PLANNING FOR CAREER SUCCESS: IS WHERE YOU ARE GOING WHERE YOU REALLY WANT TO BE? Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 16, 1989 17 PLANNING FOR CAREER SUCCESS: IS WHERE YOU ARE GOING WHERE YOU REALLY WANT TO BE? Lee A. Graf, Illinois State University Masoud Hemmasi, Illinois State University Introduction It is not uncommon for college students to give little real thought to Job and career objectives until the realization hits them about the beginning of their senior year that they will soon have to find a job. This experiential exercise was designed to permit you to assess much earlier whether “where you are going” (the job and career you are preparing yourself for) is “where you really want to be” (what you are really working to accomplish). It will give you the opportunity to reevaluate job and career plans while there is still time to refocus your education and experience. The framework below represents a comprehensive, step-by- step individual career planning model. As you will soon discover, it will help you judge the accuracy of your present job/career perceptions, systematically evaluate how well your present job/career objective; mesh with your personal characteristics, and develop short-term plans and long-term strategies for career success. The model provides the framework for the three exercises that follow. (NOTE: The instructor’s material that supports this experiential exercise appears at the end of the exercise.) Exercise 1: Job/Career Assessment a. Identify the job you hope to secure after completing college. Using the following questions,1 jot down in the space provided below2 your perceptions of what that job would be like. 1) Nature of the Work: -Describe the kinds of things you would be expected to do in this job. 2) Conditions of Work: -What kinds of hours would you be expected to work? -Does the job offer security? -What is the work environment like? -Are there elements of the job that may be unpleasant? 3) Worker Qualifications: -Is previous experience required? -Is there any preference given to any particular group of individuals? 1 Adapted from Edmond Billingsley, Career Planning and Job Hunting for Today’s Students (Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear, 1978), 33-34. 2 While the paper is worded as an exercise, space for recording student reactions is not provided due to space limitations in this proceedings. Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 16, 1989 18 4) Worker Relationships: - Would you be working alone or with other individuals? - Would there be a lot of competition among fellow workers in this job? - Are there opportunities in the job to develop close personal relationships? 5) Pay, Training, and Promotion: - What would the expected pay be for this job? - What would be the normal promotional steps? - How long would these promotional steps take? - How would the pay be affected with each promotional step? 6) Physical Qualifications: - What physical qualifications would be required for the job? 7) Work Experience: - What experience would be required for the job you seek? - What special skills must you possess to qualify for the job? 8) Educational Requirements: - What level of education would be required? 9) Psychological Qualifications: - What aptitudes, abilities, personality characteristics, and so on would be conducive to success in this job? 10) Equipment Requirements: - What items such as tools, clothing, car, and so on must be supplied by the employee? 11) Performance Evaluation: - How would you be evaluated on this job? - Who would evaluate you on this job? - When and what kind of feedback would you expect to receive? 12) Employment Opportunities: - To what extent are workers in demand today for this kind of job? - Where is the greatest demand geographically and industry-wise? - What is the employment outlook for this job In the next three to five years? b. Contact (either in person or by phone) an organization in the area with the type of job you hope to secure after completing college. Identify within the organization an individual who holds the job you seek and who can provide answers to questions regarding this job and career. Use the questions that follow as an interview guide.3 Record his/her responses for later evaluation. 1) Nature of the work - Does the job or career you are interested in exist within this organization? - Is it an entry-level Job or above? - Ask for a brief description of the kinds of things an employee is expected to do. 3 From Edmond Billingsley, Career Planning and Job Hunting for Today’s Students (Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear, 1978, PP. 33-34. 2) Conditions of work - What kinds of hours are you expected to work? (Question whether overtime, night work, regular hours, irregular hours, weekends, etc. are required.) Are you paid for overtime? - Does the job offer security? Is it seasonal or irregular? When people leave this job for another organization, what are the usual or prevalent reasons given? - What is the work environment like? Are there any hazards? - Can the job be challenging enough to hold your attention and motivate you? - Are there elements of the job that might be unpleasant, such as heat, noise, and so on? 3) Worker qualifications - Is previous experience or training required? What is the source, nature, and length for such experience and training? - Is there evidence of any preference given on the basis of age, sex, or race? 6) Worker relationships - Do you work primarily alone or with other people in this job? - Is there a lot of competition among fellow workers in this job, such as commissions or promotions? - Are the relationships between employees on the job formal or informal? - Given the nature of the work, are there opportunities to develop close personal relationships? 