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Career Development: Recommended Reading to Make the Most of Your Career

By Mary Gormandy White

No matter where you are in your career, you can always benefit from keeping up with the latest literature related to career and professional development. Whether you would benefit from learning how to land the job of your dreams, how to get a promotion, or just how to function more effectively in your current career, there are excellent career development books that can be of great benefit to you.

As a professional its important to continue learning and growing throughout your career, and keeping up with the latest professional development literature is a great way to stay ahead of the curve. The time you spend reading career development books is an investment in your long-term career success.

Reading career development books enables you to learn from leading experts in the field from the comfort of your own home. No matter what professional or personal challenges you face related to your career, youll be able to find books that can provide valuable insights and tips regarding your employment-related concerns.

Suggested Topics Include:

The following list includes a selection of current career development literature. These books are great tools for individuals seeking to grow as professionals. They are a great starting point, but just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the many publications that can provide guidance for building the career of your dreams.

Career Advancement: Whether you are just starting out in your career, seeking a promotion, or are thinking about taking your career in a new direction, you will benefit from the practical tips and suggestions in Stepping Up: 12 Ways to Rev Up, Revitalize, or Renew Your Career by S. Gary Snodgrass.

Take Charge of Your Career: Have you ever been faced with a difficult career situation that literally seemed to come out of nowhere? I Didnt See It Coming: The Only Book Youll Ever Need to Avoid Being Blindsided in Business by Nancy C. Widmann, Elaine J. Eisenman, and Amy Dorn Kopelan is a unique career guide designed to help professionals anticipate and effectively deal with these types of situations.

Personal Branding: Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand by William Arruda and Kristen Dixson explains how to position yourself for career success by building your personal brand. The book provides readers with step-by-step tips for improving your career karma by building and managing your own brand.

Success Secrets: Too many people unintentionally sabotage their career success potential because they dont understand how to position themselves for success within their organizations. Help! Was That a Career Limiting Move? By Pamela J. Holland and Marjorie Brody is a practical guide designed to help professionals recognize and understand workplace behaviors that negatively impact their ability to get a ahead. This is a must-read for people who find themselves being overlooked for promotions or who want to be sure that this never happens to them.

Your Career is Worth The Time

Keep in mind that becoming a successful professional involves more than just getting the basic training you need to enter the workplace. Successful professionals who want to fulfill their potential invest time and energy in learning how to grow in their careers. The time you spend learning how to improve your ability to advance in your career can result in exponential rewards.

A personal career development plan enables you to keep track of progress in your own career. It is a reliable way to analyze your motivations, aspirations, and achievements. Several career-oriented individuals create a career development plan not just to accomplish certain goals, such as a promotion or raise in the job, but also for further career advancement. Hence, it should be given much focus.

Essentials In Career Development Plan

Creating your career development plan must be done continuously, instead of focusing on specific work objectives. That way, you can easily keep track of whatever improvements you have or where there is need for one. It is not just confined to career-related documents but may also include materials that you have collected over time that reflect your motivation and aspirations when it comes to your career.

Below are few things you can do to back up your career development plan:

Update your resume. – Your resume is a crucial reflection of your career path. Therefore, if you have new or existing skills, achievements in previous employment, or personal achievements, make sure to include it in your CV.

List all your job descriptions. – This is essential to your career planning. By evaluating and analyzing your performance from previous jobs, you will be able to detect whether there are improvements or recognize which areas you need improve on. If you can, gather evidence of any achievements you have for they might come handy during job interviews.

Gather job advertisements. – This tip is helpful even to those employed individuals. This will enable you to identify whether there are any other existing jobs that are more suitable for your qualifications and that offer self-fulfillment.

Create A Personal Vision

Some people constantly change careers not because of compensation or competition, but more often because they are not personally satisfied with their careers. Therefore, when devising your own career plan, you have to create your own personal vision.

Your career plan or objectives can be either long or short term. Hence, before you move on with your career planning, you have to determine yours first. There are a lot to consider when planning your career path, however personal considerations should be on top of the list.

What are the personal barriers that impede your progress? Are you doing this for personal satisfaction and achievement, or is this what my family desires for me? As long as you have considered factors that not only involve the people around you but also yourself, then you can remain motivated in achieving the goals you have set for yourself.

Personal Career Planning Steps

1.If you are contemplating on multiple careers, try narrowing them down so you can focus on the career most suitable for you.

2.Research about your prospect career. When you have more information and knowledge about your chosen career, you will also recognize the skills needed in order to succeed in that career.

3.If you are looking to make a transition from one career to another, identify the necessary qualifications.

4.Once you have determined the qualifications needed for your new career, compare it with your current career profile. Evaluate what skills or knowledge you need to acquire in order to match the job search. If it requires a lot of work, then you might need to reconsider whether changing careers should be an option. If you are close to the qualification, then you can move on.

