Career Self-Management and its Implications on HRD, Organizations, and Individuals

Reflective Essay
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Introduction
There is rising trend of own career management among employees, it involves information
collection, career planning and decision making. Career self-management has strong influence
on human resource development as it helps in seeking developmental feedback and also helps in
enhancing job mobility. This essay aims to evaluate the concept of career self-management, its
implication on human resource development, on organization and individual employee. It is a
reflective essay to represent my learning, opinion and analysis on selected topic.
Career self-management
There is strong decline in traditional career paths and fixed occupational systems. People are
seeking way to understand process of achieving their career goals. I remember earlier there were
few common career goals like business, manager, doctor teacher use to prevail in market,
presently there are several professional courses and new career opportunities lies in market.
Career guidance model used earlier are considered as obsolete, there is need for adopting a
broader perspective to respond to various social, economic, technological and other market
changes (Paradnikė et.al, 2017).
Role of HRD
Present market environment is dynamic, globalized; digitalization has taken over several
business functions. Business is operation in changing scenarios, uncertainty and instability is
encountered by employees on daily basis; therefore, its individual primary responsibility to
manage their career. Unlike before presently, career growth is also multidirectional, as one
employee is operating several functions, departments and many times different occupations also.
Employees are investing in their development through training, skill development to enhance
their feeling of achievement. Employers also need resourceful and self-motivated employees.
HRD is responsible to identify, develop and strengthen resource required by employees to
enhance their performance and well-being.
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Role of organization
Organizational career self-management can be defined as the way one collects information at
regular level, plan for career problems and decision making (Kossek, E. E., et.al 1998). It helps
in continuous development in career. I personally believe in this given explanation as career
self-management help in change management, to prepare for future. I have encountered the way
job which were considered as important in the past have disappeared today, and it might be
applicable for future work also. Therefore, continuous development in skill, new career help
being flexible, skilled to adjust with open, diverse and less structured career systems.
There is rising concern towards creating awareness on career self-management, for this purpose
organizations are forming training programs to facilitate employees in gathering information
continuously through feedback, regarding their career scope and also motivate them to adopt
physical mobility for development. These training programs are not focused on skill
development, rather they aim to create self-awareness regarding employee career attitude
(Kossek et.a, 1998). It also facilitate in broadening their views beyond company succession
planning and promotions, they seek broader opportunities in industrial development. It helps in
developing proactive behaviour and knowledge management as employee seek for skill and
knowledge development to achieve their set career goals. Though I support this theory but my
practical experience says, it’s easy said than done. While implementing training programs, HRD
department encounter several issues such as weather to make such program compulsory or
voluntary participation; setting right time for such programs and interconnecting them with
employee mobility. Though upfront HRD may promote proactive behaviour towards career self-
management but it is being observed by me that they become uncomfortable as employee depend
less on organizational promotion system and seek different entrepreneurial or other market
opportunities. This leads to reduction in informal support, therefore it is difficult for HRD to
implement formal career self-management system within organizations.
According to research organizations have strong influence on career self-management. In
organizations it include collecting information regarding career prospects, performance analysis,
career planning. Organizations support career self-management through commitment, leadership,
training and development and mentoring (Sturges et.al, 2010). Literature also highlights high
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