What Is Career Development?

Career development is the process of honing the skills and experiences necessary to progress on your professional journey, and doing so incrementally (or ladder steps). It plays an integral role in personal growth as it encourages individuals to set objectives and stay motivated to reach them.

What Is Career Development?

Career development is the process of connecting personal needs for physical or psychological fulfillment with opportunities for advancement in a given job. This can be done on either an individual level or organizationally depending on the context.

Organizations often utilize employee development programs to boost productivity, lower turnover rates and enhance the quality of their work. Furthermore, these courses give employees an opportunity to acquire new skills that will benefit them throughout their careers.

A successful career development program should strive to keep employees motivated and contented with their jobs. A well-crafted career development program should be embedded within the organization’s culture, so that it becomes an extension of itself.

Employers should provide their employees with a clear vision of career development and the options available to them, so employees are motivated to pursue their passions and goals. This should be supported by an open culture of learning and training that promotes transparency throughout all levels.

Employees should be aware of the career development resources and support available to them, including a network of experts, mentors and colleagues. This includes both internal and external sources of information such as networking events, online resources and career fairs.

Career development is essential for all employees to advance professionally and excel in their job. It allows them to develop as individuals, which enhances job satisfaction and motivation levels, ultimately leading to increased productivity.

Start the career development process by setting achievable objectives, crafting an action plan and crafting a vision statement for your career. Your vision statement should be based on values, interests and abilities; it should summarize what you hope to achieve during the next stage of your career.

Once your career goals are decided, take some time to research different careers that interest you. Attend career panels, talk to professionals in the field and interview employers. Alternatively, do a job shadow for an up-close look at what it’s like to work in that field and environment.

Once you’ve identified several career options that interest you, reach out to an employer and inquire what qualifications they require in order to hire you. Be sure to inquire about the necessary skill sets for the role as well as any educational requirements needed for success.

You may discover that the job you are interested in is not a great match for your interests and skill set, in which case it’s time to explore other occupations. Breaking away from your comfort zone and trying new positions is an integral part of career development as it can open doors that you otherwise wouldn’t have had access to.