5) Pay, training, and promotion - What are the maximum, average, and minimum wages for this job? - What are the normal promotional steps for this job? How long do the steps take on the Does a formal career planning program exist? Average? How does pay change with each promotional step? - Does the organization support a mentorship program, formal or informal? 6) Physical qualifications - Are there any visual, height, strength, stamina, speech, or appearance requirements? 7) Work experience - What experience, if any, is required for entry-level and higher-level jobs? - What special skills must one possess to qualify for this job? - Are there any skill tests given for this job? 8) Educational requirements - Does entry into this job require a high school diploma, associate degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctorate, or postgraduate work? - Does advancement on the job require formal education, advanced degrees, special classes or, special training? 9) Psychological qualifications - What aptitudes, abilities, personality characteristics, and so on are needed to be successful at getting and mastering the job? Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 16, 1989 19 - Are there screening exams or psychological tests given? What is the nature of such exams? 10) Equipment requirements - What items, such as tools or clothing, must be supplied by the employee? - Is an automobile required? 11) Performance evaluation - When are employees evaluated on this job? Does it vary with length of service? - Who is expected to conduct these evaluations? Are superiors trained in formal performance appraisal methods? Does a formal evaluation system exist? When and in what form can the employee expect to receive feedback on his or her performance? - Are career planning and performance appraisals separate or simultaneous? 12) Employment opportunities - To what extent are workers in demand today in this type of job? - Where is the greatest demand, geographically or industry-wise? - Is employment likely to increase, decrease, or stay the same in the next three to five years? c. Is this the job/career you want? Now that you have had a more realistic preview of your job/career interests (part b above), compare it to your perceptions of what the job/career would be like (part a). Given this comparison, are you still interested in pursuing such a career path? If so, the next logical step involves self- assessment (Exercise 2). Otherwise, from the perspective of career planning, you should now reconsider your Job/career choice, specify (in the space provided below) an alternative job/career, and start over with part a of exercise 1. Exercise 2: Self-Assessment a. Determine Career Anchors. Complete the following 44 item questionnaire4 by circling the number that best describes your feelings about each statement. Then follow the instructions provided to complete Part a of the exercise. 4 Adapted from “Reexaming the Career Anchor Model,” by T. J. Delong, Personnel, May-June, 1982, pp. 56-57. Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 16, 1989 20 Now, compute your mean response for each of the following career anchors using the item numbers listed below the respective lines (for example, for “Technical Competence” sum your responses to statements 1, 2, 27, 35, 38, and 41). Then divide each anchor total by the number of items for that anchor to obtain your subscale score for the eight career anchors. After your instructor has provided you with an explanation of the meaning of career anchors and how the subscale scores are interpreted, continue on to part b of this exercise. b. Perform strengths-weaknesses/likes-dislikes analysis. In light of the information gleaned from Exercise 1 pertaining to your job/career goals, list your perceived strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes (SWLD) in the appropriate sections below. Strengths are one’s attributes, skills, talents, and characteristics (physical and/or psychological) that contribute to one's effectiveness in a job. Weaknesses, on the other hand, are those some elements that detract from one’s effectiveness. Likes are things that a person discovers enjoyable; dislikes are self-imposed restrictions. Try to be totally honest with yourself to obtain the most objective understanding of the factors that may significantly affect the outcome of your career path decision. c. Are you a “fit’ with your chosen career? 1) Given the outcome of the self-assessment exercise (parts a and b above), do you still see yourself as a good fit with your chosen job/career? Explain. Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 16, 1989 21 2) Can you think of other job/career alternatives that are consistent with your self-assessment profile (parts a and b above)? Explain. Exercise 3: Planning for Job/career Success a. In part b of Exercise 2, you identified your strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes (SWLD) as they relate you your chosen job/career. 1) Explain what you specifically can do to capitalize upon your strengths in preparation for that job/career. 