training, work in several organizations, changes in occupational field, etc…The protean person’s own personal career choices and search for self-fulfillment are the unifying or integrative elements in his or her life.” The person, not the organization manages it Self-directed, continuous learning New success dimensions (Research Protean Career and reflect upon it. In particular, reflect on how much does this apply to you personally? – max one A4 page )

What is career success for the new careerist? Advancement: hierarchy, power; professionalism, status, autonomy, entrepreneurship, self-control Learning: gaining new skills, abilities, competencies Physiological & survival: money making (buying power); employability Psychological: satisfaction, recognition, self-esteem & self-actualization Career resilience: – toughness of spirit in confronting career crisis – flexibility in adapting to ever-changing labour markets

Another approach to Careers is provided by DeFillippi & Arthur (1994) From the individual’s perspective Know why – values, attitudes, internal needs (motivation), identity, ethical values (or lack of them) Knowing how – competencies: skills, expertise, capabilities; tacit and explicit knowledge Knowing whom – networking, connections, relationships

Individuals own their careers; organisations manage systems where careers develop. For successful career development, individuals and organisations have to come together on the following three levels LevelIndividualOrganisation ValuesAspirationsPhilosophy (reflected in strategy) ApproachesAttitudesPolicies BehavioursActionsPractices

The individual three As Aspirations – What you want to fulfil & wish to achieve in life & in particular in working life – Reflected in career goals & aims – Need to be adjusted according to competence & ability (realistic) – Develop in certain cultural, educational, family & social learning contexts

The individual three As (cont) Attitudes – Towards work; organization; career Actions – Specific behaviours & activities – Aimed at reaching career goals & aims – Short-term & long-term related – Subject to proactivity by individual – May be prompted by organization

The Organisational three Ps Philosophy & strategy – Guides organizations in their development, growth, & maintenance – Provides a direction – In career terms what kind of people we need how do we treat our people

The Organisational three Ps (cont) Policies – Guidelines to translate philosophy into action – In career terms – direct HRM activities Practice – What the organization actually does – How it manages its resources – In career terms Career practices & techniques performed by HRM & other managers aimed at retaining right people

In this scenario, individuals use the following strategies to enhance their careers : Competent in current job Extended work involvement Skill development Opportunity development (e.g. new ideas; visibility) Having mentor & other supportive alliances Image building Organizational politics

Career Management Skills: Individuals need to develop Self-awareness Self-promotion (CV) Skills in creating and exploring opportunities Action planning (training) Networking (Mentoring) Decision making Negotiation Political awareness (of the organisation) (mentoring) Coping with uncertainty Development focus Transfer of skills Self confidence Setting SMART objectives

Celebrating one’s achievements It’s EASY E – experiences (what experiences have you had in the roles held) A – achievements (what achievements have you had in the roles held) S – skills (what skills have you learnt in the roles held) Y – you ( how can you link the above to a new role, both within the current and some other organisation)

Setting SMART objectives for your career: Objectives are intended to bring about change. The objectives that you set yourself should cover all the aspects of the job The objectives set should be S - specific M - measurable A - achievable R - relevant T - time-framed

But what helps us get there ? Mentoring Career workshops Performance appraisal Career counselling Succession planning (from the organisation’s part)

Having a sense of direction Alice: Would you tell me, please which way I ought to walk from here? The Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get Alice: I don’t much care where The Cat: Then it doesn’t matter which way you walk