HUMAN Capital - Summer 2016 - (Page 18)

FEATURE individuaL Career PaTHing: Taking Charge of Your own Career Path be thoughtful with your career planning initiatives and intentional with your career moves bY JAClYN boCK, CHrP As an Hr professional, something I often hear from individuals is concern or frustration towards the lack of direction they have in their careers. They are feeling stuck in their current roles with no real plan for development. For these individuals, conversations about development with their supervisors are either non-existent or dictated by the company, without much consultation or input taken from the employee. They are feeling upset that they are being looked over for progression within the company and are not being tapped on the shoulder to make those moves that they believe they are deserving of and want to make. Photo Credit: iStoCkPhoto.Com/akindo The first question I ask these individuals is if they have expressed their desired career path to their supervisors. Dropping hints here and there just doesn't cut it. As an employee with a vested interest in the direction of your own personal career path, no one is accountable for planning your development and career trajectory other than yourself. Your supervisor and 18 | www.hria.ca Hr department can't read your mind; how do you expect them to know where you want to go if you don't tell them? where do You want to go? Traditional career pathing was more of a direct line, with a clear and intuitive connection from one job to the next. Imagine a stream with a number of stepping stones from one side to the other, going straight across. Simple, straightforward and easy for everyone to see the right path. Nowadays, business is ever changing and incredibly fluid, so particular skill sets are transferable across many factions. Your career path may resemble more of a zig zag, across a variety of industries and career sectors. So how do you put together a meaningful but practical career path that will fit your skills, experience and stay relevant? This is where I tell my frustrated colleagues to take the proverbial "bull by the horns" and initiate development conversations with their supervisors. It can be a scary thing to bring up, especially if it isn't part of your regular dialogue with them. However formal and informal development conversations are essential to employee development. Your supervisor needs to know what you want to be doing and where you want to be going so that they can help to ensure that you are getting appropriate exposure in your current role. This doesn't mean your expectation should be that they are immediately elevating you to those future roles that you have expressed an interest in, but that they are looking aS an EmPLoyEE WITH a vESTED InTEREST In THE DIRECTIon of youR oWn PERSonaL CaREER PaTH, no onE IS aCCounTaBLE foR PLannInG youR DEvELoPmEnT anD CaREER TRajECToRy oTHER THan youRSELf. http://www.iStoCkPhoto.Com/akindo http://www.hria.ca

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of HUMAN Capital - Summer 2016

Leadership Matters
Tech Talk
Career Crossroads – Which Path Should I Follow?
Grow Your HR Career by Helping to Grow Your Organization
Individual Career Pathing: Taking Charge of Your Own Career Path
Career Pathing Case Study: CompuCom Performance Support and Development Strategy
Encore Careers
When Organizations Need Career Pathing Options
HR’s Future Career Path
Legal Source
Policy Corner
Suppliers Guide
Index of Advertisers/Advertisers.com

HUMAN Capital - Summer 2016