Download - Improving Your Career Mobility
Improving Your Career Mobility
U-Life Professional Development Day
June 20,2012
Sharon FleshmanBarbara HewittShannon Kelly
Opening Exercise
• Before we get started, please write down your answers to the questions on the sheet of paper that you received.
Why are you here?
• I’m ready for a different job.• I’m curious.• I want to move up.• I want to get energized in my current
position.• I want to change careers completely.• I’m here for another reason.
How did it feel to move?
Potential Barriers
• I don’t have time.• I have concerns about impact
on my family.• I fear the unknown.• I’m comfortable with the
familiar.• The timing is wrong.• I don’t have the required skills
or training.• The job market is challenging.
Success Stories
• Why did you (or someone you know) make your most recent career change?
• How did you (or that person) go about making the transition?
Goal setting: Do you know what you want to do?
• Definitely.• I have some
ideas.• Not at all.
Goal setting: When would you like to make
a change?
• Within six months• Six months to a
year• In one to two
years• In two to five
years
Goal setting: How do you best hold yourself accountable?
• Asking family/friends to check in with me
• Creating a checklist
• Setting deadlines for myself
Now what?
Paralysis?or
Opportunity?
+ =
Creating an Action Plan:Self-Assessment
• What?– Personality– Passions/Interests– Skills/Strengths
• How?– Reflections– Inventories
Creating an Action Plan: Exercise
• What do you enjoy doing the most and why?
• What was your favorite of the events/activities you attended this year and why?
• Which of your accomplishments are you most proud of and why?
• Who do you admire and why?
Creating an Action Plan:Networking
• Who?– Family/Friends– Colleagues– Alumni
• How?– Informational Interviewing– Social Media (e.g., LinkedIn)– Events
Creating an Action Plan: Professional Development
• Attending seminars & conferences (e.g., Lynda.com, Human Resources, Weigle Information Commons, U-Life Professional Development Day)
• Taking a class• Getting a degree• Participating in projects
Creating an Action Plan: Building Professional Presence
• Committee work• Writing blogs & articles• Joining professional associations• Presenting at meetings &
conferences• Volunteering
Tips for Your Next Move
• Prepare for and take advantage of “happenstance” moments/ opportunities. (Krumboltz).
• Reflect on what energizes you.• Update your resume/LinkedIn profile.• Identify a skill that you’d like to
develop and get the necessary training.
Tips for Your Next Move(cont’d)
• Schedule an informational interview.• Participate in a new project of interest.• Join a committee in your office or
across the university.• Volunteer in the community.• Schedule an appointment with a career
coach through Human Resources:http://www.hr.upenn.edu/learning/career.aspx
What will be your next step?
• I will conduct self-assessment.• I will develop a plan for networking.• I will work on my professional
development.• I will build my professional
presence.