For long-term career planning, you need to be more precise and specific with your guidelines. After all, you will have to be the one dealing with the consequence of your choices. When creating your personal development plan, you must consider not only career opportunities in the market but also your own skills and abilities.

According to a recent leadership development study from Development Dimensions International (DDI),many new managers don’t know what it takes to succeed and weren’t ready for thechallengesand obstacles that they faced as leaders.

Finding the First Rung as New Managers

A study on the challenges facing today’s frontline leader surveyed 1,130 supervisors and first-level managers to understand how they are overcoming the challenges of their jobs and what is holding them back from being successful.

The major findings of the study include:

• 42% of new managers don’t understand what it takes to succeed
• 89% have at least one “blind spot”
• Only 1 in 10 leaders were actually groomed for the job
• Half took the role for the increase in compensation — only 23% because they actually wanted to lead others
• More than half of leaders learned through trial and error

Caught by Surprise, Without Adequate Leadership Development

So why were new managers so surprised by the job? Since trial and error on the job (57%) was the number one means of achieving their leadership skills, it’s not surprising these managers were shocked once they were formally in the role.

And even if they’ve been in the role for a year or two, 30% of managers still don’t understand what it takes to be successful. After six years, that number is only 10% lower, with 1 in 5 still not really understanding what it takes.

The result of this management development gap is leadership regret — 1 out of 3 leaders surveyed regretted being promoted due to lack of preparation and/or not knowing how to succeed.

Some of that distress can be attributed to how people got the job — 11% of respondents said they became a manager because there was no one else for the job. These “accidental leaders” regretted the promotion the most, were less likely to have wanted the promotion to begin with, and were more likely to question their ability to lead others.

“Management by default isn’t an effective promotion strategy,” said DDI’s Senior Vice President of Selection Solutions, Scott Erker. “Companies need to do due diligence to select leaders who have the desire, motivation — and skills — to be a leader or you’ve failed the individual and the organization.”

New Managers Thrown into the Deep End — and Not Liking It

The half of new managers who found themselves learning from trial and error felt they were less supported and getting fewer good learning experiences, and they were overall less satisfied with their professional development, than those who learned through active management development

New managers learning through trial and error were 52% more likely to describe their first year on the job as stressful and twice as likely to describe it as overwhelming.

“While learning tension is good, the stress from having to navigate a complex role with little support takes a toll on morale and creates negative feeling from leaders,” Erker said.

In fact, when you compare managers who learned through active management development and support to those who learned from trial and error, the number who said they were less interested in being a leader more than doubled (9% with manager support to 20% with trial and error).

Lack of management development and support when transitioning to the role also took a toll on self-esteem, as those learning from trial and error were a great deal more likely to rate themselves as poor or fair (18% compared to 7% with management development and support) and were twice as likely to say they were unprepared to take on the job (20% compared to 9% of those with management development and support).

“What can we learn from this? The manager’s role — and ultimately the company’s responsibility — in helping a new manager impacts everything from their perception of leadership to their perception of themselves,” Erker said.

New Managers Accepting Promotions for the Wrong Reasons

When asked about their top two reasons for taking the promotion, half of frontline leaders surveyed took the role because it would lead to greater compensation — this was the number one reason for becoming a leader. What lagged behind?

• Broadening skills (39%)
• To advance their career (33%)
• Making a greater contribution to the company (33%)
• Power and influence (21%)

Surprisingly, wanting to lead others was almost at the bottom of the list, with only 23%.

“Leading others is one of the biggest changes for those transitioning from an individual contributor to manager,” Erker said. “But it’s a central part of the job, so the low motivation to lead should be concerning to organizations.”

What’s the downside to the financial motivation? The managers driven mainly by money were more likely to become disillusioned by the job — they were 57% more likely to regret the promotion than those who took the promotion because they wanted to make a greater contribution.

Common Problems for New Managers

Can managers see themselves clearly and identify their skill gaps? Even with the low confidence and high regret reported, 87% of managers rated themselves as good or excellent.

In separate data from 200 managers going through a frontline leader assessment, their self-ratings of their leadership skills were compared to their actual performance during the assessment. Nearly all of the managers (89%) rated themselves above their actual skill level on at least one leadership skill — and half rated themselves higher on at least three.

“These leaders clearly have blind spots about their own leadership skills-this is dangerous because they won’t seek development in these areas. Without insight into their development gaps, they’ll create problems for themselves and their teams throughout their leadership careers,” Erker said.

This article was written byDevelopment Dimensions International.

It has become the practice for high schools in United States to observe Career Days for senior students for many decades now. On this day high school students are introduced to various careers open to them by local business professionals in the school. However, these days are proving insufficient to enable the students of high school to plan their future. That is why most middle-aged adults and youngsters seek the personal guidance of coaches in career development.

