What is Career Development?

Career development is an organized planning method for matching a company’s needs with its employees’ career goals. Employees can improve their productivity creating a career development plan. These plans can also benefit employees who want to advance in their careers or look for new opportunities in the future.

Upper management and human resource personnel are the two groups that typically direct the career development process in the business world. Managers, for example, may be responsible for ensuring that a company’s needs and an employee’s career goals are in sync in order to achieve a balanced work environment. They will frequently identify the skills, experience, and knowledge that employees require in order to perform at their best.

Employee career development information programs are frequently provided human resource (HR) personnel. Professional networking is usually important, and as a result, HR departments may provide tools for employees to begin networking. HR managers typically offer a compensation structure that meets business needs while also allowing for individual career advancement. Employees who have shown a certain improvement or growth in required skills, for example, may be promoted and given a raise.

Employees, regardless of company leadership, have primary responsibility for ensuring that their career development goals are met. Employees typically evaluate what they want from their job now and in the future. Employees frequently consult with their managers to determine what training, professional development, or continuing education opportunities are available to them.

Career development is sometimes pursued people who are not employed a company. Instead, these individuals might be interested in developing a set of guidelines to assist them in selecting a career and obtaining employment with a desired company. This usually entails a self-evaluation in which a person considers things that he or she is naturally good at or has prior experience with. Interests and learning styles are also factors to consider. In general, the self-assessment aids an individual in determining which careers they are most interested in pursuing.

Individuals frequently continue their career development plan developing interview strategies. Those who aren’t naturally good speakers, for example, may want to enroll in an interview preparation course. A mock interview is frequently conducted in this type of program to see how well individuals respond to questions. The results are usually analyzed to see what can be changed in order to prepare for real interviews.