This practical, how-to guide provides HR professionals with a detailed framework for designing, implementing and maintaining comprehensive career development systems. Covers a wide range of approaches--workshops, counseling, mentoring--and tells how to enlist the support of management.

Based on an ASTD-sponsored survey of career development practices in over 1,000 large companies in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Singapore, thisbook sum marizes the state-of-the-practice in the field. The authors and their fellow contributors go beyond a general look at career development systems to offer nuts and bolts advice for designing and implementing programs. Case studies of exemplary companies will help others benchmark their own experiences and learn from their successes and mistakes.

Today, a person's career encompasses all they do in life, including what they learn from cultural activities, job experience, education, parenting, sports, hobbies, volunteer work, and paid work. All of these roles and activities in life and work contribute to a person's professional growth. In these hectic times, career management is more vital than ever. Over the course of a lifetime, career development is the process of balancing life, learning, and work. It is applicable to all: Profession development is a set of actions or a continuous/lifelong process of advancing one's career, which includes setting new goals on a regular basis and learning new skills to achieve them. In an intra-organizational or inter-organizational setting, career development usually refers to controlling one's career. It entails learning new skills, progressing to higher levels of responsibility, changing careers within the same company, relocating to a different company, or starting one's own business. Individual goals and aspirations are inextricably tied to career advancement. Self-actualization and self-evaluation of one's interests and abilities are the first steps. The various options are then matched with the interests. The individual must train oneself in order to gain the necessary abilities for the option or career path he has selected. Finally, once he has acquired the needed competencies, he must perform in order to meet the goals and targets he has set for himself. Career development is inextricably tied to an individual's progress and happiness, and thus should be governed by the individual rather than by the employer. Career advancement allows a person to flourish both professionally and personally. Employees can also improve and influence their careers by learning new skills like as leadership, time management, good governance, communication management, and team management. 5 Steps to a Successful Career In a person's overall professional growth, there are several steps or stages: 1. Self-Evaluation The first step in career development is self-assessment, which entails determining what type of career and growth one desires, as well as what skills and interests one possesses. 2. Awareness of Career Opportunities This is the stage in which a person investigates several job options that are in line with the self-assessment completed in the first step. Career awareness refers to a person's ability to investigate numerous domains and sorts of jobs/work that are available. 3. Setting Objectives This is the most crucial step in career development because it is here that one outlines specific short and long term goals in order to achieve the desired profession. To begin, both short and long term objectives must be defined. Short-term team goals are more actionable, but long-term goals can be altered or changed as the company grows. 4. Skill Training Once a career and goals have been established, it is necessary to learn the necessary skills in order to progress. Self-training or enrolling in a structured online or offline training programme are also options for skill development. Once the necessary talents have been gained, the final stage can begin. 5. Exercising With all of the necessary information and skills, the most important aspect of the job is to effectively complete the tasks and jobs in order to advance along the career path. The five steps are part of a continuous procedure. Many times during a person's career, they will need to revisit the cycle in order to achieve the desired level of advancement.

Based on the thesis that individuals develop not in isolation, but in a direction consistent with both personal needs and the needs of the surrounding environment, this volume concentrates on the development of adults in their careers within organizations. The organizational and individual perspectives offered provide practical guidance and examples for human resource development specialists to use in the evaluation of their current career development programs and the design of new ones. Key issues receiving prime attention include the necessity of reward systems to the success of any career development program, career transitions, and five critical career development research areas.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • At last, a book that shows you how to build—design—a life you can thrive in, at any age or stage • “Life has questions. They have answers.” —The New York Times Designers create worlds and solve problems using design thinking. Look around your office or home—at the tablet or smartphone you may be holding or the chair you are sitting in. Everything in our lives was designed by someone. And every design starts with a problem that a designer or team of designers seeks to solve. In this book, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can help us create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of who or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise.