Key Steps for Career Development

This is the first in a series of articles on career development by Catherine Jessup, our Career Development Advisor

Your work career, as it develops and evolves over your life span, may have some surprising twists and turns and involve multiple careers. You will inevitably go through a well-defined "process of change" or "career transitions" cycle.

When you experience a career transition, you move from a period of relative stability to a period of turmoil or even crisis. External factors that can trigger this shift include:

• lay-offs and reorganizations
• retirement of your boss
• promotion of a rival worker
• introduction of new technologies

Internal factors that can trigger this shift include:

• acknowledging your boredom, frustration or disappointments
• noticing a significant decline in good health due to job stress
• feeling as if life is passing you by and that there must be more to life than "this job"

When you are ready to consider a possible career transition, there are 6 steps you can take to resolve your career "crisis" and return to career stability and satisfaction:

1. Self assessment
2. Career exploration
3. Decision making
4. Goal setting
5. Acquiring job search skills
6. Acquiring career success

Key Steps for Career Development: Self-Assessment and Career Exploration This is the second in a series of articles on career development by Catherine Jessup, our Career Development Advisor Step 1: Self assessment: When you are ready to consider a possible career transition, the first step in the career development process is self-assessment. This stage is about crystallizing your identity. You look at your skills, values, interests, and personality preferences. You identify what you do well, what motivates you, what brings you pleasure and satisfaction, and what challenges you. You clarify what bores you, frustrates you, and leaves you cold. Your new awareness will lead you to potentially satisfying occupations and away from career paths that may be unsatisfying. There are a number of exercises, standardized tests and instruments you can complete and review with a career counselor. Remember: self-assessment equals self-awareness! Step 2: Career exploration: The second step in the career development process is career exploration. This is the time to explore possibilities and let your fantasies run wild, even if it means considering occupations you have never before encountered. You may become aware of changes in the workplace that challenge your assumptions about work and use this as a basis for career exploration. To explore careers here, for example, for example, you might research the future strategic goals of OHSU and trends that are affecting the health care industry, other thriving industries, the labor market and the global economy. In this step, you also determine what competencies and skills will be of value to achieve your goals and map the options to help you make creative new decisions for your future career path. Remember: Let go of stereotypes! Key Steps for Career Development: Decision Making and Goal Setting This is the third in a series of articles on career development by Catherine Jessup, our Career Development Advisor The December newsletter discussed steps 1 and 2: self assessment and career exploration. This article begins with Steps 3 and 4: decision making and goal setting. Step 3: Decision Making: Having completed steps 1 and 2, you've learned more about yourself, the world of work and the job market. Now it's time to synthesize that information and look for compatibility of your values, interests, personality, and skills with what's available in the marketplace. For this step, take your list of possible career alternatives and answer the following questions: Which positions are likely to meet your needs? Which career paths would best utilize your talents and gifts? What career alternatives offer the promise of opportunity well into the next decade? Take your answers to these questions and decide where you want to focus. A career counselor who will listen and assist you with an effective decision-making process may be helpful at this stage. Step 4: Goal Setting: Made some decisions? It's time for the fourth step in the career development process: goal setting. This step involves creating an action plan to lay out the steps you'll take to achieve your goals. For example, if one of your goals is to acquire credentials for a new career option by the end of 2005, one of your actions might be to complete a certification program over the summer. Another action step may be to schedule at least one informational interview for each potential career option. Expect your action plans to include a mix of short, mid and long term plans. Regularly setting specific goals, reviewing them frequently, and revising them when necessary will keep you moving forward.

Key Steps for Career Development: Job Search Skills and Career Success Skills This is the fourth in a series of articles on career development by Catherine Jessup, our Career Development Advisor

The December newsletter discussed steps 1 and 2: self assessment and career exploration. The spring newsletter discussed steps 3 and 4: decision making and goal setting. This newsletter completes the series with steps 5 and 6: job search skills and career success skills.

Step 5: Job Search Skills: At this stage, you are preparing to market yourself to OHSU departments or other organizations. You will write a resume that recasts your previous experience, emphasizes newly acquired skills, and leads to promising job interviews. Most importantly, you will learn about developing a network of professional contacts who will be valuable throughout your career.

Targeting potential employers for your search and strategizing an effective approach are also necessary job search skills. Finally, developing or refining your interview skills and ability to negotiate salary and fringe benefits is an important part of this step.

Step 6: Career Success Skills: In this last step, you acquire the skills that will help you fit into a new department or organization and become a valued and influential employee. Find out how to:

• present a positive professional image
• develop an effective relationship with your supervisor
• add value to the organization
• build a support network
• take on new responsibilities, and
• plan your career advancement or enrichment

As an additional option, you may even learn about and consider becoming your own boss through self-employment.

Your work career, as it develops and evolves over your life span, may have some surprising twists and turns. However, you will always be able to return to career stability and satisfaction if you remember the six key steps of a well-defined career transition cycle.

Resource: Kit Harrington Hayes, Managing Career Transitions, 2nd edition, 2000

Success Story Form 12.2006.doc