Tuesday, June 7, 2011

The real deal about career development.

How well do you know us? Okay. Perhaps, we have to rephrase that question to "how well do you know our writing quirks?" We're not trying to be smug here, but really, we expect those people who have been following us since the very beginning to be able to list down our favorite career topics easily or at the very least, they should be able to name one from the roster. Job interviewing is one. Career development is another. In particular, we enjoy exploring the concept of career development to its most specific subtopics of stress management, skills training, and salary increase.

It's never easy to write about career, many career experts say. And it's very easy to understand why they do. Success is relative for the simple reason that no two people are alike. Achieving success in the realm of career doesn't mean following a rulebook from a certain "career doctor"; help books and websites like http://sg.jobsdb.com/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerIndex exist to give you ideas and that's it. The application is up to you.

For some people, reading too much information about career online and through other sources can only complicate things. Do you feel the same? Now, do you understand what we mean by describing career success as "relative" concept?

But we're not saying that career development cannot be defined. Basically, here's the deal: Career building is a matter of improving the skills one was born with and acquiring more so he/she can keep up with today's fast-paced work world. This is basically the reason why this article at http://sg.jobsdb.com/SG/EN/Resources/JobSeekerArticle/Career-Development-Basics?ID=486 by Jay S. Prince, Ph.D. is a particular favorite of ours. "Development is about knowing yourself even better--well enough to make true, lasting behavioral changes--and a viable plan to meet your change objectives", says Dr Prince.

How will you do that? Three things:

  1. Solid, valid feedback about all of your strengths and weaknesses
  2. Multi-lateral motivation to make the necessary changes
  3. Change partners for your development initiatives

Related resources for you to check:

Career Mastery - Choosing a Career Coach

Purposeful Action Leads to Success

Getting a Promotion

Maximum Achievement

Positive Expectations