APPLICATIONS OF THE

CAREER MANAGEMENT
MODEL
Chapter 3 and Chapter 4
Understanding One’s Preferred Work Environment

The preferred work environment should touch on the

following issues:
1. What type of tasks or activities are most important to you?
(analytical, mechanical, scientific)
2. What talents do you wish to use in your work?
(Interpersonal, quantitative, creative, writing)
3. How much freedom and independence do you want in your
work?
4. What type of working relationship with other people do you
prefer? (alone; exert power or influence over other people)
Understanding One’s Preferred Work Environment

5. What type of physical work-setting is desirable?

(factory, office, outdoors)
6. What is the role of money and security in your
life?
7. How important is work in your total life and what
relationship do you desire between your work and
other parts of life?
8. What types of occupations and industries best fit
your interests, talents, values, and preferred life-
style?
Career Goal Setting

Career Goal is a desired career- related outcome

that a person intends to attain.
Career Goal Setting
Components of Career Goals
Conceptual Goal vs. Operational Goal
 A conceptual career goal summarizes the nature of the

work experiences one intends to attain without specifying

a particular job or position. E.g. Desire to have a
marketing job with scope for research, more responsibility,
does not interfere with family issues, situated in a growth-
oriented company, in a warm weather climate.
 An operational career goal is the translation of a

conceptual goal into a specific job or position.

Career Goal Setting
Expressive vs. Instrumental Functions of a Career
Goal
The expressive function refers to the intrinsic
enjoyment derived from goal-related experiences
The instrumental element means that an
accomplished goal can lead to the attainment of a
subsequent goal. E.g. attaining the goal of a HR
manager may enable a person to become VP-HR.
Career Goal Setting
Short Term Goal vs. Long Term Goal
 A short term goal is one that has a more immediate

focus, perhaps one to three years. E.g. Manager of

HR in 2-3 years.
 A long term goal is generally considered to have

a time frame of five to seven years. E.g. Director of

corporate HR in 6-8 years.
Career Goal Setting
Overcoming Obstacles to Goal Setting: A set of Guidelines
 Goals that belong to someone else.

 Goals that exclude total lifestyle concerns

 Goals that fail to take into account one’s current job.

 Goals that are overly vague.

 Preoccupation with instrumental elements of an operational

goal.
 Goals that are too easy or too difficult.

 Inflexible career goals.

 Inability to Set Career Goals: Career
Indecision
 Individuals are considered career undecided if they have either
not established a career goal or if they have set a career goal over
which they experience significant uncertainty or discomfort.
Causes and Sources of Career Indecision
 Lack of self information

 Lack of internal work information

 Lack of external work information

 Lack of decision making self confidence

 Decision making fear and anxiety

 Non-work demands

 Situational constraints
Inability to Set Career Goals: Career Indecision

Types of Career Indecision

 “Being undecided” was viewed as stemming from

limited experience and knowledge. This term has

later been termed as developmental indecision.
 “Being indecisive” was seen as reflecting a more

permanent inability to make a career decision. This

term has later been termed as  chronic indecision.
Inability to Set Career Goals: Career Indecision

 Research suggests that developmentally undecided

employees are younger, have limited knowledge
about the external and internal work environment
and experienced extensive nonwork demands.
 The chronically undecided group is comparatively
older and lacked sufficient self-information, have
lower self confidence, displayed more extensive
decision making fear and anxiety and experienced
extensive situational constraints.
Inability to Set Career Goals: Career Indecision

Types of Career Decidedness

 Hypervigilant type had selected career goal, but

their profiles indicated that the decision might have

been made with insufficient information and/or was
hastily contrived due to pressure and anxiety.
 Vigilant type had selected a career goal, but their

profiles showed that the decision was made in a

well informed manner with low levels of stress and
anxiety.
Inability to Set Career Goals: Career Indecision

Possible Steps to Becoming Career Decided

 The important lesson to be learned from the

discussion on career indecision is that the selection of

a career goal is not positive or negative per se, but is
dependent on the circumstances
surrounding the selection.
 In an ideal sense, all career decision making should be

performed in a “vigilant” fashion, wherein the career

goal is selected with substantial knowledge and
awareness.
Developing Career Strategies
Guidelines for the Development of Career Strategies
 There is no one best strategy that is equally effective in all situations.

 The effectiveness of a particular strategy depends on the nature of the

career goal.
 The effectiveness of a particular strategy depends the organization’s

norms and values.

 Individuals should not limit themselves to one single strategy but

should engage in a variety of strategic behaviors.

 Strategies should be used not only to reach a career goal but also to

test one’s interest and commitment to a goal.

 Career strategies should reflect steps to be taken, as well as areas to be

avoided.
Career Appraisal
Guidelines for Effective Career Appraisal
 Requires the individual to be vigilant in detecting as early as possible

when a strategy is or is not working as expected.

 See the world clearly and make revisions in goals and strategies when

appropriate.
 Use your career strategies to provide benchmarks of accomplishments.

 Strategies are as much learning opportunities they are vehicles for

accomplishment.
 If you are employed, structure your interactions with your supervisor to

acquire desired information.

 Share experiences and feelings with trustworthy people.

 Seek feedback from non-work sources.