Personal coaches in the field of career development offer a very essential service to people who are late planners of their careers. A lot remains to be done to help the youngsters in career development. When the best career options are enumerated for students of high schools, it helps them develop a better understanding of the careers they would prefer, resulting in more efficient planning and more enrollments in colleges leading to a more productive future society.

For many high schools, the practice of a Career Day has taken the form of a whole Career Week to tackle these issues. A couple of days in this week are utilized to introduce the seniors to various career pathways by seasoned community professionals. The assessments resembling those by personal coaches in career development are taken up during the remaining week.

These assessments help the students of high school to become aware of their strengths and weaknesses and also to explore where their values and interests lie. These assessments are then fed to a computer system. The system generates a report outlining the best career options for that particular student. The students then go through further training via Handbook of the Occupational Outlook.

The Handbook of Occupational Outlook is a top rated career development tool for personal career development in the arsenal of high school. The Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States has put this publication in electronic form as well as in the book form. This enables the students to access valuable information about details of career, industry outlooks and job prospects for the future, the education required and average salaries.

When these assessments of career development of high school students are over, they undergo interviews with either the counselor of the high school or the coach of career development. These students are led through the interviews to explore fully the career options, have discussions with the coaches and reach decisions about the field in which they want to make their careers. Then several resources are provided to the student of the high school to give him a start on his career development path.

Another aspect of activities of career development is that the counselors or the coaches of personal career development visit the senior classrooms and take important sessions on goal setting and its importance in career development. These students get resources to set their goals practically and begin to pen down their plan for personal career development.

Although personal career development concept and its importance is not new for students of high schools, plans for personal career development education are being put into place by schools only now. These initiatives will prepare more and more students of high schools to begin careers or education as soon as they finish high school, thereby leading to a more productive future society.

Today, it is fairly common to have people changing careers more than once. In fact, there are people who choose careers that are entirely different from those that they have previously held before. There will come a point when you will have to consider a career change, so it is a good idea to know about career development beforehand. Of course, you dont have to change jobs just to have career advancement. You can make it your goal to climb the ranks in the same company.

Working on Your Career Development

Career development is actually a path that helps you choose the career that you would like to pursue. It includes all the various steps that you would have to undertake in order to advance in your chosen career.

The concept of career development basically includes testing your stress management capabilities and your inherent skills. If you want to have a better shot at some career that you would particularly like to pursue, you need to make sure that you do well at the present position you hold. You should take the opportunity to enrich your knowledge and develop your capabilities. These things will influence the success of your career development. You cant afford to resent your present job because this will not help you advance in your career. Learn to love your job and embrace the responsibilities attached to it. You would have better chances of succeeding.

Educate Yourself and Strengthen Your Chances

Once you have determined the career development path that you would like to pursue, you can then direct your attention to preparing for it. You need to educate yourself. You will strengthen your chances of succeeding if you take up classes, join seminars or undergo training sessions.

There are many colleges, institutes, schools and universities that are offering career development courses. In fact, there are courses for practically every career that is out there. You will even find these courses online. This is perfect if you cant afford to go to regular classes.

To advance in your chosen career, you need to show to people that you are dependable. You need to show that you are a trustworthy employee who is capable of producing quality work. To do this, you need to strengthen your knowledge, skills and capabilities. Career development is a continual process of learning and working. Therefore, it is very important that you know what you are getting yourself into. You need to be committed to it. It will help if you choose a job that you would enjoy. Otherwise, you wouldnt have a shot at succeeding.

Creating a Career Development Plan

You need to plan your career growth if you want to keep track of your progress. This will also help you analyze your aspirations and motivations. Successful individuals do not just develop a plan for promotions or salary raises. They look beyond these things and create an entire plan for career development or advancement.

A career development plan is something that should be done continuously. You cannot just focus on specific goals. You need to be continually reviewing and revising your plan if needed. This way, you can easily keep track of changes or improvements. You wont be confined to anything. You will keep your options open and you will have more shot at succeeding.

To start off, you need to make sure that you have practicalities covered. You need to have an updated resume at all times. This is just the practical aspect of your plan. What is important is your vision for yourself. Regardless of whether you are pursuing a career goal in the same company or you are looking for change of career, you need to make sure that you know what you want.

There are a lot of things that you need to take into consideration, so make sure that you have considered everything before you start making your things to do list. You should have considered the things that could hinder your progress. You should have determined the driving force behind your career choice. You should also know what can motivate you to succeed.

If you want to succeed in your choice of career, you should prepare for it. You should equip yourself with the knowledge and skills required for it. You should also create a career development plan to guide you to succeed.