But what is a career path? A career path is a sequence of jobs that can lead to better jobs or next career steps. The path may or may not be linear but usually involves vertical growth or advancement.

What Is an Example of a Career Path?

Career paths will typically move you through a particular industry or organization. Sometimes larger organizations will have designated career paths and defined steps needed to move from one role to another.

For example, if you started a career path in customer service, you might start as a customer service representative. From there, you might become an account representative or do inside sales. After that, you might specialize even further in the product or service then become a team or sales manager.

How Do You Create a Career Path?

As you consider a career path for yourself, first identify all the roles within that particular field. You may want to do some research by reviewing job postings from companies or online searches.

Next, list out the skills required for each role and figure out where you fit in. Do you have the skills needed to move from one role to another? Will you gain the new skills required in the course of your work or will you need additional training?

If you will need additional training, research your options. Training can be offered by the company or in some cases, outside the company. Training could be anything from online coursework to certifications.

What Are the 6 Career Paths?

Career paths usually fall into career “clusters.” Clusters are groups of careers that are similar. While the career paths for individual roles may vary, the skills and personality type required may have a lot in common.

Below are some of the major industries and some considerations for each:

1. Arts and Communication

Careers in this cluster require creativity and innovation. Career paths include advertising, journalism, and broadcasting.

2. Business, Management, Marketing and Technology

If you enjoy leadership, organization, or planning, this might be the right career fit. Career paths include accounting, human resources, sales, marketing, and finance.

3. Engineering/Manufacturing and Industrial Technology

People in this career cluster are mechanically inclined and enjoy solving problems. Career paths include architecture, mechanics, repair, and construction.

4. Health Sciences

This field includes caring for others who may be sick or understanding diseases. Careers in this field include dentistry, medicine, and therapy.

5. Human Services

For people who love working with other people, this career cluster requires friendliness and cooperation. People working in human services want to make things better for others. Career paths include education, law and law enforcement, and social services.

6. Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences

This career cluster has roles for people who love being outdoors and are interested in the natural world. Career paths include agriculture, earth sciences, and wildlife management.

What Is a Good Career Path?

For each individual, a good career path aligns with their skills, personality traits and preferences. Career goals can be fluid. You do not need to know exactly where you will end up, however, it helps to identify the industry in which you want to work.

Some industries have many interrelated paths, so if you begin in one and find that it is not a good fit, you can make a change and leverage some of your transferable skills.

A lot of this may have to do with your personality type. Some enjoy people-oriented industries and working with clients. Others are more numbers- or task-driven.

To help you understand if a career path is a good fit for you, read job descriptions for roles that interest you. As you read the job descriptions, ask yourself if you can do the job but also, will you enjoy the work? Doing work that is fulfilling and enjoyable goes a long way to creating a career path that is a good fit for you.

What Is The Career Path For You?

By choosing a career path, you can start to look forward to future opportunities. As you develop a resume and cover letter for your career path, you’ll want to consider how to best market your skills, credentials and talents for your industry.

Now that you have identified a career path that fits your goals, you may want help making your resume stand out. We can help you create a personalized resume that will get you more interviews. Contact me today to get started.

The post What is a Career Path and Why Should You Create One? appeared first on EZ Resume Services.

What employers want more than anything else is high employee engagement and retention. In order to build the most productive workforce, employers need to make sure that their prospective employees will align with the organization’s goals and values. This translates to a motivated workforce of employees eager to contribute to its overall success. 

So, how can you determine your own level of personal engagement?

One way to discover your own personal engagement level is through career pathing. Career pathing is the process of mapping career growth opportunities, vertical, lateral or cross-functional, that you have in a company. Career pathing is a great way to gauge your growth opportunities so you can market yourself to prospective employers as an ideal candidate.

Both career pathing and career development are essential pieces that help you develop a picture of what your career will look like. To learn more, keep reading. Let’s start by looking at the five stages of career development.

What Are the Five Stages of Career Development? 

There are five main stages of career development: exploration, establishment, mid-career, late-career, and decline. The first step to effective career pathing is to understand the natural process of moving through a career.

Exploration

Exploration is the stage before employment where someone, like a college graduate, starts to assess their long term career goals. This is the time for exploring the qualities and values in an employer or a career path that is important to you. 

Establishment

When you start looking for work, you are entering the establishment phase of your career development. This is still a time for trial and error, and employee development is crucial. Many job seekers will run into a skill gap issue, where the skills you have don’t quite match up with the skills that your prospective employers want. Ongoing professional and personal development is key to your continued growth and progress.  

Mid-Career

Someone in their mid-career stage of development has secured a job and is either working towards reaching new heights or is comfortable staying where they are. Continued ongoing professional and personal development is key to pursuing your career and life goals. This may include training, certification programs or even going back to school. 

Late-Career

The late-career stage is when an employee has been with an organization or in a defined career path for a while. They have found where they will spend the rest of their employment term. At this stage, many people with specialized knowledge and expertise may take on a consultant or mentorship role.  

Decline

The decline stage is when an employee has reached the end of their employment time and will start looking to leave or retire. 

What Is Career Pathing? 

Career pathing is a method of career planning and career mapping. It is where you take an inventory of your skills and competencies to outline a path to move forward in an organization. It provides a course for you so you know the steps you need to take in order to secure a career that aligns with your skills, experiences, and interests. 

Career pathing tasks you with looking at your future by engaging every part of career development, from exploration to decline, and deciding where you want to be and what skills you need to get there.

How Do You Create a Career Path? 

Create a career path by looking at your desired career goal and then charting a course to get there with the help of an HR professional or your organization’s human resources career pathing program. 

Many organizations offer these programs for succession planning, which is a way to fill key roles that are difficult to hire for. They’re also beneficial in the success and overall satisfaction of an employee’s career. Some organizations even have career pathing software available to assist you in your endeavor.

Why Are Career Paths Important? 

Career paths are important because it allows you to look at the big picture. When you’re focusing only on your day-to-day tasks, it can be difficult for you to see the steps you need to take in the long run to get to where you want to be.

But when you can step back and see a road map to your success, you are more focused, motivated, and engaged in your work. These are all things employers love. 

Use Career Pathing for Your Success

Approach prospective employers with confidence and show them that you’ll be an engaged and focused part of their team by outlining a clear career path that includes the potential employer. This will bring clarity to your role and fit with the company but will also help you recognize opportunities that will guide your progress since you know what the ultimate goal looks like. 

If you need assistance creating a career path, sign up for a consultation with me today. 

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