Career Development

Posted: January 4th, 2023

Career Development

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Abstract

The paper addresses the topic of career development, which entails advancing in one’s profession. It illustrates how organizational leaders and employees have to play their roles to attain the best results’ development process. It also describes the importance of considering several factors that could impact the career development process, including personal characteristics, financial resources and obligations, mental, emotional, physical impairments, and age. The study concludes by describing the various phases of career development that each person is likely to pass through while seeking to move from their current situation to an elevated position.

Career Development

Introduction

Business leaders and workers should consider career development to be a vital process that provides them with the opportunity to shift from their current position to a higher rank at the place of work. Managers and their followers have a role to play in promoting career development, and it is upon each person to act in a way that encourages advancement. However, it is essential to understand some of the factors that could prevent any disruption or inconvenience. Besides, organizational leaders and their subjects should consider the various career development phases to transit through them effectively. Career development provides workers with a chance to improve their position and service delivery by transiting to a higher or better position in one’s profession. 

Describing Career Development

Career development is an essential phase in one’s life because they use the time to advance their professional awareness, skills, and competence. Sullivan and Baruch (2009) describe career development as a lifelong endeavor of handling learning activities, leisure, work, and transformation from one phase to another to move towards a future that one prefers. In an educational context, career development entails providing a person, mainly a student, with the chance to focus on subjects or careers to perform in the future. Many learning facilities have counselors to help learners with their career development (Sullivan & Baruch, 2009). However, the study pays attention to career development in an organizational context where individuals handle their careers within businesses and how the business structures their members’ career practices. Depending on how businesses define their people’s career progress, career development could also revolve around succession planning, which entails preparing some individuals so that they can assume the leadership position. 

The Role of Leaders in Improving Career Development

Organizational leaders play essential roles in promoting career development, and their involvement increases the chances of recording impressive results. Business leaders allow workers to develop their careers by providing promotions and other growth (Stoner, Freeman & Gilbert, 2011). Leaders give the necessary financial and moral support, especially if the organization has such plans. It is easier to develop a career when business leaders encourage their employees to use various motivational approaches (Stoner, Freeman & Gilbert, 2011). Motivation is a vital aspect of inspiring workers, and managers should identify the techniques that would encourage their followers to advance their practices. More fundamentally, managers should provide other necessary support to develop the career of their workers. 

The Role of Employees in Boosting Career Development

Many workers have not thought beyond their current position or the next job or promotion they would like to receive. Workers need to expand their short-term perception and think big. They need to understand that as they move upwards in the organizational chart, it becomes more challenging to get jobs, yet proceeding to advance experience and skills should be the leading priority for individuals getting value from or adding value to their profession (Stoner, Freeman & Gilbert, 2009). Workers may experience the outcome they want when they put some little effort. 

Individual workers can explore multiple approaches to experience career advancement, but this is only possible when they invest in their career progress and development. Workers may monitor other workers within the organization to acquire valuable information and skills about various jobs (Robbins & Coulter, 2009). Learning from others provides the opportunity to increase value and broaden individual skills. Similarly, individual workers should try to deepen and broaden their experience because it is easier to encounter some hurdles when conversing with a single task (Robbins & Coulter, 2009). Having the ability to perform numerous functions can increase variety to what a person can do and widen their skills. Individual workers seeking to advance their careers should spare time to attend training sessions and classes to expand their knowledge (Robbins & Coulter, 2009). They should know that new technologies and strategies applicable to nearly every career emerge every day, and staying up to date provides a suitable opportunity to be ahead. Individual employees may form book clubs where they share valuable concepts, knowledge, and terminology that would help them improve their performance. Such clubs allow workers to learn new things and be clear on areas that they do not understand. Also, individual workers can identify a mentor from another organizational department they would like to explore (Robbins & Coulter, 2009). Often, learning on another person’s experience is an excellent approach to acquire knowledge and introduce oneself to other available opportunities. Applying these personal initiatives could go a long way toward developing one’s career. 

