Career Management and Development

 

Career Management and Development Person Per sonnel nel activi activitie tiess like like screen screening ing,, traini training, ng, and apprais appraising ing serve serve two basic basic roles roles in organizations. First, their traditional role has been to staff the organization-to fill its  positions with employees who have the requisite interests, abilities, and skills. Increasingly, however, these activities are taking on a second role of ensuring that the long-r lon g-run un intere interests sts of the employ employees ees are protec protected ted by the organi organizat zation ion and that, that, in  particular, the employee is encouraged to grow and realize his or her full potential.

Referring to staffing Referring staffing or personnel personnel management as human resource management reflects reflects this second role. A basic assumption underlying this role is that the employer has an obligation to utilize its employees’ abilities to the fullest and to give all employees a chance to grow and to realize their full potential and to develop successful careers. One way this trend is manifesting itself is in the increased emphasis many firms are placing today on career planning and development. Activities like personnel planning, screening, and training play a big role in the career  development process. Personnel planing for example, can be used not just to forecast open jobs but to identify potential internal candidates and the training they would need to fill these jobs. Similarly, an organization can use its periodic employee appraisals not just for salary decisions but for identifying the development needs of individual employees and ensuring that these needs are met. All the staffing activities, in other words, can be used to satisfy the needs of both the organization and the individual in such a way that they both gain: from improved performance, from a more committed work force and the employee from a richer, a more challenging career. For example, (1) performance appraisal’s traditional focus has been on rating for the  purpose of promotion, discipline, and rewards; using it to provide a career development focus means including development plans and individual goal setting. (2) Similarly, HR   planning traditionally focuses on job analysis and satisfying the organization’s staffing needs; adding a career development focus means including information about individual career interests and preferences as well as career path options. Before proceeding, it would be useful to define some of the terms we will be using t(1) hroCareer ughoutis a series of work-related this positions, paid or unpaid, lessthat on. help a person grow in   job job skill skills, s, succes success, s, and fulfil fulfillme lment. nt. (2) Career Career develop developmen mentt is the lif lifelo elong ng series series of  activ act ivit itie iess (suc (such h as work worksh shop ops) s) that that contr contrib ibut utes es to a pe pers rson’ on’ss caree careerr ex expl plor orat atio ion, n, establishment, success, and fulfillment. (3) Career planning is the deliberate process through which someone becomes aware of    personal personal skills, skills, interests, interests, knowledge, motivations motivations,, and other characteris characteristics tics;; acquires acquires inform inf ormati ation on about about opportu opportunit nities ies and choices choices;; identi identifie fiess career career-re -relat lated ed goals; goals; and establishes action plans to attain specific goals. Roles in Career Development: The individual, the manager, and the organization all have roles in the individual’s career  development. Ultimately it is the (1) individual who must accept responsibility for his or 

 

her own career career,, assess assess intere interests sts,, skill skills, s, and values values;; seek seek out career career inform informati ation on and resources; and generally take those steps that must be taken to ensure a happy and fulfilling career. Within the organization the (2) individual’s manager plays a role, too. Thee mang Th manger er sh shoul ould d provi provide de time timely ly an and d objec objecti tive ve perfo perform rman ance ce fe feedb edbac ack, k, of offe fer  r  development develop ment discussions, discussions, for instance. instance. The manager manager acts as a coach, appraiser, appraiser, advisor, and referral referral agent, for instance, instance, listening listening to and clarifying clarifying the individual individual’s ’s career plans, plans, giving feedback, generating career options, and linking the employee to organizational resources and career options. Finally, as we’ll also see in this lesson, (3) the employer plays a career development role. For example, it should provide career-oriented training and development opportunities, offer career information and career programs, and give employees a variety of career  options. Ultimately, as we’ll see, employers need not and should not provide such careeroriented activities purely out of altruism. Most employees will ultimately grade their  employers on the extent to which the organization allowed them to become the people they the y believ believed ed they they had the potent potential ial to become. become. And that will will help help determ determine ine their  their  commitment to their employers and their overall job satisfaction. Factors that affect career choices (1) Career Management - responsibilities of the individual himself  Steps in planning a career for you: (1) The first step in planning a career for yourself or someone else is to learn as much as  possible about the person’s interests, aptitudes, and skills. (2) Identify the person’s career stage Each person’s career goes though stages, and the stage you are in will influence your  knowledge of and preference for various occupations. The main stages of this career  cycle follows. -Growth stage: The growth stage lasts roughly from birth to age 14 and is a period during which the person person develops develops a self-concept self-concept by identifying identifying with and interacting interacting with other   people such as family, friends, and teachers. Toward the beginning of this period, role  playing is important, and children experiment with different ways of acting; this helps them to form impressions of how other people react to different behaviors to their developing a unique self-concept or identify. Toward the end ofand thiscontributes stage, the adolescent (who by this time has developed preliminary ideas about what his or her  interests and abilities are) begins to think realistically about alternative occupations. -Exploration stage: The exploration stage is the period (roughly from ages 15 to 24) during which a person seriously explores various occupational alternatives. The persons attempts to match these alternatives with what he or she has learned about them and about his or her own interests and abilities from school, leisure activities, and work. Tentative broad occupational choices are usually made during the beginning of this  period. Then toward the end of this period, a seemingly appropriate choice is made and the person tries out for a beginning job. Probably the most important task the person has in this and the preceding stage is that of developing a realistic understanding of his or her 

