300-500 word reflection on: How have your experiences at your externship affected your future plans? Have they changed? How will you ensure that you accomplish your future plans and is your current employer invested in your successful completion of that plan? 

WEEK 4
CAREER PLANNING

HOSF2064

LESSON OBJECTIVES

Assess how to be proactive in building one’s own career.

Understand what is part of a successful career plan

Recognize why a career plan is necessary for any professional

Examine the employer’s role in career development

Acknowledge goal setting as part of successful career
planning and development

Analyze networking as a key component to successful career
planning

GREAT CAREERS DON’T HAPPEN
BY ACCIDENT.

TRULY SATISFYING CAREERS ARE
THE REWARD OF TALENT, HARD

WORK, A BIT OF LUCK, AND A
STRATEGY CAREFULLY MANAGED

AND PUT TO WORK.

EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT

AND

CAREER PLANNING

MCGRAW-HILL/IRWIN ©2012 THE MCGRAW-HILL COMPANIES, ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED

CAREER PLANNING

Career planning should be
considered from the
perspectives of both the
organization and the
employee:

Organization: What skills and
knowledge do we require to
achieve our business goals?

Employee: What are the skills
and knowledge I think critical to
my current and future career
plans?

MCGRAW-HILL/IRWIN ©2012 THE MCGRAW-HILL COMPANIES, ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED

WHY DO I NEED A CAREER
PLAN?

1. It will keep you from getting stuck in a rut

2. It will make you think about how to better utilize your
strengths, talents, experience, and passion in your work

3. It will help you take responsibility for your weaknesses.

4. It will help define your future career path.

5. It will help you to take charge of your own advancement.

6. It will give you the confidence you need to succeed.

EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT

Efforts made by the organization to upgrade the current
knowledge of employees, enhance their skills and
encourage them to take new courses or trainings.

Employee development plays a key role in:
⚫ Improvement – making the employee more productive by

developing all skills used in current positions – behavioural,
communication, interpersonal, operational, etc.

⚫ Professional growth – goals set to advance career growth

Employee development plans prepare an employee for
future assignments and improve organizational loyalty.

MCGRAW-HILL/IRWIN ©2012 THE MCGRAW-HILL COMPANIES, ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED

EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT
PLAN

An employee development plan is prepared both by the
employee and the employer as to what is needed to enhance
the skills of an employee and help him grow both personally
and professionally.

In an individual development plan, the manager outlines the
key responsibility areas of an employee, specialization and
areas of interest.

Through individual development plans managers and
employee decide the career goals of the employee and make a
plan for their achievement.

MCGRAW-HILL/IRWIN ©2012 THE MCGRAW-HILL COMPANIES, ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED

KEY AREAS OF EMPLOYEE
DEVELOPMENT
Employee development programs fall under the
following categories:
o Management Development

o Personal Effectiveness: Soft skills development,
communication and conflict resolution

o Technical Skills Development: increasing technical expertise

o Time Management – preparing the employee to take on
greater accountability and responsibility

o Effective Leadership

MCGRAW-HILL/IRWIN ©2012 THE MCGRAW-HILL COMPANIES, ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED

CAREER PLANNING TIP:
BE COACHABLE
Show openness by being receptive to new ideas and
suggestions, by admitting to your need for
improvement, and by actively seeking your direct
supervisor/manager’s feedback.

Keep in mind that the end goal is your career
development, always be coachable even if it’s
difficult to hear constructive criticism, this is what will
help your career development the most.

MCGRAW-HILL/IRWIN ©2012 THE MCGRAW-HILL COMPANIES, ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED

A CAREER PLAN MAXIMIZES
YOUR TRUE POTENTIAL

Having a realistic career plan is an essential part of our
personal growth and development. It’s very rare that a dream job
simply appears. For most, it takes years of planning, work and even
a little bit of luck to access the career of your dreams.

