Question 1

Why should people be concerned about managing their careers? What can happen if people
do not actively plan and manage their careers?

Career management is something which requires people to be proactive not just in situations
when they are unemployed but also for getting promotions and other improvements in skills
and work related expertise. As companies nowadays in current competitive situation are more
focused on achieving competitive edge in market, they are more looking for highly skilled
people in order to come up with highly competitive offerings to lead the market. With
changing environment the need to manage the career is increasing day by day due to different
restructuring, outsourcing and downsizing actions taken by different companies. At all levels
of career employees keep on thinking is their job safe? Shall they stay or leave the company
and shall they go for new projects or leave simply? With changing economic conditions
management of career is highly required as people need to focus on their performance and
organizational careers if they really want to stay and grow in organization. When people
don’t actively plan and manage their careers on right they eventually end up in losing their
jobs, staying on same positions for years with salary unable to meet the basic needs even and
much more economical and personal negative results. When a person doesn’t manages
his/her career the end result is ultimately negative influence on job of that person also
effecting his mental health and personal life along with family as there are great chances of
company considering him/her useless for company and ask him/her to leave. Thus people
need to actively manage their careers and make decisions which ultimately bring positive
results in their careers and lives.

Do you think the majority of people follow the same developmental path through
adulthood? What environmental and individual factors could disrupt a normal
progression through the career stages?

Majority of people usually face same development path in their adulthood as usually people
in age of 18 above after completing their degrees in 20’s go for searching for a part time
usually with masters after completion of graduation while some of them after completing
graduation directing go for applying for job. Some of them after completing masters go for
searching for a job and then after certain number of interviews they eventually start a job in
any company at lowest level after which they keep on growing in their career. There are
number of factors which effect the normal progression in career path including:
 1. Personality of employee highly effect the career path as in order to work continuously
at any post there is need to maintain great motivation level and determination but
when somebody is not a motivated or determined person his/her normal progression
in career path will get effected.
2. The completion of right education and training is highly required for normal
progression of career path.
3. Positive behavior at work place sufficiently influences the career development as in
some companies without positive behavior you can’t progress.
4. Better job performance at work place enhance the career progression while weak
work performance negatively effects the career progression.
5. The job position is supposed to be in accordance with the set goals or targets of a
person otherwise he/she can’t simply progress in his/her career.
6. The situation and environment of company also influences the career progress as
when there is favouritism in company or the situation in company is such that which
doesn’t allows career development the employees’ normal progression will get
effected.
7. For normal progression of career development there is willingness of employee highly
required as if the employee himself is not willing nothing can bring any change.

3 Given the high level of uncertainty in today’s job market and the shift toward
transactional psychological contracts between employers and employees, do you think a
“traditional” career is still possible? Why or why not?

as the current job market is changing and people are unable to quickly get jobs just on basis
of a degree as now skills are more important to people and focus is more on hiring people
which can bring positive results to the company instead of going for people with degrees but
no skills at all. In current market everybody is in the rush of achieving their goals and
objectives and aren’t more focused on training others and instead go for hiring people with
certain skills through outsourcing. In current situation the traditional career is simply not
possible as the idea of a single long lasting career lives in past now as the business structures
have totally changed and technologies have replaced people due to which there is need of
more skills and expertise to tackle the changing technological revolution. Along with that the
requirement of soft skills is increasing day by day and people are more going towards the
work from home jobs which have emerged in form of a freelancing business hub which
provides people to deliver their services and expertise all around the world to number of
people and earn well while enjoying spending time with families instead of working in those
9-5 tough routines. All of these changes have made the traditional career method of joining a
job and working with company till retirement has ended now as people are looking for more
and more benefits and switch easily to other jobs which are of more benefit to them and their
careers as well.

Why is career exploration such a critical component of career management? How, if at

all, can people develop insights into themselves and their environment in the absence of
deliberate attempts to seek information? What career exploration activities have you
undertaken in the past year? In the past three years? How successful have they been?

Career exploration helps an individual realize if a career choice would be a good fit for them.
For example, a person that is a vegetarian would not be a good fit as a butcher. If a person is
a Muslim he/she will never go for working in alcohol or any other place which is forbidden in
Islam. The person’s way of life and beliefs would cause them to not enjoy their job. A person
can develop insights on themselves and their environment by finding information online,
from current and past employees, or by researching it. A few months ago I started working in
a car showroom of one of my friend. My love for cars made me go for starting my career
there which was a quite successful move of me being a business administration student which
after months revealed me that it was a business success for me as I have explored my love
and passion for cars helped in enhancing my knowledge and skills about doing business of
cars.