 

abilities and talents. Similarly, the person must make sound educational decisions based on reliable sources of information about occupational occup ational alternatives. - Establishment stage: The establishment stage spans roughly ages 24 to 44 and is the heart of most people’s work lives. During this period, it is hoped a suitable occupation is found and the person engages in those activities that help him or her earn a permanent   place in it. Often and particularly in the professions, the person locks on to a chosen occup occ upat atio ion n ea earl rly. y. But in most most cases cases,, this this is a perio period d durin during g whic which h th thee pe pers rson on is continu cont inuall ally y testin testing g his or her capabi capabili litie tiess and ambit ambition ionss agains againstt those those of the initia initiall occupational choice. The establishment stage is itself comprised of three substages. (a) The trial substage. Lasts from about ages 25 to 30. During this period, the person determines whether or not the chosen field is suitable; if it is not, several changes might   be attempted. Roughly between the ages of 30 and 40, the person goes through a stabilization substage. (b) The stabilization substage. Here firm occupational goals are set and the person does more explicit career planning to determine the sequence of promotions, job changes, and/or any educational educational activities activities that seem necessary necessary for accomplishi accomplishing ng these goals. Finally, somewhere between the mid-thirties and mid-forties, the person may enter the mid career crisis substage. (c) The mid career crisis crisis sub substa stage. ge. During this per period iod,, people people often often make make a major  major  reassessment of their progress relative to original ambitions and goals. They may find that they are not going to realize their dreams (such as being company president) or that, having been accomplished, their dreams are not all they were purported to be. Also during this period, people have to decide how important work and career are to be in their  life. It is often during this mid career substage that the person is faced for the first time wi with th diff diffic icul ultt ch choi oice cess be betw tween een what what he or sh shee re real ally ly want wants, s, what what re real ally ly ca can n be accomplished and how much must be sacrificed to achieve it. -Maintenance stage. Between the ages of 45 to 65 , many people simply slide from the stabilization substage into the maintenance stage. During this latter period, person has typically created a place in the world of work and most efforts are directed at maintaining that place. -Decline stage. As retirement age approaches, there is often a deceleration period in the decline stage. Here many people face the prospect of having to accept reduced levels of    power and responsibility and learn to accept and develop new roles as mentor and confi con fida dant ntee fo forr thos thosee who ar aree young younger er.. Ther Theree is th then en th thee more more or le less ss in inev evit itabl ablee retirement, after which the person finds alternative uses for the time and effort formerly expended on his or her occupation. -Retirement stage. This retirement from his career. -Second career stage. After retirement some people may start a completely different career from what they did earlier. ex: Consultants, Trainers, Advisors etc. (3) Identify occupational orientation Career-counseling expert John Holland says that a person’s personality (including values, motives, and needs) is another important determinant of career choices. For example, a

 

  pers person on wi with th a stro strong ng so soci cial al orie orient ntat atio ion n mi might ght be at attr trac acte ted d to caree careers rs th that at en enta tail il interpersonal rather than intellectual or physical activities and to occupations such as social work. Based on research with his Vocational Preference Test (VPT), Holland found six basic personality types or orientations. 1. Realistic orientation. These people are attracted to occupations that involve physical activities requiring skill, strength, and coordination. Examples include forestry, farming, and agriculture. 2. Invest Investigati igative ve orientati orientation. on. Investigati Investigative ve people are attracted attracted to careers careers that involve cogniti cogn itive ve activi activitie tiess (thin (thinkin king, g, organi organizin zing, g, and unders understan tandin ding) g) rather rather than than affect affective ive activi act iviti ties es (feeli (feeling, ng, acting acting,, or interp interpers ersona onall and emotio emotional nal tasks) tasks).. Exampl Examples es includ includee  biologist, chemist, and college professor. 3. Social orientation. These people are attracted to careers that involve interpersonal rather than intellectua intellectuall or physical physical activitie activities. s. Examples Examples include include clinical clinical psychology psychology,, foreign service, and social work. 4. Convent Convention ional al orient orientati ation. on. A convent convention ional al orient orientati ation on fav favors ors career careerss that that involv involvee structured, rule-regulated activities, as well as careers in which it is expected that the employee subordinate his or her personal needs to those of the organization. Examples include accountants and bankers. 5. Enterprising orientation. Verbal activities aimed at influencing others are attractive to enterprisi enterp rising ng personalit personalities. ies. Examples Examples include include managers, managers, lawyers, lawyers, and public public relations relations executives. 6. Artistic orientation. People here are attracted to careers that involve self-expression, artistic creation, expression of emotions, and individualistic activities. Ex: include artists, advertising executives, and musicians. Most pe Most peopl oplee have have more more than than on onee orie orient ntat atio ion n (t (they hey mi might ght be so soci cial al,, re real alis isti tic, c, and investigative), and Holland believes that the more similar or compatible these orientations are, the less internal conflict or indecision a person will face in making a career choice. To help illustrate this, Holland suggests placing each orientation in one corner of a hexagon, as in Figure D. As you can see, the model has six corners, each of which represents one personal orientation (for example, enterprising ). According to Holland’s research, the closer two orientations are in this figure, the more compatible they are. Holland believes that if your number-one and number-two orientations fall side by side, you will have an easier time choosing a career. However, if your orientations turn out to  be opposite (such as realistic and social), you may experience more indecision in making a career choice because your interests are driving you toward very different types of  careers. In Table E, we have summarized some of the occupations that have been found to be th thee be best st matc match h for for ea each ch of thes thesee six six pe pers rsona onall occup occupat atio iona nall or orie ient ntat atio ions ns.. (4) Identify skills Successful performance depends not just on motivation but on ability too. You may have a conventional orientation, but whether you have the skills to be an accountant, banker, or  credit manager will largely largely determine which specific specific occupation occupation you ultimately ultimately choose. choose. Therefore, you have to identify your/employee skills. An exercise: (1) One useful exercise for identifying occupational skills is to take a blank   piece of paper and write the heading ‘The Most Enjoyable Occupational Tasks I Have

