What Is Career Development? Meaning, Types, Planning (+ Career Tips)

Career development refers to a collection of milestones to achieve long-term professional goals. It is a lifelong process which requires a strong commitment to continuously learn, adapt, and build connections in order to gain career accomplishments in the long run. Being proactive in developing your career will not only leverage your personal and professional growth, it will also make you a valuable asset in the ever-changing job market.

This article will give you insights about the importance of career development and provide guidance to help you create your own career development plan, step by step.

Career development is a process of learning and enhancing skill sets to achieve one’s long-term career goals. As you pave your way to professional success, this never-ending process can be visualized as a collection of stepping stones to help you accomplish in your chosen profession.

This process plays a significant role in shaping your career path because it enables you to explore and reflect different aspects of your current state of being. It involves a series of well-planned steps and actions aimed to enhance your skills, knowledge, and experiences.

Career development is significant because it empowers people to reach their full potential in their designated field. It essentially helps professionals meet career satisfaction and success, contributes to higher earning potential, and improves job performance. In fact, 87% of millennials agree that learning and development is important in the workplace, Lorman revealed.

Helps Achieve Career Satisfaction 

It is found that 41% of employees consider career advancement opportunities a dominant factor to achieve job satisfaction. Career development boosts satisfaction and success by ensuring that professionals contribute to higher productivity and performance. Consequently, it gives a sense of pride and makes employees feel valued as they are consistently improving themselves each step of the way.

Increases Higher Pay and Professional Growth

Investing in career development offers higher-paying job opportunities and long-term growth in your career path. The process allows you to set career goals, acquire related skills, and deliver optimal performance. Once you’ve achieved certain milestones, it makes you more valuable, leading to job promotions and salary increases.

Boosts Job Performance 

An article published in the International Journal of Research revealed that career development has the biggest impact on employee performance compared to the effect of training. Meaning that organizations that support employees by developing strategies to help them move forward towards career achievements have a positive impact on their performance (Sellar, 2022). Besides, the process helps employees gain confidence and motivates them to put their best effort in their job as they are offered opportunities to climb their career ladder from having strategic career development.

A career development plan is a document created to outline your career goals and the steps you have to take to accomplish them. Whether you are an employee working in an organization or an independent freelancer, it aims to navigate professionals throughout their career progression. 

Having a structured career development plan is a great kick-start to career success. It serves as a roadmap to guide you to stay on the right track in achieving your professional goals and aspirations. Although it may seem a bit under pressure having to follow each established career step, keep in mind that career development plans are adaptable. Consider the rapidly changing world where automation is becoming more and more replaceable to humans. It is therefore very important to keep an eye out for unexpected changes and make adjustments any time along the way.

We’ll introduce you to four different types of career development based on professions. Let’s see which one best fits your current state.

Knowledge-based Career Development

In this type of career development, it is important to always keep yourself updated with new knowledge related to your work field. Many companies are even willing to spend large budgets in top-notch training programs to help their employees improve. 

There are plenty of sources where people can gain access to useful insights these days. Employees can benefit from both in-house and external training programs provided by the organization. Besides, there are also many options to enhance your knowledge by exploring interesting workshops, seminars, or online learning platforms that relate to your job field.

Skill-based Career Development

Skill-based career development focuses on being equipped with the right skills to specialize in your expertise for your career growth. The key is to identify the skills you already have and the ones that you need to obtain aligning to your professional goals. Take note that it’s as important to keep flourishing your existing skills as to acquire new ones. 

Obtaining on-the-job experience is a learning approach to gain practical skills you need for your job. As the name suggests, it’s a learning-by-doing process which allows you to obtain actual skills from hands-on training in a normal working environment.  To move forward, skill-specific training can also benefit you and your organization in terms of motivation and productivity. Looking out for these learning opportunities will get you armed with realistic skills needed for specific roles.

Entrepreneur-based Career Development

This type of career development approach highlights entrepreneurial mindsets enhancement. It shapes the career journey of business owners allowing them to develop business ideas and essential entrepreneurial skills.

Running a business can be tough. So, how do aspiring entrepreneurs come up with brilliant business ideas? There are in fact, many great sources of generating business ideas. For instance, surveys, hobbies, knowledge from previous experience, client complaints, mentorship and networking.