Without goals to strive for, most people find it difficult to gain skills
and opportunities which make them a more valuable commodity in
their field. By planning for the future with a specific timeline for
accomplishing milestones, a career plan is an effective way to stay
on track for pursuing your career goals.

By isolating exactly what you’ll need to accomplish in order to be a
candidate for the job you truly want, fulfilling the needed tasks will
become much easier and your chances of success are much higher.

PURSUIT OF CONTINUOUS
LEARNING
It is up to you to actively pursue your own continuous learning,
professional development and career development.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help focus your
learning goals:

• What am I curious about right now?

• What do I need to learn to keep up with the changes in my
field?

• What strengths would I like to capitalize on?

• What do I want to get better at?

• What are my career goals for the next 3-5 years?

GOAL SETTING = SUCCESS
Goal-setting is essential to
success in all aspects of
life.
By setting clearly defined
goals, you can measure
your progress and focus
your efforts to progress
toward the vision you have
for your ideal career and
life. You will be able to see
progress in what might
otherwise feel like a long,
pointless grind.
By setting and taking action
toward your goals, you will
raise your self-confidence.

PURPOSE OF GOAL
SETTING
– Drives You Forward

– Gives You Laser Focus

– Makes You Accountable

– Encourages You To Be The Best You Can Be

– Enables You To Live Your Best Life

If you want success, you need to set goals. Without goals you
lack focus and direction. Goal setting not only allows you to
take control of your life’s direction; it also provides you a
benchmark for determining whether you are actually
succeeding.

TO SET EFFECTIVE GOALS:
• Set Goals that Motivate You

• Set SMART Goals

• Set Goals in Writing

• Make an Action Plan
• Get to work

• Stick With It!

RECALL S.M.A.R.T. GOAL
PLANNING

GOAL SETTING: HOW TO?
• Express your goals positively, rather than in terms of what you don’t want.

• Be specific in setting dates, times, and amounts so that you know when you
have achieved your goals.

• Set priorities so that you know which of your goals to focus your attention
toward and helps you avoid feeling overwhelmed by having too many goals.

• Write your goals down so that you can visually be reminded of them and so
that you can craft them to be precise and clear.

• Break down your goals into small, achievable tasks so that you get frequent
opportunities to accomplish them and feel motivated to take on other goals.

• Set realistic goals that you can achieve and that are in your own control.

Once you have a sense of your development goals, think about how you can
pursue them on-the-job, through your learning network, and in formal training
and education. Meet with your manager to create an individual development
plan, and consistently work and update your plan.

TRUST YOUR STRUGGLE

Watch
the

video

“IT’S NOT WHAT YOU KNOW,
BUT WHO YOU KNOW.”

•Develop a network of friendly people who share information to
help each other.

•Networking is a strategy for opening the hidden job market.
• Because most jobs are not advertised, it is essential that you develop friendly
relationships with people who can tip you off to job openings — even
introduce you to the person who is doing the hiring.

•Networking is a planned, and ongoing effort. You set goals,
develop strategies for achieving them, take action, evaluate
how well your plan is working, and make changes as
necessary.

•Networking is something that you continue throughout your
career.

NETWORKING AND CAREER
DEVELOPMENT
Why is networking sometimes uncomfortable?
• For many people, it’s the expectation and pressure
of ‘pushing’ your message. If you’re basically a shy
person, this doesn’t come naturally.

Effective, engaging and enjoyable networking is an
important part of your career development. But it’s a
strategy that is NOT about using people for your
gain. Rather, it IS about a win/win exchange of
contacts, information, referrals, and tips that are
mutually beneficial.

EVALUATE YOUR NETWORK
Examine three factors: the size, the diversity, and the strength
of your contacts:

• List the key people in your career world inside and outsideof
your company. The greater the size or number, the more
access you have to information and support.

•Review that list and write down what they do and who they
work for.

• Are most of your contacts in your functional area or
profession? Assess the quality of those relationships. Are they
strong or weak? How can you develop them?