 

Had.’ Then write a short essay that describes the tasks. Make sure to go into as much detail as you can about your duties and responsibilities and what it was about each task  that you found enjoyable. (2) Next, on other sheets of paper, do the same thing for two other tasks you have had. Now go through your three essays and underline the skills that you you ment mentio ione ned d the the most most ofte often. n. For For ex exam ampl ple, e, di did d you you enjoy enjoy put putti ting ng to toge geth ther er and coordinating the school play when you worked in the principal’s office one year ? Did you especially enjoy the hours you spent in the library doing research for your boss when you worked one summer as an office clerk ? Aptitudes and special Talents: For career planning purpose, a person’s aptitudes are usually measured with a test battery such as the general aptitude test battery (GATB). This instrument instrument measures various various aptitudes aptitudes including including intelligenc intelligencee and mathematic mathematical al ability. abili ty. Considerable Considerable work has been done to relate relate aptitudes, aptitudes, such as those measured by the GATB, GATB, to specif specific ic occupat occupation ions. s. For example, example, the US Departm Department ent of Labour Labour’s ’s Dictionary of Occupational Titles lists the nature and titles of hundreds of occupations, along with aptitudes required for success in these occupations. (5) Identify career anchors Edgar Schein says that career planning is a continuing process of discovery-one in which a person person slowly develops a clearer clearer occupational occupational self-concep self-conceptt in terms of what his or her  talents, abilities, motives, needs, attitudes, and values are. Schein also says that as you learn more about yourself, it becomes apparent that you have a dominant career anchor, a concern or value that you will not give up if a choice has to be made. Career anchors, as their name implies, are the pivots around which a person’s career swings; a person  becomes conscious of them as a result of learning about his or her talents and abilities, motives and needs, and attitudes and values. Based on his research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Schein believes that career anchors are difficult to predict ahead of time because they are evolutionary and a product of a process of discovery. Some  people may never find out what their career anchors are until they have to make a major  choice-such as whether to take the promotion to the headquarters staff or strike out on their own by starting a business. It is at this point that all the person’s past work  experiences, interests, aptitudes, and orientations converge into a meaningful pattern (or  career anchor) that helps show what is personally the most important in driving the  person’s career choices. Based Base d on hi hiss stud study y of MIT MIT grad gradua uate tes, s, Sc Sche hein in id iden enti tifi fied ed fi five ve ca care reer er an anch chor ors: s: (1) Technical/Functional Career Anchor. People who had a strong technical/functional caree car eerr ancho anchorr te tend nded ed to av avoi oid d de deci cisi sion onss that that wo woul uld d dr driv ivee th them em to towar ward d ge gener neral al management. Instead they made decisions that would enable them to remain and grow in their chosen technical or functional fields. (2) Managerial Competence as a Career Anchor. Other people show a strong motivation to become managers and their career experience enabled them to believe that they had the skillss and values required skill required to rise to such general management positions. positions. A management management  position  posit ion of high responsibilit responsibility y is their ultimate goal. When pressed pressed to explain why they  believed  beli eved they had the skills skills necessary to gain such positions, positions, many in schein’s schein’s research sample answered that they were qualified for these jobs because of what they saw as their 

 

competenci compet encies es in a combin combinati ation on of thr three ee areas: areas: (1) analyt analytical ical compet competence ence (abili (ability ty to identify, analyze, and solve problems under conditions of incomplete information and uncerta unce rtaint inty); y); (2) interp interpers ersona onall compet competence ence (abil (ability ity to influe influence, nce, supervi supervise, se, lead, lead, manipulate, and control people at all levels); and (3) emotional competence (the capacity to be stimulated by emotional and interpersonal crises rather than exhausted or debilitated   by them, them, and the capaci capacity ty to bear bear high high levels levels of respon responsib sibil ility ity withou withoutt becomin becoming g  paralyzed. (3) Creativity as a Career Anchor. Some of the graduates had gone on to become successful entrepreneurs. To Schein these people seemed to have a need ‘to build or  create something that was entirely their own product-a product or process that bears their  name, a company of their own, or a personal fortune that reflect their accomplishments. (4) Autonomy and independence as Career Anchors. Some seemed driven by the need to  be on their own, free of the dependence that can arise when a person elects to work in a larg la rgee orga organi niza zati tion on where where prom promot otio ions ns,, tran transf sfer erss and sa sala lary ry decis decisio ions ns make make th them em subordinate to others. Many of these graduates also had a strong technical/functional orientation. However, instead of pursuing this orientation in an organization, they had decided to become consultants, working either alone or as part of a relatively small firm. Others had become professors of business, free-lance writers, and proprietors of a small retail business. (5) Security as a Career Anchor. A few of the graduates were mostly concerned with long-run career stability and job security. They seemed willing to do what was required to maintain job security, a decent income, and a stable future in the form of a good retirement program and benefits. For those interested in geographic security, maintaining a stable, secure career in familiar  surroundings was generally more important than was pursuing superior career choices, if  choosing the latter meant injecting instability or insecurity into their lives by forcing them to pull up roots and move to anther city. For others, security meant organizational security. They might today opt for government jobs, where tenure still tends to be a way of life. They were much more willing to let their employers decide what their careers should be. Assessing Career Anchors. To help you identify career anchors, take a few sheets of   blank paper and write out your answers to the following question: 1.What was your major area of concentration in high school ? Why did you choose thatb area ? How did you feel about it ? 2.What is (or was) your major area of concentration in college ? Why did you choose that area ? How did you feel about it? 3.What was your first job after school ? (Include military if relevant.) What were you looking for in your first job ? 4.What were your ambitions or long-range goals when you started your career ? Have they changed ? When ? Why ?

