Career Plan - Essay Example

Part One of Your Career Plan: Self-Reflective Career Assessment Estimated Time to Complete: 4-7 Hours Due Friday September 21, at 11:59 PMLewis Carroll once asked, “Who in the world am I? Ah, thats the great puzzle.”1 The basic idea behind the Self-Reflective Career Assessment is that an understanding of who you are and how you see yourself in regard to others will influence your career choices as well as how you interact with others in the workplace. C. Edward Watkins, a counseling psychologist, observes that we each have unique ways in which we perceive and function in the world—our life-style.2 Our life style influences, “all aspects of behavior in the arenas of the major life tasks”.3 One such life task is work. As Watkins notes, “First and foremost, career choice reflects an implementation of life-style; it involves putting the life-style into practice via one’s career”.4 The reflective nature of the process that follows is designed to get you thinking about the meaning of work and of careers within your life.5 For your Self-Reflective Career Assessment to be useful, you need to be open, honest, and expansive in your responses to the questions that appear below. The questions that follow are inherently personal. This is necessary for you to gain a greater understanding of yourself and what you are searching for in a career. You can be rest-assured that your professor will be sensitive when reviewing and commenting on your responses. If you have trouble articulating responses to individual questions then you may wish to have a person who you trust ask these questions of you, and record your responses. You could then edit, and further expand on, your responses as needed. You will be evaluated on: (1) Completing all sections (2) How well written it is; (3) How comprehensive it is; and (4) The extent to which you bring in other resources relating to career planning in your writing. You should save a version of this file at a location where you can work on it. When you are ready to submit this part of your Career Plan, go to the Assignments Link in Oncourse, and submit it as an attachment. TIPS TO NOTE: The articles listed below or those posted in the “Resources” folder on Oncourse may help you in thinking about the below question. Students who make effective use of these and other relevant resources will receive higher grades for this assignment. Build a Life, Not a Resume, at http://www.aligningthestars.com/aligningthestars/career_perspectives.pdf Drucker, Peter (2005) Managing Oneself. Harvard Business Review, March-April: 100-109. Duffy, Ryan D. (2006) Spirituality, Religion, and Career Development: Current Status and Future Directions. Career Development Quarterly, 55: 52-63. Hansen, L. Sunny (2001) Integrating Work, Family, and Community Through Holistic Life Planning. Career Development Quarterly, 49(3): 261-274. Ibarra, Herminia&Lineback, Kent (2005) What is Your Story? Harvard Business Review, January: 64-71. Knowdell, Richard L. (1998) The 10 New Rules for Strategizing Your Career. Futurist, 32(5): 19-24. Menkes, Justin (2005) Hiring for Smarts. Harvard Business Review, September: 100-109. Otte, Fred L. &Kahnweiler, William M. (1995) Long-range Career Planning During Turbulent Times. Business Horizons, 38(1): 2-7. Savickas, Mark L. (1991) The Meaning of Work and Love: Career Issues and Interventions. Career Development Quarterly, 39(4): 315-324. Schultheiss, Donna E.P. (2006) The Interface of Work and Family Life. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 37(4): 334-41. A. UNDERSTANDING YOURSELF Developing an understanding of your personality is important to developing interests will help to identify aspects that either impede or promote your ability to engage in a rewarding career path. Understanding your personality type will also better prepare you with the knowledge to engage in a path based on personal intrinsic/internal motivation. Complete the KeirseyTemperament Sorter-II (KTS-II)6 personality assessment using the following link: The KeirseyTemperament Sorter-II (KTS-II) is the most widely used personality instrument in the world. The intention of the test is to help individuals discover their personality type. Take the Keirsey personality assessment at: http://www.keirsey.com/sorter/register.aspx Then, cut and paste the results page into this box below. Custom Keirsey Temperament Report for: Name Your Keirsey Temperament Sorter Results indicates that your personality type is that of the Idealists, as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. Idealists strive to discover who they are and how they can become their best possible self -- always this quest for self-knowledge and self-improvement drives their imagination. And they want to help others make the journey. Idealists are naturally drawn to working with people, and whether in education or counseling, in social services or personnel work, in journalism or the ministry, they are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials. Idealists are sure that friendly cooperation is the best way for people to achieve their goals. Conflict and confrontation upset them because they seem to put up angry barriers between people. Idealists dream of creating harmonious, even caring personal relations, and they have a unique talent for helping people get along with each other and work together for the good of all. Such interpersonal harmony might be a romantic ideal, but then Idealists are incurable romantics who prefer to focus on what might be, rather than what is. The real, practical world is only a starting place for Idealists; they believe that life is filled with possibilities waiting