Your Strategic Management Plan

CIV’S: COMPETENCIES, INTERESTS AND VALUES

The first step in your Strategic Management Plan is to understand your core
competencies, interests and values, or CIV’s.

• Competencies – relates to your skills and experience

• Interests – relates to job functions you enjoy
• Values – relates to what is important to you or what motivates you

Understanding your core CIV’s will enable you to best identify your career
targets. It will also enable you to market yourself more effectively
The following questions and exercises are meant to help you
determine your own CIV’s:

• How do you enjoy spending your work time?

• How do you describe yourself?
• What type of work environment leads you to be your most productive?
• What motivates you?
• What do you value in life?
• What industries would you enjoy working in?
• What are some of your best skills?
• How do you spend your time when not working?
COMPETENCIES

Skills generally fall into three categories:

1. Functional:
These are the skills that enable you to communicate information,
organize, supervise and manage.
2. Self-Management:
These are the “soft” skills that refer more to your ability to get the job
done. These are the skills one uses in coping with deadlines,
prioritizing, time management, etc.
3. Technical/Content Specific:
These are the specific skills required for certain jobs or knowledge
gained from previous experience.
Competencies Exercise
In order to examine your competencies or skills you need to focus on past
accomplishments (both career and non-career related).

Career Related:
• Think of your work-related accomplishments. Choose accomplishments that
you most enjoyed doing or the ones that were the most satisfying to you.
• Think of why they were satisfying or meaningful to you.
• What skills were you using at the time?
• What type of an environment were you in?
Non-Career Related:

• Think of when you felt totally engaged in an activity or project.

• What skills were you using?
• What type of an environment were you in?

From the above examples, choose the accomplishments that were most meaningful
to you. Write a paragraph describing your experience. Include as much detail as
possible and then compile a list of your top skills.
 INTERESTS

Consider taking the Strong Interest Inventory . Its results are a good starting point for
identifying occupations that match your interests. The Strong Interest Inventory uses six
general occupational themes (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and
Conventional) to describe career interests as well as occupations and working
environments.

The following was taken from the Strong Interest Inventory demonstrating the themes
and their correlation with interests, work activities, potential skills and values. Keep in
mind that the chart provides examples of interests, activities, skills and values of people
who fall into each of the six themes. These are not meant to fit people exactly.
Themes Interests Work activities Potential skills Values

Realistic Machines ,tools Operating Equipment Mechanical , Traditional

Outdoor Using tools ingenuity, Practicality
Building dexterity , Common sense
Repairing physical
coordination
Investigative, Science Performing Math, writing, Independence,
theories, lab work, analysis curiosity,
ideas, data solving abstract learning
learning problems,
researching
Artistic Self-expression Composing music Creativity Music Beauty
art Writing, creating talent, artistic Originated
appreciation visual Art expression Independency
imagination
Themes Interests Work activities Potential skills Values

Social People, Team Teaching, Explaining’ People skills Cooperation

work, Human Helping Verbal ability, Generosity
welfare, Listing , showing, service to others
Community understating
services
Business Selling Verbal ability Risk taking
Enterprising Politics Managing Ability to Status
Leadership persuading motivates and competition
influence directs others
Conventional Organization Setting up procedure Math, data Accuracy
Data finance Organizing, analysis, record Efficiency
Operating computer keeping Stability
Attention to
details
Interests Exercise Compile a list of your interests from the following:

• Think of your ideal job and why it appeals to you.

• List the type of work or non-work related activities that you enjoy.
• Think of the ideal project at your current/past job and why it appeals to you.
• Think about activities, books, interests, etc. that you are drawn to outside of
work.
 VALUES

Understanding what’s important to you in a work situation is a key element in

career satisfaction

Values Exercise

Review the following list of work values and circle your top five

Intellectual Stimulation , Managing/Delegating , High Monetary Gain

Helping People, Power and Influence, Fast Paced Work Environment
Working Independently , High Pressure ,Variety of Work , Steady Work
Schedule , Working with Others, Public Contact ,Professional Prestige
,Working Independently Creating or Appreciating Art, Job Security
,Competing with Others Accuracy/Detail Adventure
 From the above, list five values that you must have in your next job and
five values that you do not want in your next job.

