Planning a Career

What is career development?

"Career development is about growing through life and work; about learning, experiencing, living, working and changing; about creating and discovering pathways through one's life and work."
- The Blueprint for Life/Work Designs

In our rapidly changing world, the definition of "career" is changing. When it is done consciously, career development is about actively creating the life you want to live and the work you want to do - it is a continuous process throughout life. "Career" no longer refers to particular pathways through work or to an occupational title. Everyone has a career. Work and life are intertwined and the boundaries between the two are blurring.

Planning a career in today's world

In the last few decades, the world of work has dramatically changed how people earn their living and plan their work lives. This new labour market is evolving at accelerating speed. More and more industrial-age jobs are being replaced by knowledge-based work, and information technology continues to alter how we work, play and learn. This dramatic change in how goods and services are produced and distributed has been labelled the "New Economy." In the past, the economy was based on resources; these days, it is based on knowledge and is driven by technology and information.

Working in new ways: Employment in a "job-for-life" has been replaced by a variety of "work alternatives." These work alternatives can include working part time, contracting, consulting or owning a business where you hire your own employees.

In British Columbia, more and more people are working in this way, and economists are predicting that this trend will continue in the future. At the same time, growth in the economy and the aging of the B.C. population mean many new employment opportunities in upcoming years.

Career counsellors are encouraging people to explore all the work alternatives that are open to them. And whether starting a business or seeking a job, workers will need to develop the skills to market themselves in today's dynamic world of work.

Change: Rapid change is a constant in today's workplace. Those who understand change and can manage it effectively will be more successful.

Just-in-time training: In the information economy, it is impossible to learn everything you need to know ahead of time to do a job. Rapid learning is commonplace. The advantage goes to those who can learn - and instruct - the fastest. Workers must commit to continuous learning throughout their life/work.

Fusion: Job classifications and occupational titles have become less important. More and more jobs will be hyphenated in the future, with a fusion of titles like carpenter-architect, accountant-sales rep, or graphic designer-webmaster. Being able to combine a variety of skills to apply to a particular task will be increasingly important.

Self-reliance: Work is becoming more "entrepreneurial" in the sense that workers have to be prepared for a variety of work alternatives and take the initiative to market their skills more creatively. As a result, people need to be more responsible for their own career development. The notion of "career self-management" stresses not only surviving in today's world, but also thriving and making the best of its new opportunities.

Emphasis on skills: Workers can no longer expect long-term job security, but they can rely on "skills security." If workers keep their skills up-to-date and market them effectively in areas of the economy that are growing, they will be able to find work. An essential ingredient of career self-management is knowing and developing skill sets and then finding areas of work where they can be applied.

Balance in life/work: Information technology is fuelling the accelerating pace of change. We are "plugged in" to work more than ever before through communications (e-mail, phone, fax, pagers, the Internet). To maintain their health and well being, workers have to rethink how and where they work and find balance between earning a living and living their lives.

Finding opportunity: People benefit by using creativity to find new opportunities where they can apply their skills and abilities. This means keeping an open mind about where and how you work.

Today's economy is very different from that of yesterday. It offers even more opportunities to find challenging, rewarding and satisfying work. By devoting time and energy, you will be able to create a career plan that offers an exciting outlook for the future. Remember to temper your planning activities with a flexible approach, so that you can take advantage of the opportunities that come your way.

Using the Internet for Career Development

The Internet has become an essential research and work search tool. Most government resources related to career and labour market information (LMI) are now on the Internet. In addition, companies, all levels of government, and the non-profit sector now recruit employees through their websites.

An essential skill for today's worker is the ability to research career and labour market information online, find job postings and research employers. By knowing what you need to find out and where to access it, you will have both the control and flexibility to manage your career effectively.

There are thousands of career-related resources on the Internet. In the next few sections, you will find lists of Internet resources that you can use for all phases of your career development. Take some time to explore them, and use the Internet to help you design your life/work.