to be realized, rich with meanings calling out to be understood. This idea of a mystical or spiritual dimension to life, the "not visible" or the "not yet" that can only be known through intuition or by a leap of faith, is far more important to Idealists than the world of material things. Highly ethical in their actions, Idealists hold themselves to a strict standard of personal integrity. They must be true to themselves and to others, and they can be quite hard on themselves when they are dishonest, or when they are false or insincere. More often, however, Idealists are the very soul of kindness. Particularly in their personal relationships, Idealists are without question filled with love and good will. They believe in giving of themselves to help others; they cherish a few warm, sensitive friendships; they strive for a special rapport with their children; and in marriage they wish to find a "soulmate," someone with whom they can bond emotionally and spiritually, sharing their deepest feelings and their complex inner worlds. Idealists are relatively rare, making up no more than 15 to 20 percent of the population. But their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and their idealism has given them influence far beyond their numbers. Idealists at Work Idealists, as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. They are naturally drawn to working with people and are gifted with helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potential both on, and off, the job. Your beliefs are the arbiter of your actions, even if you cannot articulate those beliefs specifically. You hold a strong, clear sense of the way the universe works, whats "right" and whats "wrong," and what your purpose is in the overall scheme of things. In your ideal job, you can embody those beliefs in your relationships with other people. Because you likely have a talent for de-escalating situations and can almost always find just the "right words", you often significantly improve the morale of organizations to which you belong. Did the personality assessment seem to validate your self-perception? Do you agree with the assessment? What aspects have you previously identified about yourself that are similar to those described it the assessment? Did the assessment reveal any qualities that you identify with; but, perhaps had not realized before? [write at least 100 words] Yes, to some extent the personality assessment was successful in validating my perception. I pretty much agree with the assessment and I am surprised to know that ‘idealist’ is the right word that describes my personality; I take it as a compliment. I was somehow aware of these traits in my personality but I didn’t know that I could be acting as a direct or indirect source of inspiration for those around me. I am strict in habits sometimes but there is also a room for flexibility. B. Ambitions7 Please answer the following questions: What ambitions did your parent(s) have for you when you were a child? [at least 20 words] My parents wanted me to become a doctor because few of my relatives are related to this profession and hence, considered respectful. How do you feel about those ambitions now? [at least 20 words] I respect the ambitions my parents had for me. I believe that I will do the best in my current profession and make my parents feel more proud than they’d have been if I were a doctor. As a child, what were your occupational daydreams? [at least 20 words] As a child, I dreamt of become a firefighter. I used to watch movies and tv programs where firefighters were children’s heroes because of their efforts in saving lives of innocents without caring for their interests. How do you feel about these daydreams now? [at least 20 words] Now that I have grown up, I can’t think of becoming a firefighter practically because this profession requires courage and stamina. My personality traits do not quite match this profession and I believe my current career will definitely have something good for me. C. Decision-making Please answer the following questions: Career Decision-making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ) The CDDQ helps identify areas in which you have career making difficulties, and recommends how you could overcome these difficulties. Take the CDDQ at: http://kivunim.huji.ac.il/eng-quest/cddq/cddq_main.html Then, cut and paste the results page into this box. Feedback for: name September 20, 2012 Based on your responses to the questionnaire, you will be presented with a summary of your personal difficulties in the career decision-making process. First, you will be presented with the categories in which your responses reflect salient difficulties. Then, the categories in which your responses reflect moderate difficulties will be presented and finally, we will present our recommendations regarding the steps you can take in order to address those difficulties. Your responses reflect significant difficulties involving: Recommendations: We recommend finding an expert career counselor who can provide you with answers to some of your questions about your preferences, abilities and talents, using professional assessment tests and questionnaires. The counselor will also help you deal with your difficulties in making decisions in general, and help you solve your conflicts related to career decision making.  We advise you to search the Internet for information on relevant career options. Be aware that the quality of the information and its source are sometimes questionable. In case of doubt, try to check the information using several sources.  