Career planning is the process of predetermining career goals and the paths to those goals. It matches individual's career needs with the career opportunities provided by the organization.The steps involved in the process of career planning are as follows:
1. Employee self assessment of career needs
Career planning begins with employee self assessment of career needs. It is preparing a self inventory, consisting of :
a. Interests and aptitudes
They provide occupational orientation to an employee. They can be for following types of works:
* Physical/outdoor
* Written
* Oral/visual
* Quantitative/analytical
* Interpersonal
* Creative
* Clerical
* Managerial
b. Skills
They are needed for effective performance of jobs. They can be:
* Technical
* Human
* Conceptual
2. Environmental assessment
Environmental forces can be political, legal, economic, socio-cultural, and technological. They provide opportunities and threats for career planning.
* Environmental scanning is done to detect emerging trends in a long term perspective. It should be comprehensive to identify all the crucial developments that may affect employee's career opportunities.
* Future changes in labor market are important for career planning. High potential jobs are identified for career goals.
3. Selection of career goals
Career goals are desired future positions an employee strives to reach as a part of career. They are based on the analysis of employee's strength, weakness, opportunities and threats. They serve as a road map to career planning
4. Selection of career paths
It is the sequential patterns of jobs during a career. An employee's career path is influenced by:
a. Stage in career cycle
Career cycle refers to stages through which a career evolves. The stages are:
i. Growth stage:
ii. Exploration stage
iii. Establish stage
iv. Maintenance stage
v. Decline stage
b. Career anchors
They are the basic drives that urge an employee to take up a certain type of career. They are concerns the employee will not give up if a choice has to be made. Factors that serve as career anchors are:
i. Technical competence
ii. Managerial competence
iii. Security
iv. Autonomy
v. Creativity
