OGL 482 Pro-Seminar II

Unit 3 Assignment:
Networking Plan Template
Section 1: The Career Decision Matrix
As you move through the data-gathering phase and begin to generate options for potential jobs
and potential employers, this is when you can build and use a Career Decision Matrix. Following
the information from Harrington & Hall text, Career Management & Worklife Integration,
Chapter 4, pages 92-94, you will research, gather, and analyze information from your self-
assessments (i.e. the Kuder assessments in Unit 1, in particular), thematic analysis (themes),
career resources and more to create your Career Decision Matrix.

Career options are broader than jobs. They are paths you can take to get to where you want to be.
Here is a resource that can assist you in determing:
https://careerwise.minnstate.edu/careers/pathways.html

Answer the following:

1) As you have gathered your data take the time to share and fully describe your top
four (4) possible career options. You want to be specific, as this creates a more
meaningful matrix. Describe each career with as much detail as possible. Consider
the following to be used in your 2-3 paragraph response per career option: career
field / organization / job-related responsibilities / opportunities for advancement /
future outlook of the career field. These responses need to demonstrate that you
have gathered your research and analyzed it, so there should be citations referencing
where you got your information, using APA standards. Remember to include why you
are choosing each career option.

a.

My first career option is in Human Resources. I have worked in HR for 15

years. I love what I do. My career choice allows me to use my talents and

strengths as identified throughout my self-assessments. In addition, it allows me

to practice my passion of education, training and development of people to

increase their skill level and workplace happiness.

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 Human Resources professionals serve as a liaison between departments to

improve communication and function (Career pathways 2023). HR Managers

direct, plan, and oversee human resources activities of an organization such as

recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training and development, compensation

management, benefit administration, external relations, handbook

policies/procedures in accordance to state and federal laws,

compliance/mandatory filings, and performance improvement/management.

Working in Human Resources opens up the opportunity to work in various

capacities. If you work in a large organization, you can be a specialist within the

department focused on tasks such as benefits or recruiting. You can become a

generalist, which works on most HR activities with direction from the Executive

team and organizational goals. You can also become an HR Business Partner

which supports HR activities and organizational goals for a region. The higher

levels of Human Resources professionals include HR Director or Chief Human

Resources Officer which oversees a full HR department and team.

I am a HR Business Partner and the variety of tasks and responsibilities is

what I love about this career. I touch on all aspects of HR activities in which I

support 5 shops in 3 states. I work autonomously but have a team of other HR

Business Partners that I can collaborate with.

b.

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 My second career option would be administrative roles. This would be a

potential career for me because I enjoy organizing information and data along

with business procedures (Gallup, 2023).

A high level Administrative professional requires a Bachelor degree. This

would be my preference as I would enjoy a role as an Executive level assistant,

Administrative Manager, or Office Manager. This role would support

organizational goals by producing and managing operational progress or status

reports. It could also report on financials or sales data. I would direct

administrative tasks or support services.

There are many career choices within the administrative field. It can range

from Administrative Assistant, Personal Assistant, Administrative Officer, or

Office Manager (Career pathways 2023). The position of your choice truly

depends on the level of responsibility and hierarchy that you prefer. Executive or

Management level positions can pay very well depending on the size of the

organization.

c.

My third career option would be in the Training and Management area.

According to my Kuder Career Interest Assessment results indicate that Social is

one of my highest interest (Kuder). This indicates that I enjoy activities that aim

to inform, educate, heal, and teach individuals. I seek to develop and grow human

relationships as well as problem solve with empathy to support people in finding

success.

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 The career opportunities within the Training and Management field are

vast. Positions could range from Training Manager, Staff Training and

Development Manager, as well as Vocational Counselor. Responsibilities would

include employee training, career training and development, and assessment

coordinator.

A Bachelor degree is typically required for these roles. These positions

could range from working within large corporations, industrial businesses,

education system, and social work.

d.

The fourth career option would be Enterprising. Enterprising includes

activities associated with sales and presenting ideas (Gallup, 2023). I interpret this

result outcome from the Clifton Strengthfinder Assessment as interest for an

individual who wants to own their own business. I have the right character trait,

job ethic, discipline, and business acumen to manage my own business.