Guidance in the stages involved in making career decisions can be found on this site. Of course, your career counselor will guide you through the steps in your decision-making process.  The following are some general recommendations regarding information sources that can help you progress in the decision-making process. In addition, we are providing you with specific recommendations regarding the steps that might help you address each of your salient and moderate difficulties. The Internet could be a very helpful tool in the exploration your career decision-making difficulties, whether you are visiting sites that charge a fee or not. The Internet is, without question, the most comprehensive and attainable source of information, and we recommend you start your search for information there. The internet will help you deal with your:  Dysfunctional  beliefs Lack  of  information about  the  decision  making  process Lack  of  information about  occupations Lack  of  information about  additional  sources  of  information Unreliable  information However, it is important that you are aware of the quality, objectivity and reliability of the source of information you choose to use. Some of the information is biased and comes to serve a commercial purpose. It is therefore recommended that you compare several sources of information. We recommend that you to turn to a career counselor to help you address:  Lack  of  motivation General  indecisiveness Lack  of  information about  the  self Unreliable  information Internal  conflicts External  conflicts Career counseling includes "one-on-one" conversations with a vocational psychologist, and tests and questionnaires that will help you get to know your skills, preferences, and fit to the different occupations. In some of the counseling centers you may find a vocational library, and access to computerized information and guidance systems. The cost of such counseling depends on your country of origin and therefore we cannot provide an assessment. It is recommended that you bring a printed copy of this feedback to your counseling appointment.  Specifically,  In order to deal with your lack of motivation we recommend you to collect information about the importance of career decision-making and about occupational interests, using websites on career decisions (key words: career/occupational decision-making). You may find these websites using any search engine; we cannot provide you with specific recommendations since they depend on your country of origin. However, it is important to be aware of the quality, objectivity and reliability of the source of information you choose to use. Relevant information may also be found in Future Directions website www.cddq.org in the section PIC: three step decision-making process. If even after you visit these sites you feel as though you do not have the motivation to complete the decision-making process, a career counselor may be able to help you further. In order for you to deal with your general indecisiveness, we recommend that you turn to a career counselor. If you are unable to do so, the PIC Model (http://kivunim.huji.ac.il/cddq/pic2_g.htm), may be helpful. This model will guide you through a systematic, structured decision process and at least help you partially with your general indecisiveness. If you prefer a more interactive and personally-tailored guidance through the decision-process, many interactive career guidance systems (most of them require payment) are available on the Internet (for example, visit: http://mbcd.intocareers.org/). A career counselor could help you deal with or change your dysfunctional thoughts and beliefs, which are probably halting your current decision-making process. In order for you to gather information regarding the decision-making process, we recommend that you visit http://kivunim.huji.ac.il/cddq/pic2_g.htm and learn about the PIC model and three recommended stages of the career-decision making process. We also encourage you to read about the 31 important career aspects (i.e. travel, salary) that you need to consider in this process. In addition, you could visit the MBCD site, http://mbcd.intocareers.org/ that will lead you step-by-step through the process of establishing a short list of occupations that match your preferences and criteria. In order for you to obtain information about "the self", you could: 1) visit theMBCD site, http://mbcd.intocareers.org/ that will help you clarify your vocational preferences in terms of aspects 2) turn to a career counselor that will help you estimate your professional abilities and skills. In addition to the general information you could find on the internet (for example, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov or the Occupational Information Network http://online.onetcenter.org), MBCD (http://mbcd.intocareers.org/), or occupational-information libraries. Since occupations differ in their characteristics from country to country, it is recommended to look for occupational information in websites of your own country. You could also speak to someone who is currently employed in the profession of your interest or visit the relevant workplaces in order to obtain occupational information. Field information obtained from observation is unique and can not be as effectively obtained through other means, but still you should remember that your information is based upon one experience and therefore can not be generalized to the entire profession. In order to collect information about various academic fields of study, you should visit the colleges websites and pay specific attention to the program of your interest. We cannot provide you with specific recommendations regarding sources ofadditional information, since they depend on your country