CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Career Development

Career Development

Question 1: Reflection on Career Development

Career development is one of the crucial aspects in the professional life of a person. It pertains to the development or evolution of a person's career in the particular field of interest chosen by him. It is aimed at building an individual's personality by success at all the phases of his personality grooming. Moreover, the most important association of the career development of an individual is the issue of educational attainment in entire academic life. In other words, it refers to the lifelong behavioral, psychological, and other related processes which influence the shaping of one's career the span of life. Thus, it is necessary to choose the right career pattern and makes correct decision as it will involve the value expressions, integration of life roles and the other connected aspects throughout one's life.

Career Development Process

The process of career development is extended over the entire life span. It involves the introspective evaluation and self-assessment of one's interest and abilities in various fields. The process of developing the career in ones' educational life is illustrated below:

Figure 1: Career Development Process (ACSSS, 2007, p12)

Assessment

When beginning to ponder over the development of career, the individual needs to perform the personality assessment. Questions such as "Who am I?" and “What do I want in future?” should be asked. If one has been thinking about the career to pursue then one may reassess the possible options available and the options already made. The question “Where do I start?” would emerge. This process, typically, begins with the elements of self-assessment. The individual needs to realize what he/she really is with a critical judgment to effective career planning. Further steps of planning the career can be broken down as follows:

Skills

The individual needs to think about the skills he/she possesses. This will lead to a proper decision.

Interests

It is essential to judge the area of interest before one move to the choice of a career or a field of study.

Values

It is necessary to assess the values and believes of a person. This will also determine the motivational factor of the person regarding work.

Personality

One must analyse the type of personality and principles ones possesses. Moreover, evaluating the personal preferences forms the requisites of the career development.

Knowing the answers to these questions and understanding the sensitive issues deeply would help an individual evaluate the possible career options available. Besides this, looking into the opportunities and determining the changes which might occur in future will support a satisfying career in future.

Explore

Once the self-assessment has been done, the candidate can move on to the exploring and researching work. This might include interviewing friends or peers for information, researching the physical and online libraries for the subjects and universities available, or volunteering for other related activities which would allow an individual to have knowledge about different study and professional areas.

Set goals

After the assessment and exploration, the phase of goal-setting begins. This requires the individual to have a clear idea ...