Reflective Essay: Career Self-Management and HR Development

This essay provides a reflective analysis of career self-management and its implications for human resource development practitioners, organizations, and individual employees. It examines the concept of career self-management, highlighting the shift from traditional career paths to more dynamic and self-directed approaches. The essay delves into the role of HRD in facilitating career self-management, the influence of organizations through training programs and support systems, and the importance of individual career attitudes and behaviors. It also analyzes the impact of culture and potential barriers to career self-management. The essay concludes by advocating for career self-management as a beneficial approach for both individuals and organizations, emphasizing the need for HRD to promote employee competency and motivation in this area.

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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formal and informal support from employers to employee who manages their career. It helps in
enhancing employee commitment. Literature also highlights importance on psychological
contract and its shift from traditional to new view. In traditional perspective job security is the
outcome of loyalty and hard work; however organization support career development only when
it matches any organizational need. However, according to new perspective, individuals do not
rely on organization for new career opportunities (Barnett, 2007).
Organizations play significant role in employee career management, different strategies such as
providing career management training, career development, succession planning, mentorship
programs, performance appraisal helps employee in managing and planning their career chart
(Kong, 2012). Organizational strategies have direct impact on employee satisfaction and
commitment. For instance, according to a research conducted on career management in hotel
staff in China states that organizational strategies such as career development programs and
training helps in enhancing employee career satisfaction. It also facilitate in enhancing job
involvement i.e. psychological satisfaction from the job. Employees with high job satisfaction
are mentally ready to take extra mile to achieve organizational objective leading to better
performance and return (Zhao, 2012). Organization career planning tries to match with
individual career objectives and facilitate them in developing technical and personality
competencies through training and resource availability.
As stated by (Baughman et.al 2000), career self-management is promoted in organizations to
retain component workers, develop knowledge and skill management among employees. Line
managers play key role, organizational support helps in creating positive image among
employees; it helps in fulfilling their socio-economical needs, value employee contribution
leading to high commitment and job satisfaction. Leader member theory is a two way
relationship between leader and members, it involve interdependent behavioural patterns and
sharing of mutual outcomes. Researches highlights that perceived organizational support and
LMX theory have positive impact on employees career self-management and career inside the
organization (J & Zacharias, 2007).
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Role of individuals
The way self-career management impact individuals has strong relationship with their career
attitude. There is evolution of various career management models; traditionally employee
position and job were decided by employees, well- structured, defined and hierarchical in nature.
Individual with such attitude have passive in managing their own career. Boundless career is free
from independent and traditional arrangements; two key elements of such career attitude include
physical and psychological mobility. Physical mobility is the readiness to work in different
geographical locations, whereas psychological mobility is willingness to maintain networking
outside organization, such strategy helps in achieving positive career outcomes. Protean is
another career management attitude that focuses on managing career based on internal values
and driving force. It is a self-directed approach of career management that focuses on continuous
learning and intrinsic rewards (Vos & Soens, 2008).
At individual level there is shift in career management approach from traditional stable approach
to multidimensional dynamic approach. Under traditional approach employees were dependent
on organization for their career planning, organizational advancement; however new approach is
flexible and adaptive to market changes. Among several definition on self-career management,
the one I found to be most comprehensive is career behaviour that focus to cope with internal
and external career demand, which also help individuals in becoming independent by adopting
strategies, action to achieve their own career goals. This definition truly presents role of career
self-management in individual life. According to researchers four key behaviour factors found
among people who do career self-management include career planning, skill development,
consultation and networking(Vaiman & Vance, 2010).
I found King (2004) approach towards career self-management to be logical as it include
information on adaptive behaviours. It include positioning behaviours that include possession of
required skill and experience of desired career goal, to achieve this behaviour individuals need to
invest in human capital to update skills, grasp mobility opportunity, developing active network
of reliable sources (King, 2002). Another key behavioural requirement is influence behaviour
that include activities such as promoting self, be likeable, presenting own goals to gatekeepers to
ensure favourable decisions. Third key individual element is to balance work and non-work
domains efficiently, to ensure role transition, effective work life balance.
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Analysis also shows there is strong impact of culture on career self-management, for instance
people in US or UK are more inclined towards independence and career management in
comparison to people from Bangladesh (Nauta, et al., 2010). Countries with higher education,
freedom and low hierarchy have individuals with high career self-management scores. Another
research which attracted my attention was on barriers on career self-management, it can be
person centred such as low confidence, low motivation, lack of education, discrimination.
Further, employees who shows less interest in self-management, they show reactive response
towards any career change; whereas individuals who focus on career self-management are
proactive.
Conclusion
Personally I am believer for career self-management as it helps in development, open huge scope
for growth and boundless opportunities. It is beneficial for individual as well as organizations.
Individuals focus on continuous skill development, resource collection, positive feedback, which
in turn helps in knowledge development within organization. However, I also agree with
literature that many people are unwilling to take their career responsibility and willing to focus
on liner organizational promotion due to lack of organizational support. Therefore HRD
department needs to work closely to raise employee competency level, motivate them toward
career self- management as it helps in gaining employee commitment and high performance. It is
recommended that companies should provide online self-help tools for resource availability and
development.
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