 

5. What was your first major change of job or company? What were you looking for in your next job? 6. What was your next major change of job, company or career? Why did you initiate or  accept it? What were you looking for? (Do this for each of your major changes of job, company, or career.) 7. As you look back over your career, identify identify some times times you have especially especially enjoyed. What was it about those times that you enjoyed? 8. As you look back, identify some times you have not especially enjoyed. What was it about those times you did not enjoy? 9. Have you ever refused a job move or promotion? Why? 10. Now review all your answers carefully, as well as the descriptions for the five career  anchors.. Based on your answers anchors answers to the questions, questions, rate each of the anchors from 1 to 5; 1 equal’s low importance, 5 equal’s high importance. (6) What Do You Want to Do? We have explained occupational orientations, skills, and career anchors and the role these  play in choosing a career. But there is at least one more exercise you should try that can  prove enlightening. Answer the question: ‘If you could have any kind of job, what would it be?’ Invent your own job if need be, and don’t worry about what you can do-just what you want to do. (7) Identify High-Potential Occupations Learning about yourself is only half the job of choosing an occupation. You also have to identify those occupations that are right (given your occupational orientations, skills, career car eer anchor anchors, s, and occupa occupatio tional nal prefer preferenc ences) es) as well well as tho those se tha thatt will will be in high high demand in the years to come. Find out about occupations and careers. Investigating occupations can take hours (or   perhaps days or weeks) of library research. There are two basic things you (or your employee) can and should do to improve the career decisions you make. (1) First, take charge of your own career by understanding that there are major decisions to be made, which require considerable personal planning and effort. In other words you cannot leave your choices in the hands of others but must decide where you want to go in terms of a career and what job moves and education are required to get there. (2) Second, become an effective diagnostician. Determine (through career counseling, testing, self-diagnostic books, and so on) what your talents or values are and how these fit with the sorts of careers you are considering. In other words, the key to career planning is self-insight-into what you want out of a career, into your talents and limitations, and into your values and how they will fit with the alternatives you are

 

considering. (2) Career Management - responsibilities of the manager and employer  (1) Should give career management guidelines Al Alon ong g wi with th th thee empl employ oyee ee,, the the pe pers rson’ on’ss manag manager er and empl employ oyer er bo both th have have ca care reer  er  management responsibilities. Guidelines here include: (1) Avoid reality shock. Reality Reality shock refers refers to the results of a period period that may occur at the initial career entry when the new employee’s high job expectations confront the reality of a boring, unchanging job. Perhaps at no other stage in the person’s career is it more important for the employer to be career development-oriented than at the initial entry stage, when the person is recruited, hired, and given a first assignment. For the employee this is a period during which he or she has to develop a sense of confidence, lear learn n to ge gett alon along g with with the the firs firstt boss boss an and d with with co cowo work rker ers, s, le lear arn n ho how w to ac acce cept pt responsibility, and most important, gain an insight into his or her talents, needs, and values as they relate to initial career goals. For the new employee, in other words, this is (or should be) a period of reality testing during which his or her initial hopes and goals first confront the reality of organizational life and of the person’s talents and needs. For  many first-time workers, this turns out to be a disastrous period, one in which their often naive expectations expectations first first confront confront the realities realities of organizatio organizational nal life. The young MBA or  Chartered Accountant, for example, might come to the first job seeking a challenging, exciting assignment in which to apply the new techniques learned in school and to prove his or her abilities and gain a promotion. In reality, however, the trainee is often turned off by being relegated to an unimportant low-risk job where he or she ‘can’t cause any trouble while being tried out’; or by the harsh realities of interdepartmental conflict and  politicking; or by a boss who is neither rewarded for nor trained in the unique mentoring tasks needed to properly supervise new employees. e mployees. (2) Provide challenging initial Jobs. Most experts agree that one of the most important things you can do is provide provide new employees employees with challenging challenging first jobs. In one study of  young managers at AT&T, for example, the researchers found that, more challenging a   person’s job was in his or her first year with the company the more effective and successful the person was even five or six years later. Based on his own research, Hall co cont nten ends ds that that ch chal alle leng ngin ing g init initia iall jo jobs bs prov provid idee ‘o ‘one ne of th thee most most powe powerf rful ul yet yet uncomplicated means of aiding the career development of new employees.’ In most organizations, however, providing such jobs seems more the exception than the rule. In one survey survey of resear research ch and develo developme pment nt organi organizat zation ions, s, for example, example, only only 1 of 22 companies had a formal policy of giving challenging first assignments. This imbalance as one ex exper pertt ha hass point pointed ed ou out, t, is an ex exam ampl plee of ‘g ‘gla lari ring ng mi mism sman anag ageme ement nt’’ when when on onee consi con side ders rs the the effo effort rt and mone money y inve invest sted ed in re recr crui uiti ting ng,, hi hiri ring ng,, and and tr trai aini ning ng new empl em ploy oyee ees. s. Some Some firm firmss ‘fro ‘front nt-l -loa oad’ d’ the the jo job b ch chal alle leng ngee by gi givi ving ng new empl employ oyee eess considerable responsibility. (3) Provide realistic job previews in recruiting. Providing recruits with realistic previews of what to expect once they begin working in the organization-ones that describe both the attractions and also possible pitfalls-can be an effective way of minimizing reality shock 

