Human Relations in Organizations: Applications and Skill Building 8th Edition by Robert Lussier

Exercise 19

Answering the following questions will help you develop a career plan. Use additional paper if needed. Do not reveal anything about yourself that you prefer not to share with classmates during the in-class exercise.
Step 1: Self-Assessment
a. List two or three statements that answer the question, "Who am I?"
b. Think about two or three of your major accomplishments. (They can be in school, work, sports, hobbies, etc.) List the skills it took to achieve each accomplishment.
c. Identify skills and abilities you already possess that you can use in your career (for example, planning, organizing, communicating, leading).
Step 2: Career Preferences and Exploration
a. What type of industry would you like to work in? (You may list more than one.)
b. What type and size of organization do you want to work for?
c. List by priority the five factors that will most influence your job or career decisions (opportunity for advancement, challenge, security, salary, hours, location of job, travel involved, educational opportunities, recognition, prestige, environment, coworkers, boss, responsibility, variety of tasks, etc.).
d. Describe the perfect job.
e. What type of job(s) do you want during your career (marketing, finance, operations, personnel, and so forth)? After selecting a field, select a specific job-for example, salesperson, manager, accountant.
Step 3: Set Career Objectives
a. What are your short-range objectives for the first year after graduation?
b. What are your intermediate objectives for the second through fifth years after graduation?
c. What are your long-range objectives?
Step 4: Develop a Plan
Use the following form to develop an action plan to help you achieve your objectives.
Objective: To experience career planning; to develop a career plan.
AACSB: The primary AACSB learning standard skills developed through this exercise are reflective thinking and self-management and analytic skills.
Preparation: You will need the completed preparation that serves as your career plan.
Experience: You will share your career plan with one or two classmates to help make improvements.
Break into teams of two or three. One at a time, go through your career plans while the others ask questions and/or make recommendations to help you improve your career plan.
Conclusion: The instructor leads a class discussion and/or makes concluding remarks.
Application (2-4 minutes): What did I learn from this experience? How will I use this knowledge in the future?
Sharing: Volunteers give their answers to the application section.