• Think about prior career decisions/job changes you’ve made in your life.
• What values drove each of those decisions?
•Think about how you felt after your decisions were made?
•Did you compromise any of your values?
 PERSONALITY STYLE

We all have a personality style that determines much about us including the
types of jobs and environments in which we prefer to work. Clearly, certain
types of jobs are suited for certain individuals. Sales professionals tend to be
outgoing. Teaching and training require patience. Managers tend to be
leaders. Accountants tend to be structured. Understanding your personality
style will help you in making career choices. If you would like to explore your
personality style, make an appointment with a counselor to take a personality
inventory such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is scored on four bipolar scales:

• Introversion/Extroversion – Where, primarily, do you direct your energy?
• Sensing/Intuition – How do you prefer to process information?
• Thinking/Feeling – How do you prefer to make decisions?
• Judging/Perceiving – How do you prefer to organize your life?
Combinations of scores of these four two-part categories yield 16 possible
personality types. Understanding your “type” in relation to occupations and
working environments can aid in your career management process

Favorite world: Do you prefer to focus on the outer world or on your own
inner world? This is called Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I).

Information: Do you prefer to focus on the basic information you take in or

do you prefer to interpret and add meaning? This is called Sensing (S) or
Intuition (N).

Decisions: When making decisions, do you prefer to first look at logic and
consistency or first look at the people and special circumstances? This is called
Thinking (T) or Feeling (F).
http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/home.htm?bhcp=1

Structure: In dealing with the outside world, do you prefer to get things decided
or do you prefer to stay open to new information and options? This is called
Judging (J) or Perceiving (P).

Your Personality Type: When you decide on your preference in each category,
you have your own personality type, which can be expressed as a code with four
letters.
 What is a Career?

A career refers to the individual sequence of attitudes and behavior associated with
work-related experiences and activities over the span of the person’s life. This
definition does not imply career success or failure based on promotion or
advancement, and it recognizes that a career is a process, that is, a series of work-
related experiences that all persons have, not just employees in professional careers.
Work experiences, which include the employee’s position, job experiences, and tasks,
are influenced by the employee’s values, needs, and feelings. Employees’ values,
needs, and feelings vary, depending on their stage of career development and
biological age. As a result, managers and human resource development professionals
must understand the career development process and the differences in employee
needs and interests at each stage of development.
 What is a Career?

Traditionally, careers have been described as

•Advancement: a sequence of promotions held within a company;
•Or a Profession: occupations with a clear pattern of advancement;
•Or a lifelong sequence of jobs;
•Or a lifelong sequence of role-related experiences.
Career, as defined by Hall, refers to the individual sequence of attitudes
and behaviors associated with work-related experiences and activities
over a person’s lifespan.
Roles of Employees, Managers, Human Resource Managers, and Company in
Career Management

Employees, their managers, human resource managers, and the company share
the responsibility for career management.
Employee’s Role

Regardless of how sophisticated the company’s career planning system is,

employees should engage in several career management actions:
•Take the initiative to ask for feedback from managers and peers regarding
skill strengths and weaknesses.
•Identify stage of career development and development needs.
•Seek challenges by gaining exposure to a range of learning opportunities.
•Interact with employees from different work groups inside and outside the
company.
•Create visibility through good performance
 Manager’s Role

Regardless of the type of formal career management system in place at the

company, managers play a key role in the process. In most cases, employees
look to their managers for career advice. Why? Because managers typically
evaluate employees’ readiness for job mobility (e.g., promotions). Also,
managers are often the primary source of information about position
openings, training courses, and other developmental opportunities.

To help employees deal with career issues, managers need to be effective in

four roles: coach, appraiser, advisor, and referral agent. All these four roles
are important for managers to play for employees in all stages of their
careers.
 Managers’ Role in Career Management

Roles Responsibilities
Coach Probe problems, interests, values, needs
Listen
Clarify concerns
Define concerns
Appraiser Give feedback
Clarify company standards
Clarify job responsibilities
Clarify company needs
Advisor Generate options, experiences, and relationships
Assist in goal setting
Provide recommendations
Referral agent Link to career management resources
Follow up on career management plan
 HR Manager’s Role in Career Management

 Provide information or advice about training and

development opportunities
 Provide specialized services such as testing to
determine employees’ values, interests, and skills
 Help prepare employees for job searches
 Offer counseling on career-related problems
 Company’s Role

Companies are responsible for providing employees with the resources

needed to be successful in managing their careers. These resources
include specific programs as well as processes for career management:
•Career workshops
•Information on career and job opportunities
•Career planning workbooks
•Career counseling
•Career paths
The company also needs to monitor the career management system to
ensure that managers and employees are using the system as intended
and evaluate whether the system is helping the company meet its
objectives.
Career management

Career management is concerned with the provision of opportunities for people to

develop their abilities and their careers in order to ensure that the organization has
the flow of talent it needs and to satisfy their own aspirations. It is about
integrating the needs of the organization with the needs of the individual
Career management is about taking control of your career to proactively ensure
that your career is meeting both your professional and personal objectives.
Effective career management is built on firm foundations, so it is essential to have
a clear understanding of your “career capital” i.e. your skills, experiences and
potential.
 5 Steps for Career Management

