JOMO KENYATTA UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND
TECHNOLOGY
BCT 2407: ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT
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Concept of career
Meaning of career planning & development
Features of career planning
Objectives of career planning
Benefits of career planning
Importance an strategies of career development
Career planning and development
Concept of career
 The term career denotes all the jobs that are held during one’s working life.
 A sequence of positions held by an individual during the course of his life
time.
 A career may be viewed as amalgam of the changes in values, attitude and
motivation that occurs as a person grows older.
 A career may be defined as ‘a sequence of jobs that constitute what a person
does for a living’.
 ‘Career planning is a process of systematically matching career goals and
individual capabilities with opportunities for their fulfilment’.
 Career planning is the process of enhancing an employee’s future value.
 A career plan is an individual’s choice of occupation, organization and
career path.
Meaning of career planning
Career planning encourages individuals to explore and gather information, which
enables them to synthesize, gain competencies, make decisions, set goals and take
action. It is a crucial phase of human resource development that helps the
employees in making strategy for work-life balance.
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Features of Career Planning and Career Development
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It is an on-going process.
It helps individuals develop skills required to fulfil different career roles.
It strengthens work-related activities in the organization.
It defines life, career, abilities, and interests of the employees.
It can also give professional directions, as they relate to career goals.
Objectives of Career Planning
1. To identify positive characteristics of the employees.
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To develop awareness about each employee’s uniqueness.
To respect feelings of other employees.
To attract talented employees to the organization.
To train employees towards team-building skills.
To create healthy ways of dealing with conflicts, emotions, and stress.
Benefits of Career Planning
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Career planning ensures a constant supply of promotable employees.
It helps in improving the loyalty of employees.
Career planning encourages an employee’s growth and development.
It discourages the negative attitude of superiors who are interested in
suppressing the growth of the subordinates.
It ensures that senior management knows about the calibre and capacity of the
employees who can move upwards.
It can always create a team of employees prepared enough to meet any
contingency.
Career planning reduces labour turnover.
Every organization prepares succession planning towards which career
planning is the first step.
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Career Development
• Career development: process of self-knowledge, exploration, and decisionmaking that shapes career.
• It requires successfully steering the occupational options to choose and
train for jobs that fit personality, skills, and interests.
• Identify strengths, weaknesses and blind spots and work to improve.
• Learning about roles and industries
• Find a match to abilities, seeking out opportunities to advance.
• A person's career development is affected by factors in or outside of their
control.
• Personal Characteristics: Personality type, interests, abilities, and workrelated values make all of us who we are. They influence which
occupations we find satisfying and the types of work environments in
which we will succeed. It is important to do a self-assessment to learn about
yourself.
• Financial Resources: Pursuing certain career options can be costly. If you
choose an occupation that requires you to attend college, you may be
limited by your ability to pay for it. Financial limitations can obstruct you
when job-hunting (interview clothes).
• Financial Obligations: mortgage, rent, student loans may obstruct a person
from switching jobs or careers. To combat this, you can try to put money
aside to use later during a career change, or you can try to change your
lifestyle to lessen your financial burden.
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• Physical, Mental, and Emotional Weakening: Some people are better
suited to some careers than to others due to physical and mental abilities or
limitations. To become a doctor but don't have a strong academic record in
the sciences.
• Age: age can obstruct to pursue a particular path, advance in career, or
make a career change. Instead of focusing on your age, concentrate on your
abilities and how motivated you are.
Family Obligations: may shop if they take time off from work to take care of
children or elderly parents. Outside help with childcare or eldercare may make it
easier to continue with a career
Career Growth and Development
• Set goals and create a plan to achieve them: successful and satisfied people
have proactively determined what they want from work.
• Develop a time and milestones: boss will ensure an internal mentor who
help manage career.
• Utilize company programs: programs to help employees develop the
careers. They focus energy on helping employees develop and follow a
career path.
• Own the career path: companies help employees, but it is your career path.
• Write it down: Career paths are the written plan that can help take charge
of what is most important to his or her fulfillment and success.
Long Term Plans
• Steady-State Careers: long term commitments throughout an individual's
life.
• work towards their retirement with specialized skillsets learned
throughout their entire life.
• required to complete a steady process of graduating from
medical school and working in medical profession until
retired.
• Steady-state careers: have the same occupational role in an organization
for long period and becoming specialized in the area of expertise.
• Manager worked in the sales industry for long have the knowledge,
skills, and attributes regarding managing staff and coordinating job
tasks to be fulfilled by subordinates.
• Linear Careers: requires new initiatives of growth and responsibility upon
accepting new roles,
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• every opportunity requires an impact of responsibility and decision
making power on organizational environment.
• Linear career path: involves vertical movement in the hierarchy of
management when promoted.
• Higher-level management position would entail more responsibility
regarding decision-making and allocation of resources to effectively
and efficiently run a company.
• Mid-level managers and top-level managers would are having linear
careers, as their vertical movement in the organizational hierarchy
would also entail more responsibilities for planning, controlling,
leading, and organizing managerial tasks.
Short Term
• Short term: temporary work, these are 'Transitory Careers' and 'Spiral
Careers'.
• Transitory Careers: one undergoes frequent job changes, in which each task
is not similar to preceding.
• skills and knowledge of their previous career will not be applicable
to their new role.
• Spiral career: series of non-identical short term jobs, but contribute to skillbuilding of a specific quality that individuals will accept over their lifetime.
• slight career transitions to build on different skill sets needed for
them to succeed in an organizational environment.
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Self – Assessment
• Interest
• Skill
• Personality
preference
• Values
• Life style
• Decision making
style
Job Search/ Work
• Operation research
• Resume writing
• Applying to
business school
• Interviewing
Career
Development
Process
Research career
• Books
• Websites
• Career files
• Professional
association
• Information
interviewing
Try out the career
• Part time work
• Internship
• Job shadowing
Volunteering
Student org.
• Summer jobs
Career development is the series of activities or the on-going/lifelong process of
developing one’s career. Career development usually refers to managing one’s
career in an intra-organizational or inter-organizational scenario. It involves
training on new skills, moving to higher job responsibilities, making a career
change within the same organization, moving to a different organization or
starting one’s own business.
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Asscence of career
development
Career development is directly linked to the goals and objectives set by an
individual. It starts with self-actualization and self-assessment of one’s interests
and capabilities. The interests are then matched with the available options.
The individual needs to train him -self to acquire the skills needed for the option
or career path chosen by him. Finally, after acquiring the desired competency, he
has to perform to achieve the goals and targets set by him.
Career development is directly linked to an individual’s growth and satisfaction
and hence should be managed by the individual and not left to the employer.
Career development helps an individual grow not only professionally but also
personally. Learning new skills like leadership, time management, good
governance, communication management, team management etc. also help an
employee develop and shape their career.
Importance of Career Development
Every employee working in an organization is looking for a career development
which moves in the right direction. Career path taken by an employee determines
the growth. Career should be planned in a way that it moves forward.
Career development provides the framework with skills, goals, awareness,
assessment and performance which helps an individual to move in the right
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direction and achieve the goals one has in one’s career. Careful career planning
is always useful for individuals to succeed professionally and also helps to boost
employee motivation in the organization.
Career Development Strategies
The development of an individual’s career is driven by several factors. Strategies
to improve someone’s career can be driven either by the company through
organization development or by the individual himself or herself. Some strategies
of career development are as following.
1. By Companies
Training and development by companies can help in employees learn new
skills. Companies help in providing leadership development, management
development etc. This is all done through employee training sessions or
developmental counselling. Employee development in the long run helps in
career development.
2. By Employees
Individuals can themselves boost their own career. This is done through
constant evaluation of their skills using techniques like continuing
professional development.
Continuous and repetitive efforts can help in the career development for an
employee.
What are the five career stages?
The career stages, also referred to as career life cycle stages, states are ways of
categorizing where you are in your professional life. The five career stages are:
1. Exploration
Typical age range: 21-25
Exploration refers to the stage before gaining permanent employment. Those in
this stage may be finishing an undergraduate or graduate degree. This stage
shapes the direction of your professional ambitions. As the prospect of a longterm career approaches, you may begin to eliminate many options and focus on
several professions that interest you.
Your background and personality influence your career choice. Your path may
also be informed by:
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Your upbringing
 Communication from parents
 Feedback from teachers
 Education
As you begin your job search, your efforts will typically include:
 Discovering interests: Define what your passion is, what motivates you
and what jobs are suited to your personality.