Career options for self-employed individuals has no limit. One of my

current goals is to identify a business that I would support my strengths, passion,

and will support financial goals.

My current training and degree would help me succeed in the business I

choose. The hardest part is figuring out what to do. I would seek to hire the right

people to manage the business as I would prefer to continue in my line of work

until retirement.

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 Now that you have determined these four options, take a step back and share a fifth
UNTHINKABLE (UT) career option, that you would never do, but are trained for
by what you have learned by earning your degree. Think about skills you have
acquired while earning your degree, which would be transferable to something
completely different.

My unthinkable career choice would be in telephonic sales. According to

my skillset and my degree, I have great people skills, excellent verbal reasoning,

assertive, problem solving, and I enjoy the art of persuasion.

This type of career would utilize all my skills and allow me to work

autonomously but I would not like the repettie nature of the work including not

being able to speak with people face to face.

This type of career would likely not allow me to earn the income required

to reach my retirement goals. In addition, it does not fulfill my passion for people

service or training and development.

2) Using the information you have gathered and shared above it is time to fill in your
Career Decision Matrix. You can find an example in Table 4.2 on page 93 of our
text. When you complete the matrix below, be sure to remove any unnecessary
labels.

a. Down the left hand side of the matrix, you will list your ten (10) life themes
from your thematic analysis. You can also add more that were not part of your
presentation as Theme 11 and so on.

b. Across the top of the page, you will list the five (5) career options you are
considering.

c. Next, fill in each cell with a high (h), medium (m), or low indication of the
match between that theme and the alternative under consideration.

d. Calculate your Career to Theme Consistency Points (CTCP) aka Summary, by

assigning high = 5, medium = 3, and low = 1, and then adding them up to
determine the ranking of your career choices to your themes. Not all themes
can have high designation (if everything is important, nothing is important).

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 The goal is to identify how your career options align with your life themes, so
you have better information to determine which aspects are most important
to you in your next career step.

Career Career Career Career Career

Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4 Option
UT

Theme 1 High High High High Low

Theme 2 High High High High Low

Theme 3 High High High High Low

Theme 4 High High High High Medium

Theme 5 Medium Medium Medium High Low

Theme 6 High Medium High High Low

Theme 7 Low Low Low High Low

Theme 8 Medium Medium Medium High Low

Theme 9 High High High High High

Theme 10 High High High High High

CTCP High High High High Low

(Summary)

3) Now that you have determined these career options in relation to your life themes:

The Career Decision Matrix from my life themes has proven to me that I

have made the right career choice. The work is fulfilling, it allows me to use my

strengths, and it satisfies my passion for training, development, and even my

interest for administrative/data management.

a. Share which career option(s) you feel would be worth researching more and
pursuing as you begin to think about your networking plan.

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 The career option I feel would be worth researching more and pursuing as I begin

to think about my networking plan is becoming self-employed. My business pursuit

would require me to network with individuals within the sector of business I decide

on.

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Section 2: Networking Plan
Now that you have completed your Career Decision Matrix we now need to move forward and
develop a networking plan that you can use to help you reach your career goals. Review
Harrington & Hall text, Career Management & Worklife Integration, Chapter 4, pages 77-83.
Developing and managing your network of people who can help you is an important ongoing
process whether or not you are currently happy in your career.

The purpose of this activity is to:

• Help you assess and enhance (extend or strengthen) your developmental network relative
to major challenges you will face in the next 1-3 years
• Help you develop a networking strategy that will work for you
• Help you develop a specific plan to pursue over the next 6 months to 1 year
• Create an accountability mechanism

Research on leadership development has demonstrated that people benefit from a variety of
developmental relationships, including short-term and long-term alliances with bosses, peers,
senior executives, coaches, subordinates, and family members, the more diversity and depth
there is in your developmental network, the better. Depending on our dominant learning tactics,
we are more or less likely to pay attention to the quality of our developmental network.
This assignment was adapted by Professor Kathy E. Kram from a worksheet developed by
Professor Deborah Kolb, Simmons Graduate School of Management. Adapted by permission.