You might not realize it, but your career has already begun! Your decision to be
here and the myriad of choices you will make over the course of your degree
will largely determine your future. Career Management is a self-monitored
process of structured planning based on your ability to set career goals and
formulate strategies to achieve them. You should engage in this fundamental
process as soon as possible.
 Explore Your Path

In the economy of the 21st century, a career is no longer a linear process. The
definition of what constitutes a career is changing. In this context, it is imperative
that you expose yourself to a diversity of disciplines and topics. Devote yourself
to explore, discover, try, adapt and adopt. Choose courses and extracurricular
activities carefully, as they will become the fundamental building blocks of this
educational journey. What are your values? What are you interested in? Are you a
leader? What academic and transferable skills do you wish to acquire? By asking
these questions, you will begin to carve your own unique path to the future.
 Understand Yourself & Industries

It is important to evaluate your possibilities by assessing yourself, your

interests, your strengths and your values. Answering these questions
will lead you to gravitate towards the classes and extracurricular
activities most relevant to your interests. Also explore which industries
appeal to you. Information technology, banking, accounting, FMCG,
manufacturing or new media may well require a set of specific skills,
but they also demand candidates with transferable skills that can work
across fields of expertise
 Gear Yourself Up

Finding a job is to market yourself. You have plenty of marketing tools at your
disposal. Cover letters, resumes, a carefully crafted social media presence and
solid references are part of your communication arsenals. Polished, engaging
and error-free, these expressions of yourself should clearly explain why you are
the best candidate for the job. From CV writing to mock interviews, our career
services are there to facilitate that your job-search toolkits will help you
increase the chances of being shortlisted and offered coupled with your own
efforts. Gear yourself up by consulting online career resources frequently,
attending seminars and talks to engage with industry professionals, reading
industry news and by keeping abreast with the latest employment trends.
 Search for Opportunities

Organizations ranging from government to multinationals are

seeking to hire talented, and ambitious graduates. Make sure to
elaborate a search strategy that best suits your interests and set of
skills. Consult with the various career services provider, but
also explore all possible avenues, from professors, alumni network
to family contacts. Network, participate in professional associations
or organize business events, but stay visible. Every social interaction
can become a node to career opportunities you are not aware of.
 Jumpstart Your Career

Ready for the real world? Your internship morphed into a permanent job?
Starting a career can be as intimidating as it is exciting. Always remember
that your employer has invested in you, and thus wants you to succeed. You
are obliged to remain accountable for launching a successful
career. Professionalism, humility, and dedication are qualities that will serve
you as much as any of the academic qualifications you have garnered over
the years. The ability to decode and adapt to the company’s culture
is fundamental to your success. Be ready to change first before thinking of
changing others.
 Career Stages

Definition: Career Stages

Career stages are the various phases which an employee or a business professional
goes through. These career stages highlight the beginning of the job, growth in the
organization, middle stages of the career and the last & decline stages of the
career.
There are 5 career stages, which an individual has to undergo during his lifetime.
Exploration:
The exploration stage is the pre-employment stage, wherein the
individuals are in their mid-twenties and enter from their college life to
the work environment. The individuals narrow down their work
preferences on the basis of the directions shown by their parents,
friends, family, teachers.
At this stage, several expectations about the work are created that may
be the fantasies, or unrealistic beliefs about the work, very much before
entering into the firm.
Establishment:

At this stage, an individual actually experiences the work culture in his first
job. Here, all the expectations and fantasies come to an end, and one has to
face the reality of life. This stage covers about 10 years from the 25 years of
age.
It is also called as a learning stage; wherein the fresher learns under the
guidance of a mentor. At this stage, the fresher commits many mistakes and
try to learn from these, thereby gaining a position in the society and
working for his career advancement.
3. Mid-career
Most people do not face their first severe dilemmas until they reach their
mid-career stage. This is a time when individuals may continue their prior
improvements in performance or begin to deteriorate. At this point in a
career, one is expected to have moved beyond apprenticeship to worker-
status.

Those who make a successful transition assume greater responsibilities and

get rewards. For others, it may be a time for reassessment, job changes,
adjustment of priorities or the pursuit of alternative lifestyles.
Late-Career:

At this stage, an individual reaches to a particular position in the organization

hierarchy, on the basis of his career graph which is characterized by growth or
stagnation.

If an individual grows even after the mid-career (i.e. 20 years after mid-forties),
then he is considered to be having the pleasant experience with the work.
Here, an individual becomes the mentor and guide others through his
experiences.
Decline:

This is the last stage of career development. At this stage, an individual

has to step out of his work or get a retirement from his official
commitments. It is considered as one of the difficult stages, as it is very
hard for the employees to leave the firm who are doing excellent even
after their late career.
Thus, every individual passes through these five stages of career
development as they move along their life cycle.