•One way to decide strength is: How soon will they return
your phone call or email, if at all? The stronger the ties, the
more you can go to the well for water – the more you can
ask for their time and contacts.

http://managementhelp.org/careers/networking.htm

How to Build a
Personal
Career Plan

Read the article
on Career
Planning

http://lifehacker.com/5852033/how-to-build-a-personal-career-plan-and-plot-
a-course-out-of-your-dead-end-job

http://lifehacker.com/5852033/how-to-build-a-personal-career-plan-and-plot-a-course-out-of-your-dead-end-job

http://lifehacker.com/5852033/how-to-build-a-personal-career-plan-and-plot-a-course-out-of-your-dead-end-job

http://lifehacker.com/5852033/how-to-build-a-personal-career-plan-and-plot-a-course-out-of-your-dead-end-job

NETWORKING SUGGESTIONS
Canadian Culinary Federation: http://ccfcc.ca/

Toronto Networking Events:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/d/ontario–toronto/networking/

George Brown Chef School Alumni:
http://www.georgebrown.ca/chefschool/alumni/

Terroir Symposium: http://www.terroirsymposium.com/

Toronto Culinary Events (this is for 2017 but most are annual):
http://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2017/05/toronto-food-events-culinar
y-ontario-festival/

Toronto Taste – and Toronto Taste Chef Challenge:
http://www.torontotaste.ca/chef-challenge

Hawksworth Young Chef Foundation:
http://hawksworthscholarship.com/about/

Here are a few, but
go out and find more

opportunities to
network.

http://ccfcc.ca/

https://www.eventbrite.ca/d/ontario–toronto/networking/

http://www.georgebrown.ca/chefschool/alumni/

http://www.terroirsymposium.com/

http://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2017/05/toronto-food-events-culinary-ontario-festival/

http://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2017/05/toronto-food-events-culinary-ontario-festival/

http://www.torontotaste.ca/chef-challenge

http://hawksworthscholarship.com/about/

IN CONCLUSION
▪ Honestly assess your strengths and weaknesses – use your performance
feedback

▪ Evaluate your interests and passions

▪ Set SMART goals for your life and career

▪ Work with your employer to build a plan

▪ Network to build important relationships to help you on your career path.
▪“It’s not what you know but who you know.”

▪ Be proactive – don’t be passive; make your career happen

▪ Be prepared –
▪“Most people wait until they get the call for a job interview, before they begin
to prepare; but those who succeed prepare well before getting that call.”

~ Zain Asher

Your Smart Goals Worksheet

(www.Smart-Goals-Guide.com)

Name: Date:

1. Here’s what I want to achieve : eg: Learn to speak Spanish

2. Here is my main MEASURE or measures for this achievement: (ie what I will see, hear or feel when I
have achieved the above).

For eg: I want to learn to speak Spanish,
1. I will see : –

 All ten modules of my ‘Learn Spanish’ audio course have been completed.

3. Now here’s what I want to achieve stated as a SPECIFIC GOAL which includes my measures:
For eg:

( Who) I am (How)proudly finishing (What) module ten of my ‘Learn Spanish’ course (When) by December 31st.

(Who) I am……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
(How)………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
(What)……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
(Where)…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
(By When)………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

It is not necessary to always state ‘where’.

4. To finish, run this through the rest of the S.M.A.R.T goal check list ie:

 Is what you want ATTAINABLE – i.e. Is it within your control to achieve it? Yes?

 Is it REALISTIC for you to achieve it? – Yes?

 Is it TIMED ? – Yes?

You must answer ‘yes’ to all these questions. Change section 3 as necessary in order to do so.

Congratulations! – You have just created your SMART GOAL .

NB: Defining your measures is the most important part to successfully and easily creating smart goals.

