HRD: When I’m 30,Personal Career Plan Assignment

Managing Human Resources, You will be developing a Personal Career Plan. Although you are not required to follow the outline your text provides, it can help you think through the info you need to obtain and things you need to think about. The information you find will help you:

·         Organize and structure the data and information you collect about job prospects and the overall job market.

·         Use this information to better understand your own personal strengths and weaknesses.

·         Develop goals and objectives that will capitalize on your strengths and determine ways to improve your weaknesses.

·         Outline a plan for implementing your job search strategy.

Steps in the assignment:

1.    Decide on what entry-level position you are going to pursue when you graduate with your degree (e.g., Financial Analyst, Asst. Brand Manager, IT Specialist, HR Generalist, Accountant, Procurement Mgr., Restaurant Asst. Mgr., Economist, and Fashion Designer).

If you are not sure what position you want,which is perfectly okay at this stage of your life, make something up as long as it’s in the business world (i.e., no mad scientists or ballet dancers). You may find the information on jobs at the end of most of the chapters helpful;and,if there is one that relates to your choice, you should definitely read it. For instance: So You Want to be a Manager, page 202;So You Want to be an Accountant, page 468;So You Want a Job in Marketing, page 363.

2.    Then do some online research on your chosen position. Try to review at least 10 job postings to get a feel for what companies are looking for (KSA’s – knowledge, skills and abilities) in your chosen position. You can see similar positions listed on:

o   Job boards (e.g., Monster, CareerBuilder, Hot Jobs, Dice.com for tech jobs, Indeed.com, usajobs.gov, Washington Post online, state job sites like Virginia Workforce Connection, to name a few)

o   Industry web sites (e.g., Society of HR Management for HR jobs – www.shrm.org; American Marketing Association – www.marketingpower.com; Association for Financial Professionals – www.afponline.org.)

See if you can find a full job description for your job in addition to looking at job postings. You can get company and job information on their websites, Facebook pages, or Twitter feeds. (I can help if you can’t find anything on your own).

Search the following web sites:Dept. of Labor’s O-Net Resource Center Web site - http://www.onetcenter.org/  and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook -  http://www.bls.gov/ooh/home.htmto find the following job information:

o   What is theshort-term and long-term demand for workers in your position?

§  Provide numbers forshort-term and long-term (forecasting) projections

o   What does your job pay for an entry level employee? You can also get salary information at Salary.com; it’s not completely reliable, just good ball park info.

3.    You should find enough information to answer the following questions, which you will pull together in a Personal Career Plan report. You can follow the outline in your text but I think it’s long and confusing. I would suggest you find another way to organize your information– as long as you include information on the questions below. You musthave a Works Cited page (the last page of your report) – nothing formal with footnotes, just identify websites, job postings, and other sources you used.Remember, the Works Cited page doesn’t count towards your three- (3) page requirement.

o   What job are you interested in? (You may be interested in more than one but for the sake of this exercise stick to just one.)

See page 330, Section C-1 parts a, b, c, d and e – Review of personal goals, objectives and performance

o   What industries and companies have this position? Are there any specific companies in which you would be interested and why?

See page 329, Section B-1 – Who are your potential employers?

o   What are the typical duties of this position? List 5-10 duties you consistently see in the job postings and/or the job description(s).

o   What are the qualifications required for this position? List 5-10 knowledge, experience and/or education requirements you see consistently in the job postings.

See page 329, Section B-2 – What do your potential employers look for in new employees?

o   What skills will you have upon graduation to qualify you for this position?

See page 330, Section C-2 – Inventory of personal skills and resources, also pages 330-331, Section III SWOT Analysis

o   What may prevent you from being qualified for this position?What will you do to bridge the gap?

See pages 330-331, Section III SWOT Analysis

o   What would you expect your starting salary to be? Did you find information about bonuses or benefits? (Bonuses/benefit information is not required but is a plus if you find anything.)

o   What associations would you join to be active in this profession? How do you join the association/what is the cost for joining? Are there local chapters or groups where you can attend meetings and network with other professionals? Do the professional organizations offer any means for you to continue to gain professional knowledge/certification?

o   How else would you network to learn about job opportunities? (Most jobs are found through networking, not through posting your resume on job boards or answering ads for positions.)

o   What strategy will you create to land your desired position with a company for which you want to work (specific company,or industry, or geographic location,etc.)

See pages 331-332, Section V, Strategies

Create a three- (3) page, double-spaced report, summarizing the above information. Includecopies ofthe job description and/or advertisementswhen you turn in your assignment.

This paper is due to me in class onTuesday, March 22.Late papers will receive a 5-point, per day deduction. The paper is worth 75 points.

Grading is based on your:understanding, analysis, and interpretation of the information you collect and the following grading criteria:

Rubric Grading Criteria	Points Possible
1/Report followed guidelines for length, source information, formatting and readability.	10
2/Report includes information you learned about the job. ü  What are the duties basedthe job description/job ads? ü  What are the qualifications (knowledge/education, skills, abilities based on descriptions/ads)? ü  What companies/industriesutilize this position? ü  What is the starting salary?	30
3/Report includes information about related professional organizations. ü  What professional groups or other networking groups are involved in this position? ü  How can you jointhe groups (qualifications, cost, etc.)? ü  What benefits might the groups offer you?	10
4/Report includes information based on self-assessments and ads. ü  Do you think you are suited for the job based on your self-assessment findings? Why or why not? ®    Make sure you explain why or why not. ®    Provide examples to show why you feel this way. ü  What do you think are your strengths and weaknesses upon graduation that will help/prevent you from getting this job? ü  What can you do to improve your chances for success?	25
5/Report clearly demonstrates critical thinking about and includes specific information on a strategy to land the job in the desired company. ü  What will be your plan to get this job? ü  What resources will you use? ®    Include detailed activities, goals, and timeframes both before and after graduation.	25