Chapter 17: Career Management and Development

Definition of Terms

1. Career development - prepares a person for progression along a designated career path. This is the
organization's formal approach to ensure that people with the proper qualifications and experiences are
available when needed. This is an ongoing formalized effort by an organization that focuses on developing
and enriching the organization's HR in the light of both the employee's and the organization's needs.

2. Career management - the process through which employees become aware of their interests, values,
strengths, and weaknesses. It also involves obtaining information about job opportunities within the
company, identifying career goals, and establishing action plans to achieve career goals,

3. Career - a general course that a person chooses to pursue throughout his/ her working life. It is an
individually perceived sequence of position occupied by an individual during the course of one's lifetime. In
today's fast-changing world, perhaps the most appropriate way of looking at one's career is that it is
"boundary-less" including several employers and possibly different occupations. This definition then
suggests that a career includes the various specific jobs that a person performs, the kinds of responsibilities
and activities that make up those jobs, movements and transitions between jobs, and an individual's overall
assessment of and feelings of satisfaction with these various components of his/ her career.

4. Career planning - a process whereby an individual sets career goals and identities the means to achieve
them. It refers to the efforts by an individual to become more aware of one's own skills, interests, values,
and opportunities.

5. Organization's career pathing - is that phase of HRM that sets up paths along which the individual
moves and progresses over time in the organization.

6. Career path - a flexible line of progression through which an employee typically moves during
employment with a company.

7. Career anchor- self-concept based on differing work motives and abilities/ guides; stabilizes and
integrates a person's work experiences.

8. Career plateau - likelihood of additional hierarchical promotion or further job advancement is low or
permanently or temporarily blocked.

9. Career pathing - by which an employee and his/her supervisor plan a career progression that takes into
account present experiences and skills. It identifies development needs to prepare a person for future
career goals.
D.C. Feldman, Managing Careers in Organizations (Scott Foresman Publishing, 1988).

Individuals traditionally join an organization and often stay with it for the entire working careers. To
recognize employee's loyalty, organizations provide gold necklace, watch, service pins, and others to
reward and recognize employees who have stayed with the company for years. These are usually those
with 10 years s above service to the company.

From the organization's viewpoint, career development can reduce costa dos te employee's
turnover. Taking an interest in an employee's career can also imp morale, boost productivity, and help the
organization become more efficient. The fact that an organization shows interest in an employee's career
development positive effect on the regard them of the organization and not merely as an employee.

Objectives of Career Development

1. To meet the immediate and future HR needs basis of the organization on a timely basis

2. To inform the organization and the individual about potential career path within the organization

3. To utilize existing HR programs to the fullest by integrating the activities that select, assign, develop, and
manage individual careers with the organization’s plans

Career and the Individual

The following are key information about career development from the perspective of the individual
taking the initiative to plan his/her own career. The other perspective would be that of the organization
providing career development programs for individuals.

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Logical Flow of Events in Developing a Career

Zandy Leibowitz, "Career Development Works

Overtime at Corning Inc." Personnel Journal (April
1990).

B.C Winterscheid, "A Career Development System

Coordinates Training Efforts," Personnel Journal
(August 1990).

A. Finding a Suitable Field

This involves identifying your interest; what you want to do that would make you happy and satisfied
which would also bring forth material rewards.

The following are ways to identify your suitable field:

1. Influence of parent, relative, or friend

2. Reading colleges course catalog
3. Through counseling or testing
4. Professors, including academic advisers
5. Natural and forced opportunity

In addition to the methods listed above, it is also important to seek valid information about career
fields so that one can find a good fit between oneself and existing opportunities. The said information can
be acquired through:

1. Reference books about career information

2. Computer-assisted career guidance
3. Career information in newspapers and magazines
4. Speaking to people

Finding a suitable field also involves self-assessment. This refers to the use of information by
employees to determine their career interests, values, aptitudes, and behavioral tendencies. Taking
psychological tests like Strong- Campbell Interest Inventory and the Self-Directed Search can also help you
identify your field. It helps employees identify their occupational and job and determine employees'
preferences for working in different types of environment (e.g., sales, HR, IT, production, etc.) Self-
assessment can also involve exercises such as the one below. This type of exercise helps employees
consider where they are now in their career fits with their current situation and available resources. Career
counselors are often used to assist employees in the self-assessment process and interpret the results of
psychological tests.

Example of a Self-assessment Exercise¹¹

Activity (Purpose)

Step 1: Where am I? (Examine current position of life and career.) Think about your life from past and
present to the future. Draw a time line to represent important events.