Getting Started with Planning Your Career

The rest of this chapter will describe in more detail the three steps involved in the career planning process:

1. Self-assessment
2. Using labour market information
3. Making decisions and managing your career

The information below will help you understand what each step of career planning involves and give you guidance and resources that will you help continue with your exploration and decision-making.

Know yourself: Self-assessment is the first step in career decision-making. It means learning about your interests, values, goals, aptitudes and skills. What you learn through self-assessment will help you lay the groundwork for identifying the kinds of work you will find most rewarding.

Expect to work hard: Self-assessment is the most important part of career planning. It is also the hardest part. Most of us want a fast and easy way of choosing a career or occupation. Many people flip through a college calendar and pick a program that looks interesting. Unfortunately, some discover that after devoting precious time and money pursuing the choice, it isn't personally fulfilling or satisfying!

If you want to make an informed career choice, there are no shortcuts, but the payoff to spending time in career decision-making is worthwhile. People who spend time learning about themselves in relation to the world of work usually have the most satisfying and successful careers.

Remember that the self-assessment step of the career planning process is particularly important in the current labour market. The only constant you have is your own sense of direction and purpose. Knowing who you are and where you want to go will serve you well.

Follow Your heart: The place to start with self-assessment is to focus on asking yourself what you care about most. What do you love to do? What are you proud of in your life? How do those values and accomplishments relate to the world of work? People who work from a sense of passion and commitment are usually the happiest in their careers.

Get help: Self-assessment is difficult to do on your own. You should use as many resources as you can find to help you: Internet resources in this publication, self-help books from your local library, and career planning courses in your community. Career counsellors in schools and post-secondary institutions can offer assistance to students, and private career counsellors can work with clients individually to help them with career change - look in the Yellow Pages under Counsellors and Career and Vocational Counselling.

Take courses: Most communities offer short-term career planning and work search courses. Doing career planning in a group setting is very useful to help you learn about your career strengths. Check out your local community college, university, school district, YM/YWCA, and Service Canada Centre for information about career planning courses.

Assess your skills: One of the most important parts of self-assessment is identifying your employability skills. As "skills security" replaces "job security," it is essential that workers be able to identify their skills and be able to talk about them with confidence.

Talk to others: Talk with friends and family and ask about the kind of work they think you would be good at. Ask them to make a list of the skills and abilities they think you possess. Talk to people who are passionate about what they do and ask them what brings them satisfaction in their work.

Redefine success: Career success used to include job security, a benefit package, promotions, pay raises and climbing the corporate ladder. Since long-term job security no longer exists, you need to define what career success means to you. These days, your own standards and expectations are most important in deciding what constitutes success. For many, a successful career includes not only rewarding work, but also emotional, mental, physical and spiritual well-being.

Keep a journal to record your journey towards self-discovery: Get into the habit of keeping a record of your career exploration activities and reflections. Keeping records of career planning activities in your career portfolio will help you every time you have to "redesign" your life/work and change your career direction.

Use a variety of resources: Check out the resources below. Here you will find other sources of career information that will help you with the self-assessment process.

WorkBC - Start with You
http://www.workbc.ca/career_pathways/career_planning/start_with_you.htm
Produced by the B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development, this page directs you to various self-assessment exercises and quizzes.

Career Planning for Students and Parents:
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/careers/planning/plan/aware.htm
Produced by the B.C. Ministry of Education, this resource offers a step-by-step "Career Awareness Process" to help students and parents with self-assessment for career planning.

TypeFocus:
http://typefocus.com/s_complimentary.html
An online personality questionnaire that links personality type to occupational preference. The code generated is similar to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) tool.

Keirsey Temperament Sorter:
http://www.keirsey.com
An online personality questionnaire which results in a personality type code similar to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). This U.S. site gives descriptions of each personality type.

Self-assessment on the Internet: Proceed with caution!

Although these online resources are useful to help you get started with self-assessment, it is wise to use them only as a supplement to other activities. The self-assessment you do on the Internet won't give you a complete picture of your interests, values, skills and abilities. You need to engage in a variety of activities to answer the question of who you are in relation to the world of work.