 

and improving their long-term performance. Schein points out that one of the biggest   probl problems ems recrui recruits ts and employ employers ers encount encounter er during during the crucia cruciall entry entry sta stage ge is gettin getting g accurate information in a ‘climate of mutual selling’. The recruiter (anxious to hook good candidates) and the candidate (anxious to present as favorable an impression as possible) often give and receive unrealistic information during the interview. The result is that the interviewer may not form a clear picture of the candidate’s career goals, while at the same time the candidate forms an unrealistically favorable image of the organization. Realistic job previews can boost the survival rate among employees who are hired for  relatively complex jobs like management trainee, salesperson, or life insurance agent. (4) Be demanding. There is often a ‘pygmalion effect’ in the relationship between a new employee and his or her boss. In other words, the more you expect and the more confident and supportive you are of your new employees, the better they will perform. Ther Th eref efor ore, e, as tw two o ex exper perts ts pu putt it, it, ‘D ‘Don on’t ’t as assi sign gn a ne new w empl employ oyee ee to a ‘d ‘dea ead d wood wood’’ undeman unde mandin ding g or unsuppo unsupporti rtive ve superv superviso isor. r. Instea Instead d choose choose specia specially lly tr train ained, ed, highhigh performing, supportive supervisors who can set high standards for new employees during their critical first year. (5) Provide periodic job rotation and job pathing. The best way new employees can test themselves and crystallize their career anchors is to try out a variety of challenging jobs. By rotating to jobs in various specializations-from financial analysis to production to human resource, for example-the employee gets an opportunity to assess his or her  aptitudes and preferences. At the same time, the organization gets a manager with a   broader multifunctional view of the organisation. One extension of this is called job  pathing, which means selecting carefully sequenced job assignments. (6) Do career-oriented performance appraisals. Edgar Schein says that supervisors must understand that valid performance appraisal information is in the long run more important than protecting the short-term interests of one’s immediate subordinates. Therefore, he says, supervisors need concrete information regarding the employee’s potential career   path-information, in other words, about the nature of the future work for which he or she is appraising the subordinate, or which the subordinate desires. (7) Provide career planning workshops and career planning workbooks. Employers also should take steps to increase their employees’ involvement and expertise in planning and developing their own careers. One option here is to organize periodic career planning workshops. A career planning workshop has been defined as ‘a planned learning event in which whi ch partic participa ipants nts are expect expected ed to be active actively ly involv involved, ed, comple completin ting g career career planni planning ng exercises and inventories and participating in career skills practice sessions.’ It discusses what is career planning, self assessments, environmental assessments, goal setting for  self, and developing career action planning. A ca care reer er plan planni ning ng work workbo book ok may may be dist distri ribu bute ted d to em empl ploy oyee eess ei eith ther er as pa part rt of a workshop or as an independent career planning aid. This career planning workbook is ‘a   printed guide that directs its users through a series of assessment exercises, models, career directions, discussions, guidelines, actioning planning and other information to

 

support career planning.’ It is usually self paced, so that the employees can complete the exercise at their own pace. (Provide (Provi de opport opportuni unitie tiess for mentorin mentoring. g. Mentor Mentoring ing can be define defined d as ‘the ‘the use of an experienced individual [the mentor] to teach and train someone [the protege] with less knowled know ledge ge in a given given area’. area’. Through Through indivi individua dualiz lized ed attenti attention on ‘the ‘the mentor mentor transf transfers ers needed information, feedback, and encouragement to the protege..and in that way the opportu oppo rtunit nities ies for the proteg protegee to optimi optimize ze his or her career career succes successs are improv improved.’ ed.’ Organi Org anizat zation ional al mentor mentoring ing may be (1) formal formal mentor mentoring ing or (2) inform informal al mentor mentoring ing.. Informal Infor mal mentoring, mentoring, of course, course, middle-and middle-and senior-level senior-level managers will often voluntarily voluntarily take up-and-coming employees under their wings not only to train them but to give career  advice and to help them steer around political pitfalls. However, many employers also establish establ ish formal formal mentoring mentoring programs. programs. Here employers employers actively actively encourage encourage mentoring mentoring relationships to take place and may in fact pair proteges with potential mentors. Training perhaps in the form of instructional manuals-may be provided to facilitate the mentoring  process and in particular to aid both mentor and protege in understanding their respective responsibilities in the mentoring relationship. (2) Should manage promotions and transfers (1) Making promotion decisions Employers must decide on what basis to promote employees, and the way these decisions are made made will will affect affect the employ employees ees’’ motiva motivatio tion, n, per perfor forman mance, ce, and commit commitmen ment. t. -Decision 1: Is seniority or competence the rule? Probably the most important decision is whether promotion will be based on seniority or competence, or some combinations of  the two. From the point of view of motivation, promotion based on competence is best. However, your ability to use competence as a sole criterion depends on several things, most mo st no nota tabl bly y whet whethe herr or no nott your your firm firm is un unio ioni nize zed d or gover governed ned by ci civi vill se serv rvic icee requir req uireme ements nts.. Union Union agreem agreement entss often often contain contain a clause clause that that emphas emphasize izess senior seniority ity in  promotions, such as: ‘In the advancement of employees to higher paid jobs when ability, merit mer it,, and capacit capacity y are equal, equal, employ employees ees with with the highes highestt senior seniorit ity y will will be given given  preference.’ Although this might seen to leave the door open for giving a person with less seniority but slightly better ability the inside track for a job, labour arbitrators have generally held that when clauses such as these are binding only substantial difference in abilities can be taken into account. In one case, for example, the arbitrator ruled that seniority should be disregarded only when an employee with less seniority stood ‘head and shoulders above the employees with greater seniority.’ Similarly, many organizations in the public sector are governed by civil service regulations that emphasize seniority rather than competence as the basis for promotion. -Decision 2: How is competence -Decision competence measured? If promotion is to be based on competence, competence, how how will will co comp mpet eten ence ce be de defi fine ned d an and d meas measur ured ed?? Defi Defini ning ng an and d meas measur urin ing g pa past st  performance is a fairly straightforward matter: The job is defined, standards are set, and one or more more ap appr prai aisa sall tool toolss ar aree us used ed to re reco cord rd th thee empl employ oyee ee’s ’s pe perf rfor orma manc nce. e. But But  promotion also requires predicting the person’s potential; thus, you must have a valid  procedure for predicting a candidate’s future performance. Many employers simply use