Step 2: Who am I? (Examine different roles.) Using 3 x 5 cards, write down one answer per card to the
question "Who am I?"

Step 3: Where would I like to be and what would I like to happen? (This helps in future goal setting.)
J.E. McMahon and S.K. Merman. ASTD Training and Development Handbook, 4th edition. R.L. Craig (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996).
Taken from the book of Raymond Noe et al. Fundamentals of Human Resource Management (McGraw-Hill Education Asia, 2007).

Consider your life from present to future. Write an autobiography answering three questions:

1. What do you want to have accomplished?

2. What milestones do you want to achieve?
3. What do you want to be remembered for?

Step 4: An Ideal Year in the Future (Identify resources needed.)

Consider a one-year period in the future. If you had unlimited resources, what would you do? What
would the ideal environment look like? Does the ideal environment match step 3?

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Step 5: An Ideal Job (Create current goal.)

In the present, think about an ideal job for you with your available resources. Consider your role,
resources, and type of training or education needed.

Step 6: Career by Objective Inventory (Summarize current situation.)

1. What gets you excited each day?

2. What do you do well? What are you known for?
3. What do you need to achieve your goals?
4. What could interfere with reaching your goals?
5. What should you do now to move toward reaching your goals?
6. What is your long-term career objective?

The above mentioned exercise is very ideal for those who are done with their undergraduate
studies. The next exercise is all about choosing a college major and charting your ideal path." This is very
ideal for those who are planning to puro their tertiary education.

1. Examination or self-assessment of your interests. What are the things that excite you? What type
of jobs or careers appeal to you? If you are not sure, there are career assessment centers that can
help you.
2. Examination of your abilities. This is identifying your strengths, weaknesses and skills. You can
begin this self-examination by looking at the courses you took in high school. What were your best
subjects to see if there is pattern? Take a look at the kind of extracurricular activities that you have
been involved with during these days.
3. Examining what you value in work. Examples of values include helping society, working under
pressure, group affiliation, working alone or with groups, having a positive impact on others, and
the like.
4. Career Exploration. Explore a general list of occupations or search for a specific occupation that
you are interested in. There are different web sites offering information for free like Quintessential
Careers: Career Exploration Tools.
Randall S. Hansen, Choosing a College Major: How to Chart Your Ideal Path, http://www. quinteareers.com/choosing_major.html

5. Reality Check. This is the need to honestly evaluate your options. Do you really value physicians
and have an interest in being a doctor but have little skills in science? There are other ways to get
around some of these obstacles during reality check, but it is still important to face these obstacles
and be realistic about whether you can get around them.
6. Narrowing your choices and focusing on choosing a major. Based on all your research and self-
assessment of the first five stops on your journey, you should now have a better idea of the
careers/majors that do interest you.

B. Conducting a Job Campaign

Some people who have identified a field do not have to look for a job. Among these people are
those who enter a family business, and those in an unusually high-demand field. Others have to conduct a
job campaign upon graduation and perhaps at various times in their career. The three major aspects of the
job campaign are job hunting tactics, preparing a resume, and performing well in an interview.

Job Hunting Tactics

1. Identify objectives.
2. Identify potential contribution.
3. Use multiple approaches and tactics.
4. Use networking.
Potential Sources of Contacts through Networking
a. Friends
b. Parents and other family members
c. Faculty and staff
d. Former or present employer
e. Community groups, churches
f. Trade and professional education
g. Career fairs
5. Persist.
6. Take rejection in stride.
7. Avoid common mistakes such as:
a. Not knowing what type of work one wants to do;
b. Not taking the initiative to generate job leads; and
c. Having a poor resume.

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C. Establishing Career Goals

Career planning in the form of goal setting and establishing a career path ideally precedes finding
a job. These goals usually relate to desired positions (ie., to become HR manager within 3 years), level of
skill application (ie., to use one's budgeting skills to improve the unit's cash flow problems), work setting
(i.e., to move to corporate marketing within 2 years), or skill acquisition (i.e., to learn how to use the
company's HR information system). Identifying your career goals and objectives increase your chance to
succeed in your chosen career. It should be realistic in terms of one's capabilities and job opportunities.