of origin. We recommend you to use search engines to look for relevant information on the Internet, while being aware of the quality, objectivity and reliability of the source of information you choose to use. Reference to relevant sources of information can also be obtained from your school, college or universitys counselor. If the inconsistencies are related to information regarding the self, we recommend turning to professional career counseling for assistance. If the inconsistencies are related to occupational information, we recommend turning to reliable and updated sources of information, such as occupational libraries, or universitys websites. We cannot provide you with specific recommendations regarding sources of information, since they depend on your country of origin. We recommend you to use search engines to look for relevant information on the Internet, while being aware of the quality, objectivity and reliability of the source of information you choose to use. Reference to relevant sources of information can also be obtained from your school, college or universitys counselor. It is recommended that you turn to a friend or someone who you are close with in order to address the issues and internal conflicts that you are struggling with. Consulting with others does not compromise your desire to make an independent decision. Other peoples opinions could very often be an important source of additional information that could provide you with another perspective and assist you in the decision-making process. If you still feel as though you need further guidance, we recommend that you visit a career counselor. A career counselors objective opinion could help you solve your external conflicts(i.e. with parents, peers) and help you bridge the gap between your wishes and those around you. CareerDecision Style Questionnaire (CDSQ) The CDSQ helps you learn more about how you make decisions about your career. Take the CDSQ at: http://kivunim.huji.ac.il/eng-quest/dme.html Then, cut and paste the results page into this box. Career Decision-Making Profile questionnaire   Feedback for: name September 20, 2012 The following feedback is organized into three parts: The first part describes your personal career-decision making profile (style) using statements concerning those aspects that clearly characterize you. The second part of the feedback will present you with dimensions in which you are not clearly characterized (since your answers in these dimensions were close to the mean and do not reflect a defined tendency). Finally, you will be presented with our general recommendation regarding career-decision making. Following are the dimensions in which your responses demonstrated a definite tendency and our recommendations: Locus of control -  It seems that you believe that external factors, such as destiny or important people in your life, will be very influential regarding your professional future. The consequences of your decisions depend more upon external factors than your own choice. However, in order to choose the occupation best suited for you and to increase the probability of being satisfied, it is advised to be more proactive in the decision-making process and not to leave it to destiny and other exterior factors. You should also acknowledge that a lack of initiative in the decision-making process is itself a decision. Effort invested in the process -  It seems that you tend to invest a lot in the decision making process, both technically and mentally. Speed of making the final decision -  It seems that even after you have all of the information that you need, you take a long time to make a career-decision. It is indeed an important decision that needs to be properly attended to and not rushed, but still, it is important to take into consideration that prolonged deliberation might cause you to miss opportunities (for example, missing application deadlines). Dependence on others -  It seems that you want to be the only one responsible for your decisions and do not try to have others make the decision for you. Willingness to compromise -  It seems that you are willing to accept the limitations of reality in terms of actualizing your career choice (ie. application criteria, financial demands) and you compromise when needed. Following are the dimensions in which your responses did not reflect a definite tendency: Information gathering (much vs. little) - the degree to which the individual is meticulous and thorough in collecting and organizing information. Information-processing (analytic vs. holistic) - the degree to which one analyzes information into its components and processes the information according to these components. Procrastination (high vs. low) -the degree to which the individual delays beginning the career decision making process and advancing through it. Consultation with others (frequent vs. rare) -the extent to which the individual consults with others during the different stages of the decision process. Desire to please others -the degree to which the individual attempts to satisfy the expectations of significant others (e.g., parents, partner, friends). Striving towards an "ideal occupation" (high vs. low) -the extent to which the individual believes there is a perfect or flawless occupation for him or her. Intuitive - he degree to which individuals rely on internal (gut) feelings when making a decision. In summary: Career- decision making is important and challenging. There is no one way in which everyone acts while making a decision. Different people have different decision-making profiles. However, there are aspects of your decision-making profile that can make the process easier