A Snapshot of Personal and Career Goals Essay Example

will need to gain more experience in the business context of training and development by either starting at an entry level position or enrolling in an internship program. After researching various internship programs, I discovered one with Jax Marketing Solutions that could provide me with both the essential skill development and the experience I need. This internship focuses on developing business skills that are specific to human resource tasks and responsibilities, such as employee relations, recruitment, performance management, and training and development. The following is the link to the internship description: https://www.internships.com/administration/human-resources-generalist-internship-fun-team-environment-i8074623. This internship position could also provide tremendous networking opportunities for future career mobility.

After completing my Master’s degree and gaining some experience, I plan to obtain professional certification in the field of learning and performance (CPLP). The CPLP is offered though the Association for Talent Development (ATD) and a description of what it entails can be found at: https://www.td.org/certification. The value gained by earning a professional certification can be measured in several ways. First of all, the actual process of obtaining the certification requires the professional to undergo intensive preparation, which in turn increases their expertise and competitive advantage (Hancock, 2012). Secondly, professional certification can open job opportunities and chances for advancement that otherwise could have been difficult or even impossible to achieve. Hancock (2015) confirmed how continuing ones education and attaining professional certification can provide advancement opportunities, when he detailed his own experiences in professional growth and development.

The local volunteer opportunity that I found, which could also help increase my experience, was with a non-profit organization called CDCB/YouthBuild. This organization strives to build productive members of society by providing education and skill development

opportunities for young people between the ages of seventeen to twenty-four. Volunteer opportunities with this organization involve leadership development through mentoring one of the young people involved in the program. Details of this opportunity can be found at: https://www.volunteermatch.org/search/org266482.jsp#more_info_tab. This prospective volunteer opportunity could also provide me with a means by which to practice my coaching, mentoring and training skills.

When I initially decided to make a career change, I took several personality and career assessments to help me narrow down my career options, including the evaluation offered through Pairin. The overall summary of these evaluations described me as being a caring, motivational, goal-orientated, people developer that can use constructive feedback in a timely manner to coach and mentor others. These attributes seem to directly align with the qualities that should be exhibited by people within the field of T&D (Gray, 2015; Moloney, 2012). The O*Net Interest Profiler also pointed towards corporate training as a possible career path. Furthermore, I found that the Sokanu results included many job suggestions which required one to demonstrate abilities in assertiveness, communication, social skills, and customer service. Even though corporate training and T&D management were not specifically listed as possible professions for Sokanu, the list did include several careers within business management and education that require similar traits.

By completing personal and career evaluations, I was able to analyze how my current interests, qualities and talents can provide a foundation with which I can build on for future career development. I was also able to see how my virtues, leadership style and competence in emotional intelligence can drive my career aspirations. Zikic and Klehe (as cited in Praskova, Creed, and Hood,

2013) echoed this idea when they expressed the importance of exploring ones interests, values and options when either progressing or transitioning in one’s career.

References

1. Gray, J. L. (2015). Con-men and corporate trainers: Show me the learning. Development and
2. Learning in Organizations, 29(6), 3-6. doi:http://dx.doi.org.csuglobal.idm.oclc.org/ 10.1108/DLO-12-2014-0092
3. Hancock, J. (2015). Growing My Career. Strategic Finance, 96(8), 64.
4. Moloney, B. (2012). Training techniques and skills needed in 'new-age' organisations. Training
5. & Development, 39(2), 26-27. Retrieved from https://csuglobal.idm.oclc.org/login ?url=https://search-proquest-com.csuglobal.idm.oclc.org/docview/1015033714?account id=38569.
6. Praskova, A., Creed, P., & Hood, A. (2013). Facilitating engagement in new career goals: The moderating effects of personal resources and career actions. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 13(2), 115-134.