D. Establishing Career Path

This pertains to a series of positions in one or more organizations leading to a long-term goal. Many
companies are developing multiple or dual path systems to give individual contributors such as engineers,
scientists, and the like, additional career opportunities. Developing career paths involves analyzing work
and information flows, the type of tasks performed across jobs, similarities and differences in working
environments, and the historical movement patterns of employees into and out of the jobs (i.e., where in
the company employees come from and what positions they take after leaving the job),

E. Career Advancement Strategies and Tactics

The following strategies and tactics of organizational politics interpreted as ways of advancing one's
career because most of them help one acquire more time. This may involve enrolling in training courses
and seminars, can be networking or linkages, and the like.

1. Make an accurate self-appraisal.

2. Stick with what you do best.
3. Identify growth fields and growth companies.
4. Find the right organization for you.
5. Display good job performance.
6. Obtain broad experience.
7. Find a sponsor and a mentor.
8. Document your accomplishments.
9. Rely on networking.
10. Make the necessary career transitions.
11. Cope with career plateau.

F. Career Switching

This refers to the shift from one career to another. For some, they switch careers because they
have no other choice due to forced retirement, layoff, or boredom in their present job.

In some cases, employees decide to switch careers because of skills deficiencies or obsolescence.
It is a reduction in an employee's competence resulting from lack of knowledge of new work processes,
techniques, and technologies that have developed since the employee completed education. To avoid this,
managers can provide challenging work assignments and require employees to acquire new skills
especially in the field of I.T. This is developing a company climate with emphasis on continuous learning.

If all else fails, career switching is recommended or the employee has no other choice but to face
early retirement.
R.H. Vaughn and M.C. Wilson, "Career Management Using Job Trees: Charting a Path through the Changing Organization," Human
Resource Journal (1995).

G. Making Career Changes

Career change or career switching is a natural life progression as most studies show that an
average job seeker will change careers (not just jobs) several times over the course of his/her lifetime. Here
are the steps to help you on a path toward career change:

1. Assessment of likes and dislikes. Most people change careers because they dislike their present
job, their boss, or their company. Identifying what you like will help you determine what excites and
energizes you. This can be done using the self-assessment exercise mentioned earlier in this
chapter to direct their new career search. These will give the direction in changing your career.
2. Researching new careers. Research the type of careers that center on your passions. The
research you will do also partly depends on how much change you are making. For example,
changing from a teacher to a corporate trainer versus switching from a nurse to a web designer.
3. Transferable skills. Leverage some of your current skills and experience to your new career.
There are many skills (such as communications, leadership, planning, and the like) that are
transferable and applicable to what you want to do in your new career.
4. Training and education. You may find it necessary to update your skills and broaden your
knowledge. Take it slowly.

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 5. Changing in or out. Only few recognize that once happy employees can be happy and productive
again in a different capacity. It is more than likely that you will need to switch employers to change
fields, but do not overlook your current employer. Don't start asking a job switch unless you are
completely ready to do so.
6. Job hunting basics. Try Job-Hunt.Org and other web sites which provide basic guide in job
hunting including the preparation of cover letter, resume, and links to employment sites where you
can submit these.
7. Be flexible. You will need to be flexible about nearly everything-from your employment status to
relocation and salary. Set positive goals for yourself but expect setbacks and do not let these things
dampen your spirit. You might also consider starting your own business.

H. Retirement Planning

This completes the career cycle. People should adequately plan for retirement both psychologically
and financially. This includes planning what to do after retirement.

Career Stages

There are different career stages and the stage you are in would influence your preference for
various occupations. The main stages of the career cycle are given as follows:

1. Growth stage - the period from birth to age 14 when a person develops a self-concept by
identifying and interacting with other people such as family. friends, and teachers. Toward the end
of this stage, the adolescent (who by time has developed preliminary ideas about what his or her
interests and abilities are) begins to think realistically about alternative occupations.
2. Exploration stage - the period (roughly from 15 to 25) during person seriously explores various
occupational alternatives, attempting to match these alternatives with his/her interests and abilities.
Tentative broad occupational choices are usually made during the beginning of the period. Then,
toward the end of this period, a seemingly appropriate choice in made and the person tries out for
a beginning job.
a. Each stage presents distinct developmental challenges for the individual. In addition to
these typical career stages, there are also circumstances which interrupt or postpone the
career cycle. For example, many women interrupt their careers in order to raise families
and then when their children are already old enough, they resume their career pursuits
later in life. In addition, many individuals change careers in midlife. Two factors in this stage
appear to be:
b. Initial job assignments
c. Characteristics of the first supervisor or mentor. A mentor is so experienced senior
employee who helps develop a less experienced employee. Many organizations today
actively promote met relationships.
3. Establishment stage - the period roughly from ages 26 to 44 that is the heart of most people's
working lives. During this period, it is hoped s suitable occupation is found and the person engages
in those activities that help him/her earn a permanent place in it. This also involves creating a
meaningful and relevant role in the organization.
4. Maintenance stage - between the ages 45 to 60 during which the person receives his/her place in
the world of work and most efforts are now directed at maintaining that place. If the employee has
been in the same position for several years, then one must recognize the possibility of changing j
requirements, lateral job movement, lessening of promotional opportunities and even possible, job
loss or layoff. At this stage, the individual should already prepare for the next stage while preparing
to cope with becoming plateaued.
5. Decline or disengagement stage - (60 and above) the period during which many people are faced
with the prospect of having to accept reduced levels of power and responsibility and learn to accept
and develop new roles as mentor and confidant for those who are younger. There is then the min
or less inevitable retirement, after which the person finds alternative uses for the time and effort
formerly spent on his/her occupation. Figure 17 shows that in every stages of life, an individual
experiences mini life cycles, exploration, growth, establishment, maintenance, stagnation, and
decline-to attain the level of satisfaction one may desire according to his/her vocational self-concept
and occupational availability"
Douglas T. Hall, Careers In and Out of Organizations (Sage Publications, Inc., 2002).

Satisfaction in one's career can be reached

when an individual achieves career maturity in every
life stage. Effective career growth must be planned,
evaluated. and updated in every stage because one
may reach career effectiveness in one stage, but fail
to maintain it in the next stage. There is a need to
emphasize the importance of identifying

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competencies and exposure with the knowledge of occupation in early stages because of its implication for
career education and career counseling programs.

In the contemporary era of downsizing and layoffs, sometimes people go through these stages of
career development in a relatively short period of time. A person may find himself/herself disengaging from
the organization at a relatively young age and may also anticipate beginning the entire process again by
seeking new opportunities, new challenges, and new interests.

Career Planning

Career planning is important to both organizations and individuals. It requires careful coordination
between the two. The HR managers usually represent the organization in the career planning process.

a. Career management for new employees

New employees usually encounter a number of potential problems including their initial job
and its accompanying challenges. Disappointments with initial job assignments frequently spill
over into their attitudes and job satisfaction. Possible solutions to this concern are realistic job
preview, a challenging first job assignment, or by means of assigning new employees to
managers who have demonstrated an ability to mentor.
b. Career management for mid-career employees
Some mid-career problems include mid-career plateau and job loss. Most employees after
progressing through two or three levels in the organization and receiving commensurate
promotions are likely to encounter a plateau when further advancement is less. In extreme cases,
they are often the first to go in an organization undergoing downsizing. One way to help these
employees is by providing specially designed career counseling services or by incorporating
special career path options.

Late Career Stage

This is the final stage in an employee's career where he/she has already reached an age of
adulthood and should eventually prepare himself/herself, either for a bigger responsibility or for retirement.
This involves leaving a job and work role and making a transition into life without work. For some employees,
retirement involves making a transition out of their current job and company and seeking a full or part-time
employment elsewhere.

The aging workforce and the use of early retirement programs to shrink companies' workforces
have three implications:

1. Companies must the needs of older employees.

2. Companies must have taken steps to prepare employees for retirement.
3. Companies must be careful that early retirement programs do not discriminate against older
employers.

Developmental Needs during Late Career

1. Senior leadership roles

2. Productivity
3. Effective retirement.

Organizational Actions during Late Career

1. Understanding older employees - managing older employees requires sensitivity to late career issues
on the part of the top management and supervisory staff.

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2. Performance standards and feedback - once confronted with low productivity among senior employees,
performance problems should be stated in clear behavioral terms, and consequences should be stated and
identified to avoid continuous ineffectiveness.

3. Education and job restructuring - ongoing learning opportunities through the integration of stimulating,
responsible job assignments, and continuing education can play a major role in the revitalization of the late
career workforce.

4. Establishment of flexible work patterns - most retirees feel that they should be able to reduce their
working week to get ready for retirement. These options include part-time or seasonal employment, special
consulting assignments, job sharing or job rotation, flexible or compressed working hours, and job
restructuring.

5. Development of retirement planning programs - this plays an important role in helping employees
make a smoother transition from work to retirement. Such support is of great value in maintaining loyalty
and motivation of the longer-serving members of the workforce. This will enhance employee-employer
relationship.

