The Career Planning

Abstract

The study is based on the feasibility and importance of career planning. The issue of career planning is relevant today because the job occupies a significant place in human life. Thus, the ability to plan career development contributes to many professional purposes. The work consists of a brief overview of the concept and the nature of career planning, review of commonly used methods of planning, as well as factors that should be considered in the process. In addition, a number of different opinions regarding the problem were considered with the aim of making a comprehensive review. As a result, the concept of career planning is an appropriate measure for the organization of professional development with an individual approach to its use.

The Career Planning

Introduction

The issue of choosing a future career and its planning is an important element in the professional formation of every person. Career is a way to meet many human needs, not only material, but also moral, such as the achievement and self-realization. Career planning is a way to organize the process of achieving the work objectives and needs. The current economic environment requires a person to have discipline and clarity of the goals in the framework of his professional activity. The presence of the guidelines and directions for the professional development are the essential ingredients for a successful career. The indecision, excessive fluctuations during the decision-making, uncertainty and disorientation can cause the stagnation in a career, as the aforementioned factors have the destructive nature. Career planning is an important exercise, which deserves a special attention of individuals, who aspire to achieve success, regardless of the sphere of activity.

Definition and Nature of the Career Planning

Career planning is the process that aims to define the stages of career development as well as potential challenges, measures and methods for the implementation of the individual character. Career planning is the direction in the framework of the Human Resources’ activity in an organization. It has an orientation to identify the strategy of promoting and developing the professionals who work in the company. It aims to coordinate their labor activity with the progress and maximum benefit for the company. Subjects, who engage in career planning, are the employee, the manager of personnel service or line manager (VirginiaJobs, 2015). The basis for career planning is often the scientific substantiation of criteria for a particular post, such as age, personal and professional qualities of the candidate, and regulatory lines of his tenure.

The professional development of an employee, during which he gains the necessary qualification skills and knowledge for the desirable position, is one of the main components of the career development plan. Its second principal aspect is the gradual passing of the career ladder with detailed approach. By occupying the certain positions, a person can get the necessary experience and skills for obtaining the desired job and successfully work on it. The actions of the employee or the company that carry out the plan for a career are called its development.

Career planning aims to achieve promotion to the desired position and meet all its requirements. At the same time, an important step is to identify the main features that the position should have, to understand the criteria that guide to the final goal. The main parameters of a future career, which determine the direction of career planning, are its compliance to the self-assessment of a person. Thus, a career should bring moral satisfaction; have the optimal location of jobs; contribute to a healthy well-being; and possess developed infrastructure. Additional important parameters include good working conditions, the creative nature of the job, and the opportunity to be relatively independent within the workflow. The remuneration and additional bonuses, the opportunity for the self-improvement, and the sufficient amount of free time for the family are the key parameters for the career orientation.

Career Planning Methods

Among the many methods of the career planning, it is possible to select a few that are most frequently used. The first method is to organize the consultations with persons competent in the matter. The experts can help to choose the right approach to the career planning for the individual. The adviser may be the boss, psychologist, career consultant, or the representative of the higher educational institutions in the academic environment.

The second method is to use the materials, which the company provides for the purpose of career planning. Some companies have a practice of developing methodological materials to help their employees organize the career goals by taking into account the objectives of the organization. Thus, the workers are able to assess their abilities and qualities for compliance with the desired career goals adequately and objectively.

The third method is to use the assessment system of the service performance. The approach identifies and processes the information about the strengths and weaknesses of a particular employee. Thus, it determines the need for further development of his career, the direction or the necessity to change the type of the activity through a perfect mismatch.

The next method requires obtaining the necessary information, advice and the correct formulation of the essential questions through the attending the specialized workshops, which are held upon the initiative of the company.

Another method used by companies is to encourage employees to compile a personal plan for the professional and career development. The method is effective, as it motivates the workers to project their careers in the future without the influence of extraneous persons. Also, they can articulate the specific professional needs and evaluate their capabilities. Time development of high technology makes it possible to simplify a large number of job tasks, including the career planning. As a relatively new but popular method, using special software and Web sites is applicable. The tools also perform the function of advice, analyzing the inserted parameters of the person.

The Different Views about the Career Planning

Many opinions concerning the issue of the career planning exist. People discuss the future with their family, friends, good acquaintances, colleagues, as well as strangers on the forums, freely expressing their opinion. Some people believe planning future career path ahead may not be rational because a person cannot know what kind of profession will be on demand in five, ten or twenty years (Brown, 2012). However, another opinion exists that if a person is not engaged in planning their careers, the process will be uncontrolled and chaotic. Besides, a worker should know what he wants from his career, how he sees its future development (EnMast, 2013). In addition, the process of career planning gives a person a sense of control, because he is aware of the near future, which also has a motivational effect.

Others argue that, for example, conducting conversations about career development plans with the boss may bring negative consequences. If a person is not sure that he will build his career within the organization of interest or does not consider it as a permanent or long-term place of work; boss could change his attitude to the employee or even fire him. The opponents of the view say it is not necessary to be so radical, because the outcome of the event directly depends on the personality of the manager. In addition, through knowing the wants, needs, and motives of an employee, a boss can contribute to his professional development and right direction (EnMast, 2013).

My idea of the career planning comes down to the fact that a person should initially set priorities in his career line. After realizing the main aspects of the desired result, and setting specific objectives, the plan will follow. It includes defining of the indicative action, steps, and milestones that will help to achieve the desired objectives. The advice to involve people competent in the matter in the process of career planning may be appropriate. The reason is that they have experience and knowledge about the issue. However, one should rely on own desires and needs, because they are the primary internal motives in the matter. Also, my understanding of career planning is not limited to the construction of any strict framework and regulation action, because it is difficult to predict all the likely outcomes of events and create a pattern of behavior that will not be influenced by external factors. Despite the fact that during the career planning, many aspects may be unrecorded, or may change, it should be conducted. If a man does not decide how his career should change over time, he will have to rely on chance.

Factors in the Career Planning

When planning a career, one must take into account their desires and presence of the factors, on which the success of the professional development may depend. Knowing about them, one can predict how they may affect the process of building a career and how to avoid or minimize its potential adverse impact. The main influence is the external factors, which are related to aspects of the organization, and internal, which are the parameters of the human personality. Also, it is worth remembering that a number of factors relating to the circumstances of life, social and global changes may arise. However, it is also important to understand that it is almost impossible to control the external influences. The key factor that people should take into account when planning a career is the motivation that contributes to an increase in the desire to work productively and efficiently. It is directly related to the main criteria in the selection of the desired positions that have been described previously. In addition, self-efficacy in performance of duties in the frames of the selected fields of activity, level of education, and skills, as well as the ability to build a relationship with colleagues must be evaluated.

Conclusion

A career is becoming a principal aspect in the life of a modern man. The career organization and planning ceased to be a secondary issue, as it became apparent that it is necessary to have a personal course and private direction. Career planning is the process of setting professional goals, development of the methods and a step-by-step plan to achieve the desired result. There are many different opinions about the rationality of the career planning that makes the issue a personal matter and the choice of each individual. Taking into account the factors and the circumstances, as well as the fact of the environment’s instability, a person can make a map with marked route, which motivates the reaching of a destination a matter of time and a sufficient amount of efforts.