 

 prior performance as a guide and extrapolate, or assume, that based on the person’s prior   performance he or she will perform well on the new job. This is the simplest procedure to use. On the other hand some employers use tests to evaluate promotable employees and to identify those employees with executive potential. Others use assessment centers to assess management potential. -Decision 3: Is the process formal or informal? Next and particularly if you decide to  promote based on competence, you have to decide whether the promotion process will be formal for mal or inform informal. al. Many Many employ employers ers still still depend depend on an inform informal al system system.. Here Here the availabilit avail ability y and requirements requirements of open positions are kept secret. Promotion Promotion decisions decisions are then made by key managers from among employees they know personally and also from among those who, for one reason or another, have impressed them. The problem is that when you don’t make employees aware of the jobs that are available, the criteria for   promotion, and how promotion decisions are made, the link between performance and   promotion is cut. The effectiveness of promotion as a reward is thereby diminished. Many employ employers ers theref therefore ore do establ establish ish formal formal,, publish published ed promot promotion ion polici policies es and  proced  pr ocedure ures. s. Here Here employ employees ees are general generally ly provid provided ed with with a formal formal promot promotion ion policy policy statement that describes the criteria by which promotions are awarded. Formal systems often include a job-posting policy. This states that open positions and their requirements will be posted and circulated to all employees. Many employers also compile detailed info in form rmat atio ion n about about the the quali qualifi ficat catio ions ns of empl employ oyee ees, s, whil whilee ot other herss us usee work work fo forc rcee replac rep laceme ement nt charts charts.. Comput Computeri erized zed inform informati ation on system systemss can be especi especiall ally y useful useful for  maintaining qualifications inventories on hundred or thousands of employees. The net effect of such actions is twofold: (1) An employer ensures that all qualified employees are conside considered red for openin openings; gs; and (2) Pr Promo omotio tion n becomes becomes more more closel closely y linked linked with with  performance in the minds of employees. -Decision 4: Vertical, horizontal, or other? Finally, employers increasingly have to deal with the question of how to ‘promote’ employees in an era in which higher-level jobs are less available. On the one hand, layoffs due to mergers eliminated many of the highermanagement managem ent positions positions that employees employees might normally aspire to, as has the flattening flattening of  most mo st orga organi niza zati tion on ch char arts ts.. On the the other other ha hand, nd, worke workerr empo empowe werm rmen entt an and d a re rela late ted d emphasis on technological expertise have created cadres of highly trained professionals, technicians, and first-line workers who aspire to higher-level positions but find their  upward movement blocked by a dearth of openings. Several options are available here. (1) Some firms, firms, such as the exploration exploration division division of British petroleum, petroleum, have created created two  parallel career paths, one for managers and another for ‘individual contributors’ such as engineers. In that way individual contributors, such as highly accomplished engineers, can move up to non supervisory but still more senior positions such as ‘senior engineer.’ These jobs have most of the perks and financial rewards attached to management-track   positions at that level. (2) Another option is to provide career development opportunities for an individual, either by moving the person horizontally or even within the same   position he or she currently holds. Horizontally, for instance, a production employee might be moved to HR in order to give him or her an opportunity to develop new skills and test and challenge aptitudes. (3) And, in a sense, ‘promotions’ are possible even leaving the person in the same job: for example, some job enrichment is usually possible,

 

