Career Development

Planning

A guide and tools to empower employees

to advance their careers.

____________________________________________

State of South Dakota

Bureau of Personnel
____________________________________________
 Career Development Planning

Each career family includes advancement levels for parallel career paths—one path for professionals and another
for managers. One of the determinants for advancement to a higher level regardless of the path taken, is career
development.

Career development is most effective when it is planned, and when the employee is in charge of the process.
The Bureau of Personnel has developed a simple process and helpful tools to facilitate career development
planning. Career development is a win-win strategy for both employees and supervisors: Employees benefit from
professional growth and broadened career options, and supervisors benefit from employees who are not only
increasing performance in their current job, but are also developing the competencies needed to advance their
careers. Furthermore, state government as a whole benefits by becoming better able to retain talented employees
who value development and career advancement.

Roles in the career development process

ƒ Employee
Employees are not passive participants. Instead, employees decide whether to participate. Employees who take
the initiative for achieving high performance seriously will become empowered craftsmen of their own careers. The
burden of responsibility for career development falls on the shoulders of those with the greatest vested interest.

ƒ Supervisor
When responsibility for career development is assigned to employees, supervisors become coaches, who facilitate
the career development planning process. By providing feedback and advice, they help employees reach peak
performance in their current job and increase their potential to advance.

Steps to career development planning

1. STEP 1: 2. STEP 2: 3. STEP 3: 4. STEP 4: 5. STEP 5:

Self-assess Meet with Draft Career Meet with Implement CDP
Career Goals & Supervisor to Development Plan Supervisor for & Follow-up with
Development Needs Discuss Goals (CDP) Feedback on CDP Supervisor

Reassess After Advancement

or if Career Goals Change

The employee has complete control of the process. He or she decides when to initiate the process, what to include
in the Career Development Plan (CDP), when to implement the CDP, and when to hold follow-up discussions with
their supervisor.

The process is on-going; when the employee is satisfied that their goals have been achieved, or determines that new
goals need to be developed, the employee starts the process over again. A change in careers, or career aspirations,
may also prompt the need to develop a new CDP.

Each step of the planning process is explained on the next page.

 Career Development Planning Steps
STEP 1: Employee self-assesses career goals
and development needs.
To begin, the employee reviews the Level Descriptions for
his or her career family to learn about career options and
requirements for each level.
Next, the employee completes a Career Development Input
Questionnaire by answering questions about his or her
career aspirations (e.g., professional or managerial track
interests) and recently acquired skills, along with a
Competency Self-Assessment to learn about strengths and
development needs.
Tools:
ƒ Level Descriptions
ƒ Career Development Input Questionnaire
ƒ Competency Self-Assessment
STEP 2: Employee meets with supervisor
for development feedback and to
discuss career goals.
Prior to the first career development meeting, the
supervisor reviews the employee’s Input Questionnaire.
The supervisor also informally evaluates the employee’s
performance (related to both accountabilities and
competencies) to identify their immediate development
needs.
Although the meeting begins with the employee
discussing his or her career goals, the supervisor does
most of the talking in this meeting by providing specific
feedback on the employee’s strengths and areas that
need improvement in both their current job and to
advance to higher levels. The supervisor may also
suggest development activities from which the employee
may benefit.
STEP 3: Employee drafts a Career Development
Plan (CDP).
After carefully considering feedback received from the
supervisor, the employee identifies actions to take to
enhance his or her strengths and improve areas that
need development.
Often, these areas are related to a competency, especially
those competencies indicated in the Level Descriptions.
Identifying specific activities to develop competencies is
made easy by referencing the development guides. The
Professional Development Guide is used to develop the
employee for advancement on the professional track and
the Leadership Development Guide is used to develop the
employee for management positions. These guides are
organized under competencies and list training and self-
development activities that can be performed on-the-job
while carrying out daily job tasks.
The employee documents their development in the
Career Development Plan (CDP).
ƒ Professional Development Guide
ƒ Leadership Development Guide
ƒ Career Development Plan
STEP 4: Employee meets with supervisor
for feedback on the CDP.
In this meeting, the employee does most of the talking.
He or she presents the CDP to the supervisor and
discusses how each activity would be beneficial for
career development.
The supervisor communicates which activities he or she
is able to support and how he or she can help facilitate
the activities. Mutual decisions are made regarding
which goals and activities to retain, or add to, the CDP.
STEP 5: Employee implements plan and
meets quarterly with supervisor to
discuss progress.
It is the employee’s responsibility to implement the plan.
The supervisor is there to help. Because it is important
to keep the supervisor updated, quarterly meetings are
recommended. But it is the employee’s responsibility to
initiate them.
Before the meeting, the employee makes a copy of the
CDP and notes the status of each activity. These notes
help guide the discussion and are important for tracking
development progress.
When the employee is satisfied with progress on the
plan and wants to reassess career development, the
process is repeated.
 Become an empowered craftsman of your career.

Your career will always be a work in progress. You will need to repeat this process many
times during your career. If you think of yourself as a continuous learner, you can learn just
as much from your mistakes as you can from your successes. Take time to figure out what
isn’t working, adjust your plan, and continue to progress in your career.

If you have any questions about Career Development Planning, contact your HR Manager.

____________________________________________

State of South Dakota

Bureau of Personnel
____________________________________________

Revised 07/14/09