Howto Build a Personal Career Plan and Get Out of Your Dead End Job

Alan Henry for
Lifehacker

10/10/14

We’ve all heard it before: “You’re lucky to have any job.” But just because you have one doesn’t mean you have to just slog through a crappy one, or deal with the career you don’t want. You may just be looking at your position as “just a job” and you have no idea what kind of career you want. It doesn’t have to be this way.

I know a lot of people who hate their jobs, but when asked what they’d rather do, they’re already very close to doing what they’re passionate about—they just needed to stop and figure out how to get there. Here’s how you can take a good, hard look at yourself, figure out what you really want to do, and work this into a personal career plan that will help you get where you want to go, personally and professionally.

Take Stock: Evaluate Yourself

Write Down What You Do: The first thing to do if you’re going to pull yourself out of a career-related funk is to take stock of where you are professionally. Your job title and resume only say so much about what you do, so spend a few days taking good notes of what you actually do. Start with the core responsibilities of your position (things you would put on your resume), then write down everything else you spend time doing at work, even if it’s tangential to your actual “job.”

A good way to get in the habit of doing this is to keep a work diary of your successes, failures, and activities. It’s also a good opportunity to get in the habit of doing a GTD-style weekly review, where you take time each week to take stock of what you’ve accomplished and prepare for the next week. When you’re done, sort the list into things you absolutely hate doing, things you don’t mind doing and things that you love and wish you could do more of.

Write Down What You Want To Do: Once the list is sorted, it’s time to focus on the things you’d like to do more of. Build on those items and write down what you wish you could do every day. Don’t be afraid to get far-fetched; if you wish you could get paid to read blogs all day, jot that down. Some people call it “wasting time on Reddit,” but the right employer may call it research.

Now, start thinking long-term. Ask yourself, “Will I want to keep doing these things in a year? What about two, or five?” Don’t be discouraged if you’re not sure. It’s impossible to know what the future you will want, but try to write down some general thoughts.

Ask yourself these questions:

· What am I best at doing, both personally and professionally? What am I terrible at?

· Do I want to stay in this job? Or this field?

· If I want to change jobs, do I want to be promoted into a similar, more senior role?

· If I want to change jobs, would I rather manage people, or would I prefer to continue doing it all myself?

· If I want to change industries, which field am I interested in?

· What is it about that industry that excites me? Has it always interested me?

· What am I doing already that will serve me well in that field?

· What type of company would I like to work for? What about that company is most important to me?

· Would I prefer to work for myself, or become a freelancer, knowing that working for yourself isn’t always rainbows and unicorns?

· Looking at the list of things I love doing, what kind of job uses those skills? Who does those things every day?

Review Your Answers: The point of these questions is to help you evaluate your goals. They help you determine what types of jobs involve the tasks you said you enjoy doing. Pretend you land the perfect job. Now think about where you’d like to go from there. Would you like to keep doing it on a more advanced level? Perhaps you’d like to manage people who do what you do now? When you start thinking about those next steps—without the stress of the whole “where do you see yourself in one/five/ten years” kind of questions (which are largely useless anyway)—you’ll find yourself thinking in terms of the career you want, not just your “dream job.”

Once you’ve finished writing all of this down, you should have a pretty good self-evaluation. This is valuable in itself, and can help you ground yourself in your current job or negotiate with your boss on those tasks that you really hate and how you can do more of what you enjoy (and are strongly suited to.) Now you’re ready for the next step: actually building your plan.

Research the Jobs You’d Like: Now that you know what you’d like to do, it’s time to find jobs that let you do it. Here’s how:

Visit Your Local Career Center and Network with key people in the industry you are interested in: Sometimes the best way to find a job that matches up with your skills and desires is to ask a more experienced person. A chat specialist at a career center, or someone you respect in your industry will put you on the right track towards career guides and resources that can help you translate your dreams into a job title you can aim for.

Scour Job Search Sites: Most people are used to searching job sites for job titles. Try searching for a function or task that you enjoy instead. If you like spending all day on Twitter or Facebook, search for “Twitter” or “Facebook,” or better yet, search for “social networks” or “social media.” Most job search engines will match your keywords with job responsibilities as well as required skills in job listings.

Talk to People about Their Careers (Informational Interviews): Sometimes word of mouth is the best way to find out how to translate your passions into a job you’ll love, as we’ve previously discussed. Ask your friends and family, even your colleagues about their previous jobs. Highlight the things that you enjoy and ask them if they’ve ever heard of a job that does those things. You’ll be surprised: often the side-responsibilities you like at your current job are primary responsibilities at another job.

For example, one of my best friends is saddled with sending dull, dry sales emails for the company she works for. It’s a long and difficult process, and she says she would like it more if she had better tools to do it. However, she really loves seeing the number of people who open those emails, who gets which flavor of message based on their purchase history, and what they click on when they open them. To her, it’s just the crap her boss doesn’t feel like doing, so she gets to do it. At my old company it’s called Campaign Analysis, and there are tools that would make her life easier (not to mention a paycheck she’d probably like as well.) When I explained this to her, she was surprised. Because she had a clear picture of the things she liked and disliked about her job, it was easy to point out that there are jobs out there that could give her an opportunity to do what she enjoys every day.

Research Where Those Jobs Lead: Once you have an idea what types of jobs you’d like to have (even if it means you’ve rediscovered how much you enjoy your current job), start thinking in terms of a long-term career. Do some research on where those jobs usually lead. A good place to start is the Occupational Outlook Handbook from the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the My Skills, My Future career search site.

If you’re interested in systems administration, think about what your life would be like after you get the job. After a few years, would you like to manage other administrators, or would you be happier taking on increasingly technical and challenging projects? In most technical roles, it’s one or the other. Which would you prefer if you do land that job, and what happens to other people who get it? Photo by

You’ll also want to find out whether the career you want requires education, degrees, or certifications to advance. Some organizations will only promote if you show you’re advancing your skills as well as performing well on the job, and others will only consider you for promotions if you go out and get a relevant degree, or take classes relevant to your job. Continuing education isn’t a bad thing, but you don’t want to reach for a career you want only to find that you’re stuck after taking the first step.

For example, when I was a Project Manager, eventually I learned that a promotion wouldn’t be forthcoming until I earned my Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. When I started looking at other companies, I learned that having one makes you more marketable. So I went out and got it to move my career to the next level—I had the time to study and the money to put into the test. Not everyone has that, but I certainly wish I had known it would be necessary before I started out as a PM.

By the time you finish this research, you should have an idea of where the careers you’re interested in will take you, and whether you like those possible paths or not. Of course, you can’t predict everything: you may discover a love of management when you think you’re going to be an engineer forever, or invent a new application while doing software development that leads you to start a new company. The important thing is to think past the job offer you’ll hopefully get, be flexible, and start visualizing the career you’d like to have.

Take Action: Make Your Move

By now, you should have your self-evaluation finished, and a few ideal career paths all mapped out. Congratulations: you have a personalized career plan, based on your interests and your skills. Now all that’s left is the hard part: deciding which direction you’d like to take. Your career plan shouldn’t be a dead document. Keep researching jobs that match up with your goals, and keep talking to people about what opportunities they have in their organizations for people who do what you’d rather do all day.

Once you decide on a direction, you’ll have to determine whether or not the first step is something that requires education, a completely new job, or something you can start with your current gig. You may be getting valuable experience now that can lead you to the career you love, given time. Alternatively, it may be time to jump ship and work to the career you want to have, even if it feels like you have no relevant experience.

Regardless of what you choose to do, even if it’s nothing for now, there’s tremendous value in taking stock of your strengths and weaknesses and where you are professionally. You can use that information to make your current job more bearable just as easily as you can use it to find a new direction. Spending a little time making a map of how you want your career to evolve can save you weeks or even years of toiling away in a job or career that brings you no joy.