and the firm can provide training that increases the opportunity for assuming increased responsibility. (2) Handling transfers -Reasons for transfers. A transfer is a move from one job to another, usually with no change in salary or grade. Employees may seek transfers for personal enrichment, for  more interesting jobs, for greater convenience- better hours, location of work, and so on or for jobs offering greater possibilities for advancement. Employers may transfer a worker in order to vacate a position where he or she is no longer needed, to fill one where he or she is needed, to retain a senior employee, or more generally to find a better fit for  the employ employee ee within within the firm. firm. Fi Final nally, ly, many many fi firms rms today are endeavo endeavorin ring g to boost boost  productivity by eliminating management layers. Transfers are thus increasingly a way to give employees who might have nowhere else to move in their firms opportunities for  diversity of job assignment and therefore, personal growth. -Effect on family life. Many firms have had policies of routinely transferring employees from local, either to give their employees more exposure to a wide range of jobs or to fill open positi positions ons with with traine trained d employ employees ees.. Such Such easy-t easy-tran ransfe sferr polici policies es have fallen fallen into into disfavor, however. This is partly because of the cost of relocating employees (paying moving expenses, expenses, buying buying back the employee’s employee’s current home, and perhaps financing financing his or her next home, for instance) and partly because it was assumed that frequent transfers had a bad effe effect ct on an empl employ oyee ee’s ’s fa fami mily ly life life.. One st study udy su sugg gges ests ts th that at th thee la latt tter  er  argument, at least, is without merit. The study compared the experiences of ‘model’ families who had moved on the average of once every two years with ‘stable’ families who had lived in their communities for more than eight years. In general, the stable families were no more satisfied with their marriages and family life or children’s well being than were the mobile families. In fact, mobile men and women believed their lives to be more interesting and their capabilities greater than did stable men and women. Like wise, they were more satisfied with their family lives and marriage than were stable men and wome women. n. Howe Howeve ver, r, mobi mobili lity ty was as asso soci ciat ated ed wi with th di diss ssat atis isfa fact ctio ion n wi with th so soci cial al relationships among men and women (for instance, in terms of opportunities to make friends at work and in the community). Developing new social relationships was cited as a problem for children of mobile parents, with missing old friends and making new friend fri endss a bigger bigger proble problem m for teenagers teenagers than than for young childr children. en. The major major fin findin ding, g, however, was that there were few differences between mobile and stable families. Few families in the mobile group believed moving was easy. However, these families were as satisf sat isfied ied with with all aspect aspectss of their their lives lives (except (except social social relati relations onship hips) s) as were were stable stable families. (3) Retirement Retirement for most employees is a bittersweet experience. For some it is the culmination of their careers, a time when they can relax and enjoy the fruits of their labor without worrying about the problems of work. For others, it is the retirement itself that is the trauma, as the once busy employee tries to cope with suddenly being ‘nonproductive’ and with having the strange (and not entirely pleasant) experience of being home every day with nothing to do. For many retirees, in fact, maintaining a sense of identity and self-

 

worth without a full-time job is the single most important task they’ll face. And it’s one that employers are increasingly trying to help their retirees cope with as a logical last step in the career management process. -Pre retirement counseling. About 30% of the employers in one survey said they had formal for mal preret preretire iremen mentt progra programs ms aimed aimed at easing easing the passag passagee of the their ir employ employees ees into into ret retirem iremen entt. The most most comm common on pre pre ret etiiremen ementt coun counssel eliing topi opics wer were: Explanation of social security benefits -Living arrangements Leisure time -Psychological adjustments Finances and investment -Second careers outside the company Health -Second careers inside the company Another important trend here is of granting part-time employment to employees as an altern alternati ative ve to outri outright ght retire retirement ment.. Severa Severall recent recent survey surveyss of blue blue and whitewhite-col collar  lar  employees showed that about half all employees over age 55 would like to continue working part-time after they retire, and some employers do build such options into their  career management processes. (3) Career Management - responsibilities of the individual himself Finding the right job Helping you get the right job You have identified your occupational orientation, skills and career anchors and have picked out the occupation you want and made plans for a career. And (if necessary) you have embarked on the required training. Your next step is to find a job that you want in the company and locale in which you want to work. Following are techniques for doing so. (1) Job search techniques -Do you own research. Perhaps the most direct way of unearthing the job you want, where you want, is to pick out the geographic area in which you want to work and find out all you can about the companies in that area that appeal to you, and the people you have to contact in those companies to get the job you want. -Personal contacts. According to one survey, the most popular way to seek job interviews is to rely on personal contacts such as friends and relatives. Let as many responsible  people as you can know that you are in the market for a job and specifically what kind of   job you want. (Beware, though, if you are currently employed and don’t want your job search getting back to your current boss; if that is the case, better just pick out two or  three very close friends and tell them, it is absolutely essential that they be discreet in looking for a job for you.) No matter how close your friend or relatives are to you, by the way, you don’t want to impose too much on them by shifting the burden of your job search to them. It is sometimes best just to ask them for the name of someone they think  you should talk to in the kind of firm in which you’d like to work, and then do the digging yourself. -Answering Advertisements. Most experts agree that answering ads is a low probability way to get a job, and it becomes increasingly less likely that you will get a job this way as the level of job increases. In responding to ads be sure to create the right impression with the materials you submit, check the title, style, grammar, neatness and so forth. Check 

 

your resume to make sure it is geared to the job for which you are applying in your cover  letter, be sure to have a paragraph of so in which you specifically address why your   background and accomplishments are appropriate to the job being advertised. You must respond clearly to the company’s identified needs. Be very careful in replying to blind ads, however (those with just a post office box address). There is always the chance that you can be trapped in to responding to your own firm. -Employment agencies. Agencies are especially good at placing people. Their fees for   professional and management are usually paid by the employer. Assuming you know the  job you want, review eight or so back issues of the Sunday classified ads in your library to identify the agencies that consistency handle the positions you want. Approach three or  four initially preferably in response to specific ads. -Executive recruiters. Executive recruiters are retained by employers to seek out top talent for their clients and their fees are always paid by the employer. They do not do career counselling, but if you know the job you want it pays to contact a few. Send your  resume and a cover letter summarising your job objective in precise terms, including job tit title le and work work relate related d accomp accomplis lishme hments nts,, curren currentt salary salary,, and salary salary requir requireme ements nts.. -Career counsellors. Career counsellors will not help you find a job per se: rather they specialize in career counselling. -Executiv -Execu tivee market marketing ing consul consultan tants. ts. They They manage manage your your job hunting hunting campai campaign. gn. The  processes may involve months of weekly meetings. Services include resume and letter  writing, interview skill building, and developing a full job hunting campaign. Before approaching a consultant, though, you should definitely do an in-depth self appraisal. (2) Writing your resume Your resume is probably your most important selling document, one that can determine whether you ‘make the cut’ and get offered a job interview. Here are some resume  pointers, as offered by employment counselors. -Introductory information. Start your resume with your name, address, and telephone number. Using your office phone number, by the way, can indicate either that (1) your  employer knows you are leaving or (2) you don’t care whether he or she find out. You’re usually better off using your home phone number. -Personal Data. Put personal data regarding age, marital status, next. Finally, two last  points.  point s. First, First, do not produce a slipshod slipshod resume: Avoid overcrowded overcrowded pages, difficult difficult-to-toread copies, typographical errors, and other problems of this sort. Produce a new resume for job you are applying for, gearing your job objective and worth statements to the job you want. -Job scope. Indicate the scope of your responsibility in each of your previous jobs, starting with your most recent position. For each of your previous jobs, write a paragraph that show job title, whom you reported to directly and indirectly, who reported to you,

