by Michelle L. Casto, M.Ed.
Career experts say that people will change careers (not jobs) five to
seven times in a lifetime. That's why career management is an
important life skill to develop and cultivate. The six stages of
modern career development are:
- Assessment
- Investigation,
- Preparation
- Commitment
- Retention
- Transition.
Learning the characteristics of each stage will empower you to
navigate through each stage easily and with more confidence.
In the Assessment Stage, you are getting ready for your life's
work. This stage is characterized by unawareness, in that you are not
sure what your values, strengths, and weaknesses are. You start to
feel as though you want to know more about yourself and make a
conscious effort to get in touch with who you really are.
Key characteristics:
- Taking assessment instruments
- Working with a career counselor or career coach
In the Investigation Stage, you are researching what work
exists in the world. This stage is characterized by feelings of
confusion, in that you are not sure what career options exist for
you. You may feel overwhelmed with all of the jobs and opportunities
that exist as you begin the process of researching the modern world
of work. But if you approach this stage with a positive frame of
mind, you will find that you will learn about many possibilities you
may have never considered.
Key characteristics:
In the Preparation Stage, you are still getting ready to do
your life's work. This stage is characterized by feelings of
excitement, as you think of how wonderful it will be to perform
meaningful work. However, there is still much work to be done, and to
be successful, you have to prepare.
Key characteristics:
- Gaining knowledge and experience
- Setting goals and adopting a success-oriented mind-set
In the Commitment Stage, you will feel confident that you have
figured out what you are meant to do. Sometimes people have known all
along what they were meant to do but could not commit to the process
of making it happen, for whatever reason. At this stage, more than
ever, you must focus your energy and keep your eye on the target.
Key characteristics:
- Conducting a job search
- Negotiating and accepting a job offer
In the Retention Stage, you will feel comfortable in your
career field, as you will now have figured out how things work in
your industry. You will want to remain committed to your career by
continually updating your skill set and staying current with industry
standards.
Key characteristics:
- Providing first-class customer-service skills
- Building a professional network
The Transition Stage is characterized by feelings of discomfort
in that you are unsure of what you will be doing next (and/or if you
will be happy). In this stage, you will learn to make conscious
changes in your career direction.
Key characteristics:
- Making career changes
- Developing resiliency
No matter what career stage you find yourself in now, you can be sure
that you will enter and re-enter through these six stages many times
throughout your lifetime.
Find this article helpful? There are plenty of other great career planning
articles in this section of Quintessential Careers:
Career Planning Articles.
Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more information (definitions and links) on key college, career, and job-search
terms by going to our Job-Seeker's Glossary of Job-Hunting Terms.
This article is adapted from the book, Get Smart! About Modern Career
Development: A Personal Guide to Creating Your Life's Work
(read our
review of this book)
by Michelle L. Casto, M.Ed., who is a whole life coach, speaker, and
author of the Get Smart! LearningBook Series: Get Smart! About Modern
Romantic Relationships, Get Smart! About Modern Career Development,
and Get Smart! About Modern Stress Management. Her coaching practice
is called Brightlight Coaching because she helps people come up with
bright ideas for their life and empowers them to freely shine their
bright light to the world. She can be reached at
coach@getsmartseries.com.
Visit virtually: Get Smart! and
Brightlight Coaching.