2) How do you intend to overcome your deficiencies in preparation for that job/career? Explain. 3) How do you intend to cope with what you dislike about that job/career? Explain. 4) Meet with a group (preferably 3-5 other individuals with similar job/career objectives) to brainstorm other ways of addressing the above issues. b. Now that you are aware of what it will take to be a better “fit” with your chosen job/career, do you think you have the ability and willingness to do what is necessary to build on your strengths, cope with your dislikes, and overcome your weaknesses? If your answer is NO, from the perspective of career planning, you should now reconsider your job/career choice, specify (in the space below) an alternative job/career, and start over with part a of Exercise 1. c. Will you attain long-term career success? 1) Based upon the experience and knowledge you have gained from the preceding exercises and information provided in your text, meet again in your discussion group to develop a list of “guidelines” that, if adhered to, should lead to long- term career success. 2) Explain what you have gained from involving yourself in this experiential exercise. INSTRUCTOR’S NOTES Purpose of the Experiential Exercise This experiential exercise was designed to provide students with: 1. A hands-on experience in the planning and development of their own career strategy. 2. A clearer understanding of job and career opportunities in organizations. 3. An investigative framework that will enable them to minimize unrealistic job/career expectations. 4. An increased self-awareness and understanding of one’s own capabilities and deficiencies as they relate to one’s job/career objectives. 5. An increased awareness of the types of courses that might be taken and related work and intern experiences that might be emphasized to more fully prepare themselves for their selected job and career. How This Experiential Exercise can Be Used This experiential exercise consists of three separate but related parts. Since job/career planning is an individual matter, certain parts of this experiential exercise (e.g., self- assessment) should be assigned to individual participants as an in-class project. Other parts of the exercise can be more enlightening as a group assignment and/or outside project. Figure 2 presents all potential formats in which various parts of the exercise can be handled. To complete all parts of this exercise normally requires at least two 50 minute class periods. Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 16, 1989 22 Sample Results In Exercise 1, Job/Career Assessment, participants are asked to compare their perceptions about various aspects of their chosen job/career with more realistic information obtained from an actual job incumbent. While there are no specific solutions to this exercise, it enhances participants’ awareness of their continuing interest in their chosen job/career. As a result of this exercise, some participants may use the instructor as a sounding-board for refining or modifying job/career goals. Exercise 2, Self-Assessment, contains three parts. Part a requires that participants complete a questionnaire in order to determine their career anchors. Career anchors are “a syndrome of motives, values, and self-perceived competencies which function to guide and constrain an individual’s career.” The participant’s dominant career anchors are those with the highest calculated subscale scores. The meanings of different career anchors are presented in Figure 3. Figure 3 can be duplicated and handed out or used as a transparency master. Figure 3 POSSIBLE CAREER ANCHORS 1. Managerial Competence. Individuals with this anchor wish to demonstrate (a) interpersonal competence or the ability to influence, supervise, lead, manipulate, and control people toward the most effective achievement of organizational goals; (b) analytical competence or the ability to identify, analyze, and solve complex conceptual problems under conditions of uncertainty and incomplete Information; and (c) emotional stability or the capacity to be stimulated by emotional and interpersonal crises rather than becoming exhausted or debilitated by them. 2. Technical-Functional Competence. Individuals with this anchor organize their career around the challenge of the actual work they are doing; it is the technical or functional area and the analytical work that “turns on” this individual. 3. Security. Individuals with this anchor tie their careers to a particular organization as a way of stabilizing and ensuring career security. 4. Creativity. Individuals with this anchor express a strong need to create somethings of their own. 5. Autonomy and Independence. Individuals with this anchor are concerned about their sense of freedom and autonomy. 6. Service. Individuals with this anchor are concerned with helping others or working on an important cause. 7. Identity. Individuals with this anchor emphasize status and title in their careers; they value the prestige that accrues to a particular job or career. 