6. Early retirement-this is the flip side of the retirement issue which encourages less talented or adaptable
employees to retire early. Suggested programs include supplementing the reduced Social Security System
benefits for the employees who retire before full benefits are given, cash bonuses, maintenance of benefits
until age 65, cost of living adjustments to pension benefits, and full pension benefits for early retirement.

Career Plateau

This is defined as "the point in a career where the likelihood of additional hierarchical promotion is
very low." Plateauing means unanticipated and unwanted leveling of career due to the elimination of layers
of management through corporate restructuring. It is the point where it becomes evident that further
advancement is permanently or temporarily blocked.

Plateauing is not necessarily bad for the employee or the company. A plateau employee may not
desire increased job responsibilities. Job performance may teet the minimum acceptable standards.
Plateauing becomes dysfunctional when the employee feels stuck in a job that offers no potential for
personal growth,

Employees can have career plateau for several reasons:

1. Lack of ability
2. Lack of training
3. Low need for achievement
4. Confusion about job responsibilities
5. Slow company growth resulting in reduced development opportunities

Causes of Plateaus

1. Changing skill requirements

2. Flattening organizations
3. Boomer bulge
4. Increased automation
5. Rise of contingent workers
6. Popularity of business process outsourcing
7. Shifting career expectations

Possible Remedies for Plateaued Employees

1. Employees must understand the reason for the plateau.

2. Employees should be encouraged to participate in development activities
3. Employees should be encouraged to seek career counseling.

Three actions that can aid in managing the plateauing process:

1. Prevent plateaus from becoming ineffective.

2. Integrate the relevant career-related information systems (improve monitoring so that emerging
problems can be detected and treated early.
3. Manage ineffective plateaus and frustrated managers most effectively.

Managerial Career States

1. Learners as latecomers - these individuals, considered to have advancement in potential, are not
performing up to par at present.

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James Stoner, Management, Prentice-Hall International Edition (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2000),

2. Stars-these individuals are seen as doing high quality work and are considered to have high
advancement potential.

3. Solid citizens-those managers, seen as doing good or even outstanding work have, for one reason or
another little, if any, chance for further advancement

4. Deadwood - these individuals are seen as having little or no chance for advancement, and their current
performance in seen as marginal or inadequate.

Rehabilitating Ineffective Plateaued Employees

1. Provide alternative means of recognition.

2. Develop new ways to make their current jobs
more satisfying.
3. Effect revitalization through reassignment.
4. Utilize reality-based self-development programs.
5. Change managerial attitudes toward plateaued
employees.

Other options to rehabilitate plateaued

employees include lateral movement, job enrichment,
exploration of possible alternatives, realignment,
demotion, and the last resort is termination.

Identifying Occupational Orientation

Career counseling expert John Holland says that a person's personality (including values, motives,
and needs) is another determinant of career choices. For example, a person with a social orientation might
be attracted to careers or occupations that entail interpersonal rather than intellectual or physical activities
such as social work.

Most people have more than one orientation and

Holland believes that the mom similar or
compatible these orientations are, the less
internal conflict or indecision a person will face in
making a career choice.

Identifying Career Anchor

A career anchor is a self-concept based
on differing work motives and abilities This self-
concept guides, stabilizes, and integrates a
person's work experiences. Self-concept is the
sum total of a person's perceptions and
evaluations of himself/herself

As an anchor of a ship that gives stability and security to the ship, people will feel secure and stable
to pursue work roles that remain anchored around their self- concepts, even though like a ship, they may
move around the anchor as well. This is because it is difficult to change or shift to a new anchor especially
during the latter part of your career.

Five Career Anchors

1. Managerial competence - the primary orientation of people with this anchor is to develop managerial
abilities of interpersonal competence, analytical competence, and emotional competence required at high
levels of management. Aspirations to manage have been found to be strongly related to managerial career
anchors, including capacity to bear considerable responsibility, ability to influence and control others, and
skills in solving problems with incomplete information.
John Holland. "Personality Groups and Compatible Occupation," Self-Directed Seach Professional Manual (Psycological Assessment
Resources, Inc., 1985).

2. Technical/functional competence - the primary orientation of the competent people is the actual work
they do and their wish to continue using s their existing skills, rather than increasing organizational level

3. Security -the orientation of this group of people is primarily to search for security. They are most attached
to a particular organization or geographical area than they are to their work.

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4. Creativity- the orientation of these people is toward creating something that is entirely their own, whether
it be a product, a company, a work of art, or a personal fortune. Most of these are entrepreneurs who have
established their own business.