Answer the following:

1) As you think about the major changes that are likely to take place at your place of
work in the next few years, what major challenges and opportunities do you foresee
that you will need to deal with in the next 1-3 years?

Describe and explain why these are your top three (3) of Challenges here:
a. Decide on the business I wish to pursue.
b. Finding a suitable location
c. Identifying the right support staff

Describe and explain why these are your top three (3) of Opportunities here:
d. I am torn between establishing a cigar lounge, wine bar, or online business. Each
business type is unique but would require use of my skills while touching on my
creative side.
e. Finding the perfect location is critical for the cigar lounge or wine bar. It could
make or break the business. Visibility and targeting the right demographic would
be critical.
f. Depending on the business, finding an expert who could also train other
employees as well as oversee the quality of the product is critical.

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 2) Given these challenges and opportunities, what type of help are you most likely to
need? Check one and explain why.
a. Help in getting the job done ___X___
b. Help in advancing my career ______
c. Emotional support ______
d. All of the above ______

The career choice I presented here is my dream of owning my own business. I enjoy wine

and my husband enjoys cigars but we are not experts per se. We would need to hire trained

individuals in relation to the business we choose. We would need help from contractors in

making the space suitable for the business as well as decorating an inviting atmosphere. We

would need the proper amount of support staff to manage the day to day operations.

3) If your major challenge or opportunity is related to your work, how well positioned
are you to get information, advice, and resources about new opportunities and
possibilities? Check one and explain who can help you and why.
Very Well ______ Okay ______ Need to Expand My Network ___X___

Depending on the business we choose, we would need to expand our network to

include those who have access to the resources and products we need. We have a starting

point in the three choices I presented but we should definitely expand our network.

4) If your major challenge or opportunity means making a move into a leadership

position, do you have relationships with people who can give you advice and
effectively advocate or champion you for important assignments or other
developmental activities? Check one and explain who can help you and why.
Yes ___X___ No ______

My leadership abilities extend from people management but also into leadership

capabilities to advocate for our business. I am not an expert in every talent required to run

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 a successful business but I am capable of outsourcing our marketing, real estate, industry

expert, accounting, and vendor needs.

5) If your challenge or opportunity means that you will need emotional support, to
what extent do you have people who can give you support? Check one and explain
who can help you and why.

a. I have a strong support network to help me. __X___

b. I don’t have people to help me through changes I will have to make. ____

My husband is self-employed and his business has allowed him to build a strong

network of professionals in every trade and profession imaginable. My support network

would start with the support of my family, professional community, and neighbors and

friends.

6) If your challenge or opportunity means that you will need help getting the job done,
advancing your career, or getting emotional support, do you have people in your
network who can fulfill these functions? Check one and explain who can help you
and why.
Yes ___X___ No ______

I believe I would have adequate emotional support, and professional support. We have

friends and professional associates that would be more than willing to provide resources and

advice on how to be successful.

What is your approach to building relationships? How are you at initiating

relationships? In what settings are you most comfortable meeting people?

a. Joint or shared work, projects, and committees __X____

b. One-on-one appointments, with specific agendas __X____
c. Informal “no agenda” social settings __X____
d. Going for coffee, lunch, or drinks ____X__
e. Leisure activities such as golf, tennin, or theater __X____
f. Other ______
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 My approach to building relationships is to cater to the individuals personality. I

would likely present a friend or acquaintance with a professional proposal in a social or

leasurely setting. Meetings with an investor would likely be more private with a specific

agenda.

8) What is your preferred style?

a. Occasional phone calls or e-mails just to ask “how are you?” __X____
b. Phone calls, e-mails, or visits with specific requests or questions ___X___
c. Holiday cards and letters ___X___
d. Dropping in or calling when you’re in the neighborhood __X____
e. Arranging in advance to get together at professional meetings ___X___
f. Relying on the chance that your paths will cross ______
g. Inviting people to join you for lunch, coffee, golf, and so on ___X___
h. Contacting people when you find some information, an article, or an opportunity that
might interest them ______
i. Other ______

My networking and relationship building style would include multiple methods. I have

learned that you have to remain flexible in communicating and eventually you do learn an

individuals communication preference, then you cater to that.