 

how many people reported to you, the operational and human resource budgets you controlled, and what your job entailed. -Your accomplishments. Next (and this is very important) indicate your ‘worth’ in each of the positions you held. This is the heart of your resume. It shows for each of your   previous jobs: (1) the concrete action you took and why you took it and (2) the specific result of your action. For example, ‘As production supervisor, I introduced a new process to replace costly hand soldering of component parts. The new process reduced assembly time per unit from 30 to 10 minutes and reduced labor costs by over 60%.’. Use several of these worth statements for each job. -Length. Keep your resume to two pages or less, unless it is a detailed resume. List education, educat ion, personal personal background background (hobbies, (hobbies, interests, interests, associations) associations) and extra curricular  curricular  activities on the last page. -Make your resume readable. There are several guidelines to keep in mind for writing readable resumes. These can be summarized as follows: -Use font type no smaller than 10 points and no larger than 14 points. -Use font type styles that work well for resumes and can be easily read, such as Futura, Times Roman, Modern etc. -Submit high-resolution documents. Documents produced on a laser printer work best. Sometimes faxes are not clear enough. -Make sure to present your qualifications using powerful key words appropriate app ropriate to the job or jobs which you are applying. For example, trainers might use key words and phrases such as: computer-based training, interactive video, and group facilitator. (3) Handing the Interview You have done all your homework and now the big day is almost here: you have an interview next week with the person who is responsible for hiring for the job you want. What Wh at do you you have have to do to excel excel in the the inte interv rvie iew? w? Here Here ar aree so some me su sugg gges esti tions ons.. -Prepa -Pr epare, re, prepar prepare, e, prepar prepare. e. First First rememb remember er that that prepar preparati ation on is essent essential ial.. Before Before the interview, learn all you can about the employer, the job, and the people doing the recrui rec ruitin ting. g. At the librar library, y, look look throug through h busine business ss period periodica icals ls to find find out what is the happening in the employer’s field. Who is the competition? How are they doing? -Uncoverr the interv -Uncove interview iewer’ er’ss needs. needs. Spend Spend as littl littlee ti time me as possib possible le answer answering ing your  your  interviewer’s first questions and as much time as possible getting the person to describe his or her needs: what the person is looking to get accomplished and the type of person needed. need ed. Use open-ende open-ended d questi questions ons,, such such as ‘Could ‘Could you tell me more more about about that?’ that?’ -Relate yourself to the person’s needs. Once you have a handle on the type of person your  interviewer is looking for and the sorts of problems he or she wants solved, you are in a good position to describe your own accomplishments in terms of the interviewer’s needs. Start by saying something like, ‘One of the problem areas you’ve indicated is important

 

to you is similar to a problem I once faced.’ Then state the problem, describe your  solution, and reveal the results. -Think before answering. That answering a question should be a three-step process: (1) pause, (2) think, (3) speak. Pause to make sure you understand what the interviewer is driving at, think about how to structure your answer, and then speak. In your answer, try to emphas emphasize ize how hiring hiring you will will help help the intervie interviewer wer solve solve his or her problem. problem. -Make a good appearance and show enthusiasm. Appropriate clothing, good grooming, a firm handshake, and the appearance of controlled energy are important. -First impression count. Studies of interviews show that in almost 80% of the cases, interviewers make up their minds about the applicant during the first few minutes of the interview. A good first impression may turn to bad during the interview, but it is unlikely. Bad first impressions are almost impossible to overcome. Af Afte terr a de deta tail iled ed ex extr trac actt on the the ca care reer er mana manage geme ment nt si side de,, le lett me se sett out be belo low w is TMP/Hudson’ TMP/H udson’ss Career Management framework framework and methodology methodology.. In brief effective effective Career Management is about the successful meeting of individual and organisational responsibil respon sibilities ities.. A successful successful organisational organisational Career Career Management Management framework framework must be culturally is dynamic.sensitive; is at the one time individual and global (within a company context); The framework for the individual is effective as a stand-alone process or as a subset of an organisational system. Employees will have unique and individual needs, and the process outlined here is by no means prescriptive. The elements of the individual framework are: Step1: Looking Back  – Overview of Life and Career Developing a clear understanding how a person arrived at his/her current career ‘location’ is a critical first step in future career planning. Step2: The Close-up View - This step can also be described as a Career Audit and includes includ es an in-dept in-depth h assess assessmen mentt of values values,, skills skills,, wor work k experi experienc encee and prefer preferenc ences, es, health, career drivers, attributes, learning style, and image. The outcome is a clear view of the ‘career package’ on offer as perceived by others. In some situations this step  provides a timely reality check. Step3: The Future View - The Future View deals with personal change management strategies, networking (internal and external), goal setting and developing a draft personal action plan for career development. Step4: Career Options & Planning  - Enables finalisation of the action plan, reviewing strengths and weaknesses and determining any possible obstacles or personal issues that may hold the participant back from achieving their career goals. This step also addresses the critical activity of career discussions with the manager.