The Career Development Cycle Diagram shown above is a cycle an individual can undertake when considering, pursuing and preparing for a career.
Career development is an ongoing process consisting of four main recurring steps: Self-knowledge, exploration, decision-making, and action.
Career development is the series of activities or the on-going/lifelong process of developing one’s career.
It involves training on new skills, moving to higher job responsibilities, making a career change within the same organization, moving to a different organization or starting one’s own business.
The first step is learning about yourself, not the job market but more about who you are, what strengths you have and what you love doing.
A great place to start exploring is Stage 1 – Know Yourself.
It is important spend time learning more about what your
• Values
• Interests
• Strengths
• Traits
• Ambition all are.
Stage 2 – Explore Options
This stage is all about exploring and researching about career and educational options.
As a job seeker, this stage means gaining the information from your foundational work in stage 1 and start considering what your career path might look like.
Gain a better understanding of the Industries and Occupations available to you.
Stage 3 – Get Focused
When you are confident with the Career Path you are considering or would like to pursue it is time to decide, plan and set goals on how you can move forward.
Some questions to consider:
What industry can I see myself working in?
What Occupation within that industry would best satisfy me?
Who within the industry could I contact?
What kind of goals do I need to put in place for me to pursue this career path?
What are the actions I need to take?
Stage 4 – Take Action
The final stage of this cycle is to create an action plan and then follow through.
It might mean pursuing experience first, contacting an employer, applying for a specific role or commencing study.
It will involve tailoring a Cover Letter and Resume for each of the roles you apply for, being prepared for an interview and having the confidence to be yourself.
