Techgue | We often plan around housing, finances, holidays, or even children's education. However, how many of us are able to actively plan and manage our careers? Everyone actually has career goals, although some may not realize it. Since the early 1990s, there have been changes in career management.
Whereas in the past it was the organization that encouraged its employees to move to higher levels of company roles, now it is each individual who directly takes care of their career development. Want to understand more about career management? Find out the meaning, benefits and how to apply it in the following explanation!
What is Career Management ?
Career management is a prolonged process that invests all kinds of resources to obtain career goals. This process does not happen in one moment, but continues continuously in order to adapt to the changing demands of the modern economy. Career management programs support continued personal and professional development through life transitions.
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The concept promoted by career management is almost the same as financial management. There is a main rule to remember: resources invested in a disciplined and regular manner will produce brilliant results. Career management focuses on two key investment assets :
- Continuous learning: Today's work environment is very much about technology. The progress we are experiencing now may even change with future technological discoveries.
- Relationship network: In an economic situation that emphasizes information and services like now, relationships are a crucial asset. This is because relationships not only help complete tasks with colleagues, vendors, customers or competitors, but are also a source of information regarding industrial developments and their sectors.
Benefits of Career Management
Career management is not just planning and managing without profit. The following are the benefits you can get from implementing career management.
- Visibility: Thanks to career management, it will be easier for you to work and leave a positive impression on colleagues and superiors. This is what will increase your visibility in the workplace and make your boss aware of your capacity.
- Career Satisfaction: Nowadays, it is very difficult to find employees who are satisfied with their chosen career path. As a result, employee performance, physical and mental performance is affected. If you implement career management, you can improve morale, stay motivated, gain meaning in life, and remain committed at work.
- Personal Development: When pursuing career goals, you must be disciplined, focused, strong-willed, superior, and trained. These traits that are cultivated in the long term will have a good impact in the future.
How to Implement Career Management
After understanding the purpose and benefits of career management, it's time to apply it to your life! Here are some tips you can follow:
1. Develop a long-term career aspiration plan
Even though the future, scope and work environment cannot be predicted, you still have to have a thorough career development plan. Don't just plan based on how much money you can make!
It's best to set career goals while considering job satisfaction so that it will give you a sense of success and achievement. Explore your abilities, needs, interests and aspirations so that your long-term career plans can run well.
2. Divide long-term plans into short-term steps
After determining long-term goals, start breaking them down into short-term actions. While planning this, you must identify potential growth opportunities, such as
- On-the-job training
- Skill development courses
- Professional development programs held by external parties
- Trusted guidance, such as from a consultant or mentor.
3. Take advantage of the equipment and resources your company has
Look for people or fields that have aspects similar to or useful for your goals. For example,
- Ask the recruiter if they would like to help review and critique your resume.
- Talk to people who work in the benefits department to find out about bonus opportunities available, for example, college scholarships or professional certification benefits.
- Chat with the talent acquisition team about interview techniques and practice with them.
Get to know the people who work in skills development. They can connect you with course opportunities or mentors. These people can also tell you about the criteria they need so you can set priorities while practicing your skills and work style.
4. Don't close yourself off from opportunities!
Someday or maybe you are experiencing it now, you will be in a position that requires you to decide to participate in a complex task or take on a new job inside or outside your department. This situation does seem risky.
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However, to be able to achieve your career goals, you have to choose one of these two risks. Think openly and encourage yourself to take risks because “playing it safe” will do little to help you achieve your career aspirations.