It’s highly recommended to build a network and seek mentorship when it comes to entrepreneurship. You’ll benefit from getting connected to industry experts who can provide valuable insights to satisfy your consumers. Besides, it could serve as a shortcut to grow your business.

Freelance Career Development

People who pursue a freelancing career path enjoy being able to work anytime, anywhere. Since the common 9-5 work might not be ideal for everyone these days, more and more people turn to freelancing jobs because they prefer flexibility and independence. There’s also no need for formal dress codes. 

Kickstart your freelancing career by building a strong portfolio to keep the workload coming. Make sure you showcase your talent and skills your clients want to see. Also remember to include your high-quality and most relevant work examples, highlight your experience with clear explanations of each work, and explain the tools used to emphasize your proficiencies. 

It’s also important to establish your brand. Start by building your online personal brand and connect with people you’re interested in on communication platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter. Next, create a website or webpage by using website builders to make yourself trustable online. Also, don’t forget to use social media to market your identity.

Establishing a career development plan may sound intimidating. Follow these four easy steps to achieve career success.

1. Self-assessment

The very first step to building a career development plan is by identifying the current state of your career. It creates a good foundation to help you understand yourself better, so take some time to analyze your strengths, weaknesses, interests, and values. 

Utilize the right self-assessment tools to assist you in this process. You can either record your thoughts on guided journaling, create a career portfolio, or take online self-assessment tests, suggested by Indeed.

2. Do the Research and Get Hands-on Experience

In this step, do some research on industries, companies, and career paths that meet your interests and goals. Another great way to expose yourself to the career you are aiming for is to seek internships, job shadowing, or freelance opportunities. By doing so, you’ll gain hands-on experience that will give you a clearer picture of what it’s like in the real working environment.

3. Establish Goals and Look for Gaps

Next, think about the goals you hope to accomplish. Whether they are short-term, mid-term, or long-term goals, make sure they follow the SMART goal framework. Effective goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. 

Setting specific goals gives a clearer direction as you progress through your career path. Knowing exactly what you’re trying to accomplish will help in planning and taking the right action. It’s very important to set achievable goals. Don’t make yourself feel overwhelmed by mission-to-the moon goals. Having goals within reach will keep you motivated throughout your career development process.

As you work toward your goals, don't forget to look for gaps to find out what is preventing you from reaching them.

4. Evaluate, Adjust, and Repeat

Unpredicted circumstances sometimes show up out of nowhere. Certain changes can affect your well-established goals any time, and that is okay. The important thing is to make sure you regularly review, adjust, and update your career development plan as you progress. 

It’s also important to be adaptable when things don’t turn out as planned. Keep an open mind for new knowledge and make sure to explore new opportunities.

Good career advice can guide you in the right direction. Here are some useful tips for career development.

Tip 1: Invest in Learning Opportunities

No investment is ever wasted on education. Add self value by educating yourself and acquiring new skills relevant to your career. Career development is an ongoing journey, so make sure you continuously grasp learning opportunities through workshops, webinars, and career development courses. New trends and information rapidly come and go. Keeping your knowledge and skills fresh is important as it allows you to stay ahead of competitors in the job market. 

Tip 2: Be Intentional and Take Initiative

Keep yourself proactive throughout your career development process. Take the initiative to look out for growth opportunities by embracing continuous learning, being updated to industry trends, and seeking constructive feedback from supervisors and colleagues. Remember that you are the main character of this career journey, so it’s important to have full commitment to your own career development.

Tip 3: Hone Your Communication Skills

Communication skill is an essential tool you’ll need for career advancement. This soft skill contributes to effective collaboration with your team and stakeholders. Possessing clear and concise communication allows you to clearly express your ideas in meetings, build positive relationships in the workplace, as well as bring leadership opportunities.

Here is some career advice to ace your verbal and written communication skills. First thing’s first, keep practicing. Make great use of your free time to do some written and speaking tasks, or take courses to upgrade your skills. It’s also useful to ask for help by having tutorial sessions from those who have excellent communications skills surrounding you. Next, read books on grammar or self-development to expand your vocabulary and improve your grammar.

Tip 4: Build Your Network

Developing professional relationships can be more beneficial  than you think. Not only do they lead to great job opportunities, but you will gain valuable insights of different perspectives, stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends, and receive professional guidance to advance your career.

--- Originally written by Ainee Setthamalinee ---