Stages in Career Development

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Before I talk about being able to manage your own career, let’s look at a popular career theory. Stages in Career Development

Her main idea is that a career, like a human life, has several successive stages (stages). If life is divided into “childhood”, “adolescence”, “youth”, “maturity”, then career can be divided into the stages of “growth”, “research”, “formation”, “preservation”, “decline”.

Stages in Career Development

Stages in Career Development

See what these stages are.

The five stages of career development

In the “Growth” stage (0-14 years), the individual takes shape as a person, orients himself, can succeed and identify with some work activity (profession). This is the initial stage of the career, when the little person should know roughly the answer to the question “What do I want to become?” . The role of the family, the school, the media, society is great in this respect.

In the “Exploration” stage (ages 15-24), the individual may retain, but may also adjust, their initial career choice. At this career stage, he should be able to know himself, self-evaluate, compare with the requirements of different professional fields. This is a stage during which the young person has understood new things about himself (needs, interests, values, etc.) and can make independent judgments and choices.

In the stage of “Formation” (24 – 44 years), the individual searches for and finds suitable work for himself, strives to occupy a more permanent position in the chosen career path, but at the same time constantly checks his choice. However, by the age of 30, he already has a clear answer as to whether the career is right for him (if he successfully copes with his work, he has achievements, if he has discovered what he likes about his work). Between the ages of 30 and 40, he is aware of his career goals (what he can achieve through it), and between the ages of 35-45, he increasingly reevaluates his career development.

Stages in Career Development

In the “Preservation” stage (45-65 years), the individual tries to preserve his niche in the career (he rarely makes drastic changes), but his motivation for development and especially for proving his personal competence is very strong. It helps him to continue the process of self-identification with the career.

In the “Decline” stage (60-65 years), the individual has reduced activity. Sometimes he comes to terms with the fact that he has a new way of life (retirement), sometimes he is highly motivated to accept his new role as a mentor to younger people. Stages in Career Development

You could compare your age group with career stages and assess where you are in your career development.

Stages in Career Development

What do experts say about career management?

According to career experts, an individual manages his career by investing quite consciously throughout life in various resources to achieve pre-planned career goals. The two key words, according to career experts, are “lifelong learning” and “building and maintaining a network of relationships” .

Regardless of what we call “lifelong learning” – “strategy”, “way of thinking”, or “career philosophy” – it is about readiness and motivation for action on the part of the individual to invest in his knowledge, in his skills, in the improvement of qualities and abilities, thanks to which he will be able to have career-oriented behavior. Stages in Career Development

As for the “web of relationships”, career experts recommend the mastery of various social skills (e.g., communication skills, understanding of others’ behavior, self-presentation, self-leadership, negotiation, etc.) with the help of which the individual able to work with colleagues, clients, partners, able to balance work and personal life. According to experts, the “network of relationships” plays an important role in managing one’s career.

Stages in Career Development

A few tips

My advice on career management is in the spirit of what “management” itself is. I suggest that you look at career management as a complex of four consecutive activities – “career planning”, “organizing actions to build and develop a career” , “personal guidance of actions”, “personal control over career development”.

What specifically could you do? Find out in the material “How to manage your own career” .

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