Personal Career Development - Essay Example

Career development Students name: Institution: Instructors name: Date: Introduction From way back, companies were more focused on making profits and improving performance by striving to gain competitive advantage in competitive global market. Human resource was neglected yet they contribute towards performance of the company. In this global competition, there has been a realization that employees are the most important part of the company because they pull their efforts towards achieving company objectives. Career development involves all activities that are geared towards ensuring that employees are advanced in their knowledge and skills. Companies have embraced career development upon realization that employees contribute much towards gaining better performance. An insight on career development will help in understanding employee contribution to the success of the company. Analysis of top performing companies provides and evidence that career development enables the company to perform better. Therefore most companies have allocated resources towards improving the knowledge and skills of employees. Career development theories Career development is the aspect of ensuring that an individual experience appropriate progress in their career such that all the activities they perform are inclined towards adding more knowledge and information to their career. There are theories that have contributed to career development; Trait and factor; this is a theory that reflects on traits of an individual and use these traits to develop their career. It is the foundation for programs such as career counseling .the method is used to analyze job requirements of an individual and merge these requirements to their traits. Super theory; it analyses the stages that an individual goes through from birth to the time they retire from work. In this theory all the five stages of individual life growth are used to evaluate their developmental process. It is an essential stages in personal development because it helps an individual to accomplish his or her mission. Holland theory; this is the most preferred theory when it comes to career development because it analyses the needs and desire of individual that propels them to choose their own path in career. Take for example a situation where an individual would want to become a doctor when they grow up, it is because of that individuals desire to be a doctor. There are six personal types in this theory that defines an individual’s choice of career. These are; artistic, realistic, investigative, conventional, social and enterprising. All these aspects subject one to environment where they choose on which career path to follow. Krumboltz theory; this theory incorporates social development and behavior of an individual. Genetic characteristic influence the manner in which an individual will decide to develop their talent. Environment and events also influence a person choice of career and also the learning process of an individual may determine their path in career development (Osipow and Louise, 1983). According to my belief in career development path, I agree with two theories which are Holland and krumboltz theories. These theories give an insight on how human development contributes the choice of career they make. Holland theory for example highlights the needs of an individual that propels their choice of career. Also the personal type affects the choice of career. Take for example an individual who has been under environment full of arts activities. This individual will grow up wishing to become an artist. Krumboltz on the other hand supports Holland theory through highlighting the impact of social, behavior and environment factors to career choice. To support the two theories, a personal example would help in understanding my support to these theories. I grew up in an environment where most of my relatives were business people; I therefore developed interest in becoming a business person and specifically dealing with money. When I went to college I pursued finance in my field of study. This has enabled me to work in many business institutions as one of the staff in finance department. Career interventions According to a journal by Russell (1991) career interventions are all the process applied when helping an individual to develop career plan in his life. There are three important career interventions which are; career guidance, career education and career counseling. There are different stages in career development and each career interventions play a role in these stages. This is where one is subjected to all the requirements demanded of a chosen career. The purpose of career counseling is to highlight all the advantages and disadvantages of any career choice. It also involves taking one through experience in the field of chosen career, this intervention is intended to enable one make their choice on career and all to expect from taking that particular career choice. The second intervention is career guidance, this is where an individual is exposed to career choice, for the case of Finance, it is obvious that it involves handling money and hence it requires a person who is good with numbers. Therefore career guidance will help in making occupational choices whereby one is able to balance between work and personal life. The intervention enables an individual to plan their time and how to spend their lives practicing on their career. It is important for one to undergo career guidance in their career path for the purpose of being psychologically prepared in terms of career planning and implementation of knowledge and skills. Career coaching and mentoring is another intervention that focuses on exposing one to practical aspect of any career. This is where an individual is exposed to situations that will enable them to handle what they have learnt from school and put them into practice. In relation to career theories, coaching and mentoring can be linked with Super theory since it defines career in terms of stages of development. Coaching and mentoring is a stage in career path that will enable an individual to develop their skills and learn on how to use these skills through exposure. The third intervention focuses on career education whereby an individual is subjected to learning environment. Having gone through career guidance and counseling, career education exposes an individual to that environment of their career choice. Career path in finance will involve admission into school of finance whereby an individual will acquire knowledge both practical and theory on how to go through in their career. Career development strategies in local context Gutteridge, (1993) asserts that a company reputation is directly proportional to the reputation of its employees. Most companies have ventured into career development and this has elevated them to the most reputable companies. It is important for any company to focus on developing careers of individuals which has an impact on the success of that company. An analysis on most companies has proved that most private companies are investing in career development strategies. Examples of these companies are as SME Chartered Accountants, KSI Shah & Associates and INNIV Consultants. These companies have been analyzed from private sector perspectives. It is through human resources strategies that these organizations have been identified as adhering to the need of career development for their staff. These organizations have strong human resource team that work together and set strategies that focus on strengthening career paths of their employees. Let’s take a look at these strategies; Commitment in management; these organizations have committed human resource development team that sets strategies that are aligned to achievement of objective. All the other departments are also committed in supporting all