Career Development – Spiralling up the ladder
October 27, 2010
There is a fine line that demarcates one from doing a job and making a career. The awareness of this fact is what has and will make a difference to the professional future of the 21st century generation. An Organization today is very clear on one thing. And that is, if they want to develop, the employees working with them ought to develop as well.
The erstwhile understanding of the concept of career development implied a sequence of vertical movement with expansion of responsibilities with rewards in return in term of perks, money and status. This privilege was extended to a handful few who were supposedly considered the cream of the industry or the elite from the social circles. This too was restricted to larger known brands.
The changing trends globally, show that limiting oneself to single organization may not be the smartest thing to do professionally. In fact this works well for an organization as well. Change for them would mean fresh ideas and concept, therefore keeping the work environment rejuvenated and constantly on the move. Vertical movement is not the only aspect of career development today. Lateral movements leading to wider exposure and diversified responsibilities also expose employees to greater heights of positive and rewarding careers. Self employment is yet another sphere that is being dabbled in by many professionally qualified individuals. Being your own boss has no comparison!
Determining the potential of an employee is no more contained with the idea of considering him or her worthy of promotion. The trend now is to figure out if they are willing to take on more diversified responsibilities, are more flexible to changing market situations, are capable of adapting to competition, possess the openness to work as a team and not as an individual, and focus clearly on professional development taking into account the qualitative enhancement of one’s personal development as well.
It becomes rather imperative that we cling on to the cliché “The right people with the right skills are at the right place at the right time to achieve strategic objectives”. The process of development is a two-way traffic. If the right person is identified for a job in an organization, it becomes crucial for the organization to retain that individual at a cost competitive and comparable to what the market offers for a similar role. The next thing is to comprehend that after a certain point in time, personal development at the professional front is not ignored either.
Had this not been the case, why would an IIM graduate who lands with a cushy and atrociously highly paid career lose interest in their jobs after mere five years. It simply goes to say, that too much was offered too soon. The key word here then becomes “Experience”. The Maslow theories are clearly justified here. The cause of “Development” gets lost amidst such scramble to gain too much in too little a time!
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