Career Development

Career development is a process, or cycle, an individual follows to prepare, sustain, and advance in their chosen career.

In the past, high profile companies and organizations held conferences for their employees centered on career development. This worked two-fold. It enabled the employee to learn skills to later advance through the workplace, which then enabled the company to advance further in their chosen market.

While many companies still choose to educate, these days it is up to the majority of individuals to assume responsibility for their own education, progress and career development. The more prepared a person is the better their chance at getting hired and advancement.

One of the first things an individual needs to do when starting to examine their career development is to consider what skills they already possess at the present time. What he (or she) wants to be when he grows up. Is the person good at organization? How about working one-on-one with clients? What about education? Companies want to know what skills a potential employee will bring to their business needs.

The next thing involved in career development is deciding which career choices are best for them at the present time. For example, if Sally wants to become a graphic designer, she should have some schooling and experience with graphical programs, drawing, and yes, math skills in her present day arsenal.

Once a person realizes the skills he already knows to aid a career choice, he may find he lacks in certain areas to continue. This is the importance of continuing education in career development.

While taking classes for a chosen field a good plan is to take classes centering on career development as well. This can be done at any time, before, during, or in between a career cycle. Such classes teach how to acknowledge the skills a person has, how to use these things to write the perfect resume and can aid in the decision making process of what classes, seminars and conferences to attend to further a career.

Since markets and consumer desires change from year to year, continuing education is a must for anyone serious at their career.

Some career development surveys and studies watch employee stress levels. This is a subject many companies continue to look at when considering their company and employee growth. How well does the individual cope with rushed situations? Does the person work with other employees to get the job done, or does he prefer to go at it alone? If he feels overwhelmed, does he explain this to his boss, keep it to himself, or lash out at others.

These are some of the things to consider whether a person is just starting a career, or is in the middle of it.