and more satisfying: Investing time and energy, and thoroughly exploring the different options will allow you to collect relevant information that will help you choose a career that suits you; consulting people who are close to you or with professionals can offer you an additional point of view regarding the possibilities that you are faced with and the aspects you should consider. Consulting people employed in occupations of your interests, or even visiting these workplaces in order to experience their daily routine up-close, could assist you in making a better career decision. It is also important to take into consideration the fact that compromising is an inevitable part of the process; acknowledging the need for compromise can make the decision easier. In what ways could some of the ways in which you view yourself and your world undermine your ability to achieve career success and life happiness? Do you think you can overcome these things? If so, how? [write at least 100 words] I believe that sometimes my confidence level goes down because of which I tend to make wrong decisions and this is one of the major flaws in my personality which could become an obstacle in my way of success. I can certainly overcome this weakness by repeatedly telling myself that I need to have complete faith in myself when it comes to decision making. Support from my family and close friends will also help me get rid of this personality shortcoming. Also if I engage myself in sports, my mind and body will be able to break the chains of low confidence and I would be able to focus better on my success goals. D. Putting it all together- Assessing skills: You have now completed assessments for personality and decision and completed a series of reflective questions designed to give an understanding of your personal preferences and predispositions that will affect your career path and life. Skills are an additional influential factor that needs to be addressed when in the process of career evaluation. Assessment Instructions: Go to http://www.careerinfonet.org/explore (sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics) Complete the sections on “Assess Yourself” by clicking on the links on the left-hand side. Under “Assess Yourself” link, under the “take assessments” link and complete The Skills Profiler Copy and paste “Your Skills Profile” into the box below: This Skills Profile compares your skills to those needed for a: Human Resources Managers Add another job to your profile  Your Skills The skills you have listed, with your ratings of your ability Change your skills list or ratings    Active Learning Higher than Average    Active Listening Higher than Average    Complex Problem Solving Higher than Average    Critical Thinking Higher than Average    Judgment and Decision Making Higher than Average    Management of Personnel Resources Higher than Average    Operations Analysis Higher than Average    Social Perceptiveness Higher than Average    Speaking Higher than Average    Systems Analysis Higher than Average    Time Management Higher than Average    Writing Higher than Average    Instructing Average    Learning Strategies Average    Negotiation Average    Coordination Lower than Average    Monitoring Lower than Average    Persuasion Lower than Average    Reading Comprehension Lower than Average    Service Orientation Lower than Average    Systems Evaluation Lower than Average   Desktop computer skills Spreadsheets Presentations Internet Navigation Word Processing Graphics Change your list of activities Analyze data to identify personnel problems Assess staff or applicant skill levels Assign work to staff or employees Categorize occupational, educational, or employment information Compile information on findings from investigation of accidents Conduct training for personnel Consult with managerial or supervisory personnel Coordinate employee continuing education programs Develop job evaluation programs Develop policies, procedures, methods, or standards Develop staffing plan Develop training programs Establish employee performance standards Establish recruiting procedures Evaluate information from employment interviews Explain rules, policies or regulations Hire, discharge, transfer, or promote workers Identify training needs Implement employee compensation plans Implement recruiting procedures Interview job applicants Maintain file of job openings Maintain job descriptions Manage contracts Participate in staff training programs Prepare or maintain employee records Recommend personnel actions, such as promotions, transfers, and dismissals Recruit employees Resolve personnel problems or grievances Resolve worker or management conflicts Seek out applicants to fill job openings Use conflict resolution techniques Use interpersonal communication techniques Use negotiation techniques Write employee orientation or training materials     Job types that are a good match for your skills These job types match your skills (and skills level) Show All Page   1  of   16   Narrow this list by education, job growth and hourly wage.     Job Type Your skills match Economists 66.7% ( 14 of 21 skills) Education Administrators, Elementary and Secondary School 66.7% ( 16 of 24 skills) Industrial-Organizational Psychologists 66.7% ( 16 of 24 skills) Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates 66.7% ( 14 of 21 skills) Marketing Managers 65.2% ( 15 of 23 skills) Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers 65.0% ( 13 of 20 skills) Social and Community Service Managers 64.0% ( 16 of 25 skills) Financial Examiners 63.6% ( 14 of 22 skills) Psychiatrists 63.6% ( 14 of 22 skills) Actuaries 62.5% ( 15 of 24 skills) Read More