8. Variety. Individuals with this anchor want an endless variety of challenges; they are motivated by being able to use their talents in a number of different ways. Source: E. H. Schein, Career Dynamics (Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley, 1978) and T. J. DeLong, “Reexamining the Career Anchor Model,” Personnel 59 (May-June 1982), p. 50. Part b of Exercise 2 involves participants in a self- assessment of their strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes (SWLD) as they relate to their present job! career objectives. A sample of SWLD analysis is presented in Figure 4. The instructor may wish to share this with participants as a handout or transparency, either before or after completion of this part of the experiential exercise. The instructor may wish to conduct a general discussion of Part C of this exercise. SWLD analysis usually generates a considerable amount of discussion. Exercise 3, Plan for Job/Career Success, involves development of both short-term action plans for job success (Part a) and long-term strategies for career success (Part b). Figure 5 below provides a list of potentially promising means or action plans for overcoming weaknesses and improving the “candidate-job fit.” This also may be shared with participants in order to bring to their attention options that they may not have considered on their own. The instructor may also wish to comment on the fact that dislikes are, at times, a function of one’s present shortcomings. They may, thus, be rectified once the weaknesses are overcome. It is also noteworthy that sometimes one’s only alternative is to simply learn to cope with certain unpleasantries of a job. Finally, other undesirable features of a job may be alleviated through organizational change. A list of guidelines for long-term career success is presented in Figure 6. Upon completion of Part c (section 1), you may wish to distribute Figure 6 to participants (as a hand-out), or use it as a transparency master. This list of “guidelines” often generates extensive discussions. Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 16, 1989 23 Table of Contents Volume 16, 1989 Quality Control Circles (QC™s): Towards a Computerized Simulation The Canadian Hospital Executive Simulation System (CHESS) The Impact of Using Group Performance Evaluation as an Experiential Exercise The Impact of Leader and Team Member Characteristics Upon Simulation Performance: A Start-Up Study Planning for Career Success: Is Where you are Going Where you Really Want to Be? The Production Frontier: Modeling Production in the Computerized business Simulation A Study of the Need for Valid Business Game Algorithms Modeling the Human Component of Business Simulations A Stimulating Simulation in International Business Business Ethics, Experiential Exercises and Simulation Games Collective Bargaining Simulation: Adding Reality Through Point Scoring The Use of Experiential Teaching Techniques: Creativity vs. Conformity Visualization and Guided Imagery in the Organization Behavior Class: An Experiential Exploratory Approach Arranging an Agenda: An Activity on Running Better Meetings Harried Harry: An Experiential Capstone for Students of Organizational Behavior Coping with Stress: An Experiential Exercise Fairness in the Classroom: An Empirical Extension of the Notion of Organizational Justice A Study of the Relationship Between Student Final Exam Performance and Simulation Game Participation Competency Based Development: A Management Development Exercise Simulation Performance Revisited: The Fit Between Instructor Style and Learning Style An Evaluation and Application of an Instrument for Measuring Pedagogical Effectiveness A Knowledge Based System to Support Reasoning by Analogy for Business Simulation Gaming using Forecasting Accuracy as a Measure of Success in Business Simulations The Development of Algorithmic Functional Business Games Strategy Design, Process and Implementation in an Unstable/Complex Environment: A Second Exploratory Study Simulation Integration Contrasts Between MBAs and Undergraduates in the Capstone Policy Course An Investigation of the Real World Usefulness of a Strategy and Policy Course Using a Business Simulation Framework Duel (sic) Views of Internships, as Experiential Learning The Impact of Decision Support Systems on the Effectiveness of Small Group Decisions - An Exploratory Study An Investigation of the Relationship Between Formal Planning and Simulation Team Performance Under Changing Environmental conditions Sensitivity Analysis with the Complete IFPS/Personal Student Analysis Package: A marketing Decision Support System A New Approach to Teaching Salesmanship using Persona, Microskills, and a Sales Process A Rational Case for Synthetic Experience as a Prime Ingredient in the Marketing Curriculum SalesHire: A Microcomputer-Based Salesperson Selection Exercise TRANSECON: An Interactive Program for Learning Transportation Economics Hypercard as a Construction Tool for Short Instructional Exercises A Game to Introduce Accounting Information Systems Students to Certain Internal Control Concepts "Commitments" - A Demonstration Proposal An Analysis of Popular Games as Experiential Models for Corporate and Collegiate Management Education An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Strategic Emphasis in Management Games on Attitudes, Interest, and learning in the Business Policy Course Predicting Individual Decision Making Performance in a Business Simulation: An Empirical Study Strategic Planning And Organizational Performance In A Business Simulation: An Empirical Study, PAM (Planning Action Management) Simulation of a District Sales Territory Lifelong Learning and ABSEL: An Inquiry on Definitions and Relationships A Review of Salient Trends in Proceedings: A Fifteen year (1974 - 1988) Review of ABSEL Contributorship