Employees can explore other options that could help them develop and grow their careers. Every member of staff needs to set objectives and create a plan to attain them. People who succeed in their work usually determine what they aspire to get the internal drive to work harder. A suitable way to achieve the best results from the goal-setting process is to use the goal-setting theory as guidance. The framework introduced by Edwin Locke in the 1960s implies that setting goals are primarily connected to job performance (Bozkurt et al., 2017). It suggests that challenging and specific objectives and suitable responses contribute to better and higher task outcomes (Locke & Latham, 2006). Nonetheless, the commitment to work towards the achievement of the goal is the primary source of motivation. Workers should remember several key factors when setting goals, including specific and measurable aspirations, which include precise estimates and dates so one can measure their level of success (Locke & Latham, 2006). Individuals should set attainable and relevant goals because it is unrealistic to set a standard that is difficult to achieve. Individual workers can develop their careers by creating a timeline, which outlines the key milestones (Locke & Latham, 2006). Besides, workers should use the available company programs considering that some firms have formal initiatives to help workers advance their careers. Whereas workers may have to pursue their career development informally, others have programs that may help employees improve their careers and follow the right direction. Other tips that individual workers can use to advance their career include owning one’s career path by knowing what they want, writing down what one wants to achieve to avoid any confusion and transitioning from one phase to the other without much stress.  

Factors that Impact Career Development

Other than the roles business leaders and workers play to foster career development, both the leaders and employees should understand that various factors can influence a person’s career development. Therefore, it is imperative to consider these factors during helping others improve their level to attain the best results (Kaya & Ceylan, 2014). The success of a career development would depend on individual personality characteristics. It is only possible to achieve the best outcome from a career development process when both the organizational leaders and their followers have positive values, interests, personality, and aptitude (Kaya & Ceylan, 2014). These personal qualities play essential functions in career development because they determine the occupations that individuals find satisfying and the nature of corporate environments in which it is possible to thrive (Kaya & Ceylan, 2014). It is why both business leaders and workers need to perform a self-appraisal that will help them learn about themselves. 

Businesses must consider financial obligations and resources because it is only possible to develop a career when they have the monetary prowess to engage in the practice. The business should know that pursuing some career options may be expensive (Hedge & Rineer, 2017). For example, the firm may have to spend more money paying its workers’ tuition fees in developing a career. Such an option that requires one to attend college may be difficult for the company to manage, especially when it lacks the financial prowess to finance the project. Similarly, the practice can be costly for workers who want to advance their careers at a personal level (Hedge & Rineer, 2017). Moreover, financial obligations, such as loans, mortgages, rent, and fees, may derail individuals’ attempts to develop their careers. Individual employees and the business can overcome the challenge by putting enough money to utilize during a career transformation (Hedge & Rineer, 2017). It is essential to consider other factors that could influence career development and take appropriate actions. Emotional, mental, and physical impairments could be a significant challenge in career development that all parties must consider with uttermost attention (Hedge & Rineer, 2017). Additionally, it is essential to consider how age can impact career development because, in many instances, older people may not have much time to advance their career. 

Phases of Career Development

The organization and workers should be conversant with the various career development stages to achieve the best results. Gyansah and Guantai (2018) think that the most appropriate way to examine and discuss careers is to consider them as comprising different phases. The first stage is an exploration where a person develops several expectations about the career they want to develop. A person at this phase makes consultations widely to identify what suits them. The second phase is an establishment stage where a person takes the initiative to pursue their dreams. The third phase is mid-career, where one engages in their new position practices while exploring their strengths and weaknesses. The fourth phase is the late-career, where a person evaluates their progress and achievements in their new position. An individual may want respect from junior workers at this stage. The final phase is decline, where a person retires or starts to experience some drop in their performance. Knowing these stages is essential because it prepares one of what to expect while developing their career.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The study argues that workers and organizational leaders all have a role in promoting career development. The paper describes how business managers and their employees have a role to play in fostering career development. However, it is imperative to consider factors that could hamper the initiative and take appropriate remedies. The findings suggest that career development yields the best results when workers and organizational leaders work as a team to improve their capacity to serve. Moreover, the study informs that achieving the best outcome requires managers and employees to play their respective roles while acknowledging that attaining the desired outcome depends on how well they can help them.

References

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