Managing your career

The term ‘career management' suggests taking control. In practice, careers are interactive processes between individuals and their employers and it can be difficult to feel in control of your destiny. The better your career knowledge and understanding, the more able you are to take the lead.

Career management is based on:

• understanding yourself and what you want from your life
• understanding careers e.g. types of work, recruitment methods, career structures and what support, training and development is available
• understanding the wider economic, political, social, and technological climate

Career management is a continuous process over your lifetime - and its focus will change:

• sometimes geared to developing in your current role
• sometimes aimed at preparing you for promotion
• sometimes directed at finding you a new job.

The career management cycle has several stages:

• Where are you now? A self-awareness review. Think about your career priorities and values. Evaluate your current skills and abilities, experience, work-life balance, family commitments and constraints.
• Where do you want to be? Explore your options - anything from improving as a researcher to a complete change of career and life pattern.
• How will you get there? Make plans. Decide how to achieve the desired career outcome. Set manageable objectives and be prepared to revise these plans if things change.
• Getting there Take actions to fulfil your plans.
• What have you learned? Achieve your goal - celebrate! Begin the new cycle with a review and record of your completed activity: evidence of what you did and what you learned to use in the future.