CHAPTER 9 Developing Careers

CHALLENGES

After reading this chapter, you should be able to deal more effectively with the following challenges:

1 Understand what is needed for career development programs to be successful.
2 Have familiarity with challenges in career development.
3 Learn practices for meeting the challenges of effective development.
4 Gain competence in self-development.

Tom had been happy to get the job at the men’s clothing company. He started the job almost two years ago as he was graduating from college with a marketing degree. At the time, Tom had thought that there were a lot of opportunities at the company and that it was a good fit with his education. However, he has just heard from a friend that another company is looking for more talent in the marketing area. The friend suggested that Tom should consider making a move.

Tom can’t help but think about what working for the other company might be like and whether the other job might be a better opportunity. The issues he finds himself reflecting on have to do with how satisfied he really has been with his current employer. Have there been as many opportunities with his current employer as he thought there would be? Has he had a chance to apply his skills and to develop them further? Has he had a chance to develop new skills? Has he been challenged with meaningful assignments? Has he increased his marketability? Is he happy with how his career has been progressing?

Source:Golden Pixels LLC/Shutterstock.

The prospect of a new job has also forced Tom to think about whether he has progressed in the company. Has his pay level increased at the rate he thinks it should? What about his job title? Could he get ahead if he tried? Is it clear how he could move ahead in the company, and is there even room to move up?

Tom isn’t comfortable with all of the questions that have been raised by the prospect of another career path. He is also a little troubled that the answers to the questions aren’t always clear or positive. He isn’t sure what he is going to do, but he now realizes that careers don’t simply happen—they must be planned for and managed. It is also painfully clear to him that he has to take responsibility for his career—no one else is going to do it for him.

The Managerial Perspective

Tom’s reflection on his career is not uncommon. A job opening, an anniversary, a certain goal that was or wasn’t reached—among many other possible triggers—can cause people to consider where they are at in a job and where they are going.

As a manager, emphasizing career development for your workers can provide some insurance that they won’t pursue other opportunities when these “triggers” occur. Giving employees opportunities to grow and develop can ensure that your workforce keeps pace with the demands of the changing business environment. In addition, if you make this kind of investment in your employees, you are more likely to keep workers instead of seeing them lured away by competitors.

The employer and employee often share the responsibility for career development. In your job as a manager, then, you will likely be partially responsible for your own career development as well as that of your workers. As part of that responsibility, you may become involved in a formal or informal mentor relationship.

In this chapter, we investigate how you can help manage others’ career development as well as your own. First, we define career development. Second, we explore some of the major challenges connected with career development and offer some approaches to help managers avoid problems in this area. We conclude by discussing self-development.

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Table of Contents for CHAPTER 9 Developing Careers

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Table of Contents for
CHAPTER 9 Developing Careers