9) Now turn your attention to the “Action Planning” part of the exercise (top of page 82).
Respond to the following questions:

a. What are your goals in developing a professional network? Be specific.

My goals in developing a professional network include meeting with friends who own

similar businesses. I would begin by interviewing each one and developing a plan. Part of my

plan is to talk with vendors and develop relationships that will help the business. I would also

consult with investors and/or bank for financing options.

b. How will a well-developed network of contacts help you achieve your career goals?

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 A well-developed network of contacts will help me achieve career goals by supporting

our reputation, creating a strong support network, increase visibility, support business growth,

and create impactful connections.

c. What are some of the characteristics of the people you are looking to include in your
network?

The characteristics of the people I am looking to include in my network include

approachable, good listener, trustworthy, positive attitude, authentic, enterprising,

helpful, transparent, and good with follow through.

d. Where might you come in contact with these people? How will you grow your network /
initiate contact with new potential networking contacts?

I would come in contact with these people by attending networking events (tradeshows,

meet & greets), help others in similar network, talk to everyone and anyone, create authentic

relationships, visit older connections, and making a memorable business card.

e. Who in your network are you looking to enhance your relationship with? How will you go
about enhancing these relationships?

I would look to enhance my relationships with individuals who are involved in a business

that we choose including those who provide support services to those businesses.

f. How can you leverage your existing network? Might some of your existing networking
contacts know others who you should be in contact with?

I think the best way for us to leverage our existing network is to attend business to

business events and tradeshows who would put us in direct contact with similar business owners

and applicable vendors.

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Section 3: SMART Career and Networkings
Using a SMART goals-based approach, as well as project planning and management skill best
practices, create a detailed project plan for at least two specific goals. At least one must be
related to your Career Plan, and the other related to your Networking Plan. Both of these goals
need to be things that you are passionate about accomplishing.
Your selected goals and SMART plan (see SMART goal information provided in the Unit)
should be structured based on a one to two-year timeline. It should include specific milestones,
action items, sub-tasks as well as task-related interdependencies as applicable. With respect to
each goal, critically think about what specifically are the things you will do in the next one to
two years to achieve these goals.

Develop a clear and detailed SMART plan, with facilitating goals and steps/actions required
to accomplish your selected goals. It should be evident, by looking at the format and structure
of your plan, that you have developed some significant skills respect to project management.
Include Gantt charts or other visual project representations as you see fit, and be sure to address
your approach to tracking/measuring your progress.

1) What is your Career Goal?

Open my own business in my local area.

a. Specific – I have not officially decided but would like to entertain a cigar lounge or wine
bar.

b. Measurable – Success would be identified with influx of customers.

c. Attainable -This is attainable because I live in an upcoming neighborhood that needs

diverse businesses.

d. Relevant – My personal and family goal is to own a small business supporting crafts that
we personally enjoy.

e. Time-Based – My goal would be to identify the business in 1-2 years. Begin networking,
planning, and goal setting in 2-4 years.

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 2) What is your
Networking Goal

(Insert your Networking Goal above and provide short answers below describing your
goal in terms of the SMART model. Finally, provide a Gantt chart using the tools
provided).

a. S-Identify 10-15 professionals and begin networking

b. M-Create a checklist and add everyone you connect with. Add new professionals
if you are unable to connect with one individual.

c. A-Focus on this goal for a solid 6 months upon identifying your business.

d. R-Connect with individuals in the same line of business or support services.

e. T-Obtain solid relationships within 1 year of networking onset.

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References

Kuder Career Interests Assessment. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://journey.kuder.com/take-

an-assessment

Career pathways. Minnesota State. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2023, from
https://careerwise.minnstate.edu/careers/pathways.html

Gallup, I. (2023, March 21). Gallup global strengths coach - gallup. Gallup.com. Retrieved
April 16, 2023, from https://www.gallup.com/learning/310019/accelerated-strengths-
coaching.aspx?
gclid=CjwKCAjwue6hBhBVEiwA9YTx8JLmyAIDVYX7TCajBYtaCz1M1FJUIXjg9e9F
Puipyve_jxAjk3YlMBoClM4QAvD_BwE

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