 Developing basic skills: Take courses for your intended career and pass
any necessary state or national exams, such as the medical licensing
exam.
 Creating expectations: Consider what type of lifestyle you want in the
future and what salary range will provide this lifestyle. Think about
whether you want a family and what kind of work/life balance you would
like to achieve.
Tips for success in the exploration stage:
 Explore many different career paths through shadowing, internships, parttime work and volunteering.
 Speak to teachers and counselors about the courses and training required
for careers that interest you.
 Use your college career center to make connections with employers.
2. Establishment
Typical age range: 25-35 years old
The establishment stage includes your initial job search, applying for a job and
accepting your first long-term position. You are likely to accept an entry-level
or mid-level position with comparably minor responsibilities.
Learning, career development and establishing your place characterize this
stage. The realities of your job replace the expectations from the exploration
stage. You may experience uncertainty and anxiety entering the workforce for
the first time and encountering many new situations and people. However, this
stage also brings excitement for a new phase in your life and anticipation of the
future.
Your main objectives in the establishment stage are:
 Learning your new job
 Gaining acceptance from peers
 Developing and improving your skills
During this time, you can experience your first professional successes and
setbacks. Try to stay positive when faced with challenging feedback and
diligent about skill development.
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Tips for success in the establishment stage:
 Develop and enhance skills through workshops and continuing education
courses.
 Find a mentor in your profession you can ask for advice and guidance.
 Use your performance reviews to help direct your skill development into
specific areas of improvement.
 Pursue certifications or licenses in your industry.
3. Mid-career
Typical age range: 35-45 years old
This stage may be characterized by either career stability and progression or a
transition into a new profession or field. Many employees in this stage reach
their peak levels of productivity and maintain a skill set specific to their role.
These years will demonstrate your commitment to your work and solidify your
position. By remaining dedicated to your current job, you can receive greater
responsibility and the resulting rewards and recognition.
You will likely expect progress at your job, such as a promotion or pay increase.
If this does not occur, you may choose to reassess your role. In this stage, you
may consider reevaluating your goals, interests and skills. Like many midcareer professionals, you may face the choice between achieving greater success
in your current role or transitioning to a new position or an entirely new career.
Additionally, work-life balance is often a concern during this stage. You may
face the challenges of succeeding in your professional life while devoting time
to family and activities outside of work.
Tips for success in the mid-career stage:
 Speak with your supervisor about opportunities for growth and forward
movement.
 Evaluate your job satisfaction.
 Apply for internal positions that provide a greater challenge and greater
responsibilities.
 Speak with your peers and check job boards for open positions in other
companies that may align better with your career aspirations.
4. Late-career
Typical age range: 45-55 years old
Presuming that you progressed through the midcareer stage successfully, the
late-career stage can be an opportunity for a less demanding work environment.
Rather than learning or obtaining new skills, the late-stage employee can teach
others and begin identifying and training a successor.
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You may have fewer opportunities for advancement, but you can enjoy tasks
like mentoring younger employees. You will likely not have any job changes
during this stage, relying on your reputation and good standing as security for
your position.
You can begin to envision what your life will look like after retirement and may
spend less time working and more time doing activities you enjoy outside of
work.
Tips for success in the late-career stage:
 Develop interests outside of work, such as gardening, biking, or
photography.
 Join a club or group, like an alumni association or civic group.
 Prepare for retirement financially by speaking with the human resources
department and a financial advisor to detail your retirement goals.
 Consider offering your expertise through a mentorship program, speaking
at a conference or writing a book.
5. Decline
Typical age range: 55-65 years old
After finishing a solid career and several decades in the workforce, many people
are ready to retire in their mid-60s.
After retirement, you may choose to enjoy the break from working by spending
more time with family and friends and traveling. You can channel your skills
and knowledge into reviving past hobbies, developing new interests or
volunteering.
Depending on your financial situation, lifestyle and energy level, you may also
consider finding other ways to make money, such as:
 Working part-time
 Consulting on a freelance basis
 Finding another full-time job
Tips for success in the decline stage:
 Stay sharp by engaging your mind with activities such as lifelong
learning opportunities, painting and reading.
 Continue to socialize by meeting with friends and family regularly.
 Share your knowledge through teaching at a community center or college.
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