5. Autonomy and independence - An orientation to avoid working under the constraints of organizational
life, and looking for freedom and independence. Many of these people are leaving the organization to
become consultant or start their own businesses. Some of them are also college professors or freelance
writers.

Understanding the career orientations/anchors of individuals helps individuals better in evaluating

their potential career paths.

Career Management Responsibilities of the Manager, the HR Manager, the Company, and the
Employee

Nothing can absolve the manager and the employer from their key role in career development.
Guidelines here include the following:

1. Avoid reality shock - avoiding the disillusionment associated with a person's new job that results
from difference between expectation and realities of organization life.
For first time workers, this is a period of reality testing during which their initial hopes and
goals first confront the reality of organizational life and of their talents and needs.
2. Provide challenging initial jobs-to aid the career development of employees.
3. Be demanding - choose especially trained, high-performing supportive supervisors who can set
high standards for new employees during their critical exploratory first year.
4. Provide periodic job rotation and job pathing - this is by means of allowing employees to try out
a variety of challenging jobs to be able to assess their aptitudes and preferences. This in turn will
help the organization get a manager with a broader multifunctional view of the organization.
5. Provide opportunities for mentoring - mentoring can be defined as the use of an experienced
individual (the mentor) to teach and train someone (protégé) with less knowledge in a given area.
Through individualized attention, the mentor transfers needed information, and encouragement to
the protégé and in that way the opportunities for the protégé to optimize his/her career success are
improved. Training may be provided to facilitate the mentoring process and in particular to aid both
mentor and protégé in understanding their respective responsibility in the mentoring relationship.

To help employees deal with career issues, managers need to be effect in performing the four roles:
coach, appraiser, advisor, and referral agent. T responsibilities of each of these roles are shown in Table
12. As we see, the manage s responsible for helping the employee manage his career through meeting
personal needs as well as company needs.

Coaching, appraising, advising, and serving as referral agent, are important roles for managers to
play for employees in all stages of their careers. Employee early in their career may need information
related to how well their performance is meeting customer expectations. Employees in both establishment
and maintenance stages may use the manager as a sounding board for ideas and perspectives on job
changes and career paths.

Human Resource Manager's Role

The HR manager should provide information or

advice about training and development opportunities or
provide specialized services such as testing t determine
employees' values, interests and skills, help prepare
employees for job searches, and offer counseling on
career-related problems.

Company's Role

Companies are responsible for providing employees with the resources needed to be successful
in career planning. This entails providing some or all of the following for the employees:

1. Career workshops
2. Information on career and job opportunities
3. Career planning workbooks-printed guides that direct employees through a series of exercises,
discussions, and guidelines related to career planning

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 4. Career counseling advice from a professionally trained counselor who specializes in working with
employees seeking assistance with career issues.
5. Career paths planning job sequences, identifying skills needed for advancement within and across
job families such as moving from technical jobs to management jobs.

Employee's Role

1. Take the initiative to ask for feedback from supervisors and peers regarding their strengths and
weaknesses.
2. Identify their stage of career development and development needs.
3. Gain exposure to a range of learning opportunities (i.e., sales assignments, product design
assignments, administrative assignments).
4. Interact with employees from different work groups inside and outside the company (ie.,
professional associations like People Management Association of the Philippines or PMAP.
Association of Marketing Educators, Council of Management Educators, etc.)

Benefits of Career Development Systems

A. Career Development Practices

1. Development programs
2. Job information systems
3. Individual counseling or career discussions
4. Employee self-assessment tools
5. Career paths or career ladders
6. Career planning workshops
7. Succession planning
8. Career resource center
9. Preretirement workshops
10. Outplacement

B. Perceived Benefits as far as the Organization is Concerned

1. Better alignment of employee competencies with business goals

2. Better communication within the organization as a whole
3. More motivated workforce
4. Improved retention and reduced turnover of valued or key personnel
5. Enhanced productivity and profitability
6. Improved organizational competitiveness
7. Improved customer satisfaction and increased customer loyalty
8. Enhanced recruitment
9. Improved cost effectiveness in HR decisions

C. Perceived Benefits as far as Employees are Concerned

1. Improved skills, attitudes, and knowledge

2. Enhanced morale and job satisfaction
3. Improved opportunities for development
4. Greater sense of company direction or a clearer understanding organizational direction and values
5. Increased awareness of how to manage their careers realistically
6. Greater sense of responsibility for their own career development

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