strategies that pertain achieving goals. Investing in career development; according to these organizations, investing in career development, bears fruits in terms of organization performance. Take for example allocation of finance in training and self-directed development for its staff in a company. This indicates that top performing companies allocate their resources in career development for excellent results through human resource Aligning personal goals to career development; this is a strategy embraced by human resource in most organizations. With the insight on career development theories, it is important to note that aligning career development to personal goals has helped in developing a sense of belonging to employees. They will feel the need to advance their career so as to meet their personal goals. Career planning practices Career planning practices encompasses all activities that will lead to successful career development and will add value to the organization. It is the responsibility of human resource to develop a career planning practice that will influence employees to appreciate their choice of career and to work towards improving. These practices include; establishing preference, it is obvious that an individual has preferences when it comes to roles and aspirations concerning their career. Establishing these preferences help in planning your career. Another practice is that of identification of talent from an individual’s level of education and the merits awarded. This will help in matching skills to appropriate work. Also human resource can embrace definition of goals in order to identify and match careers to individual goals. This practice is used to enable employees to become part of the organization (Brown,2002). From the analysis of top performing organizations in UAE such as SME Chartered Accountants, KSI Shah & Associates and INNIV Consultants there is clear evidence that career planning and development has resulted to exemplary performance among employees. These companies depict an organization that places importance on employees; they are best companies to work with especially for my case in Finance career. It is important to involve employees in realization of company goals through their contribution. Take for example training of employees as part of their career development, training fall under the practice of identifying talents such that employees are trained according to their talents. Talent management is one of the practices in human resource that contributes to performance of employees. Therefore, organizations have invested in training staff according to their academic qualifications and talent. Self analysis Knowledge, skills and abilities are one o the methods used to analyze and evaluate work in order to carry out aspect such as counseling and staffing. These three aspects revolve around attributes made by an individual that will enable him perform certain job. Knowledge and skills are gained through personal development and experience. Abilities are those circumstances that enable one to endure so as to attain best of knowledge and skills. Self analysis therefore involves assessing personal life and career development; this will enable an individual to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Knowledge, skills and abilities of finance career path Critical thinking skills; it is an important skill that will help in analyzing and evaluating situations that require critical decision making process. Communication; it is important to possess communication skills in every aspect of life. For my case, communication will help in developing a plan on how to attend to clients and strike deals that will result to more profits Patience and dedication; this skill is important as it leads one to performing duties with confidence. Ability to understand; understanding is part of communication because it enables one to analyze situations critically by considering the best case and the worst case scenarios. Risk management skills; this is important in handling any risk that could impact on business; it is obvious that financial risk affects operation in business. Having the skills to control financial risks will enable the business to become stable. Ability to observe and be alert in every situation; this has enabled me to respond to situations that need immediate attention in my area of jurisdiction. Skills not possessed Conflict management skills Report writing and presentation skills Short term development activities In order to ensure that I attain the above mentioned skills I enrolled in short term courses for example accounts and the use of accounts software. For conflict management skills, I will gain them through working with team members and trying to ensure there is minimal conflict through influencing participation and cooperation. For the case of report writing and presentation, I am participating in various meetings and conferences, where I learn to write and present reports. This is also in conjunction with embracing technology, which is the goal of every business especially in implementation of Electronic commerce, Report writing and presentation helps in analyzing and evaluating situations as a team. Identification of personal goals and career paths Short term goals Always have positive attitude Learn to cut costs Update my resume frequently Keep time at work place Keep my work place tidy Try to learn something new everyday Finish my work on time Change my wardrobe after six moths Go to gym Saving for summer vocation Communicate frequently to enhance understanding Eat well and live within my means Avoid negative energy The above mentioned short term goals are intended to help in personal and career development in my day to day activities. These goals set a phase for my life. I intend to achieve these goals through regular practice and reminding myself that I must achieve them. For example the goal of avoiding negativity, I will achieve this through engaging in activities that prevent negative energy such as attending inspirational talks, going to church, participating in religious functions. Another example is that of saving for summer vocation, I am planning to spend my time with my relatives upcountry during summer; therefore I am saving money I will use during that particular time. I will achieve this by opening up a new account where I deposit the money every month. Long term goals Graduating with PHD in forensic accounting Real estate investment Settling down and having a family Getting a promotion Buying a new car Staying healthy Opening up my own Audit company Long term goals define those goals that have a timeline to be achieved. In this case, these goals are achievable within three years from now. I intend to graduate with PHD which is my current learning objective. Also since I have been saving for investment, I plan to venture into real estate’s which will take around three years to accomplish the first phase project. The other goals are achievable within one year and hence I am working on ensuring that I enhance my life and embrace developments that will lead to personal and career success. In my career path, I want to add value to financial institutions and enhance the goal of providing the best financial reports that will lead to zero tolerance of fraud in companies. Reference Brown, Duane, ed. Career choice and development. John Wiley & Sons, 2002. Gutteridge, Thomas G. Organizational Career Development: Benchmarks for Building a World-Class Workforce. Jossey-Bass Management Series. Jossey-Bass Inc., 350 Sansome Street, San Francisco, CA 94104 (discount on bulk quantities)., 1993. Osipow, Samuel H., and Louise F. Fitzgerald. Theories of career development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1983. Russell, Joyce EA. "Career development interventions in organizations." Journal of Vocational Behavior 38.3 (1991): 237-287. Read More