Stages, Urgency and Principles of Career Development Stages of Career Planning 1. Initial or Establishment Stage At this stage employees will try to achieve the need for security. The euphoria of entering the workplace is especially desirable. At this stage employees are so excited about their new world. Employees will work hard to be able to stay in the workplace. This happens in the first years of doing the job. The duration of this stage is approximately five years. 2. Advanced Stages At this stage the employee begins to have a desire to change his fate and climb the ladder in the company. Self-esteem makes him feel that he must be promoted by the company. Seeing many juniors enter, there is a feeling of wanting to show their existence to them. This stage takes place in employees aged 30 to 45 years. When there is a promotion offer, they usually try to pursue it. 3. Sustaining Stage When in this stage, employees are no longer eager to move up the ladder, and tend to try to maintain their position. At this time employees are satisfied with their finances and position. Some even think that they are still employed and are grateful. 4. Retirement Stage After so many years of working, at this stage the employee will quit his place of work. Either because of age, or there could be a sudden reduction in the number of employees because the company went bankrupt. After entering the retirement stage, some may choose to rest and choose a business at home, others may stop productive activities and decide to take care of their families. Others will look for work elsewhere if they feel that there are still many needs to be met, or feel that they still have to continue working. Hopefully, at this stage of retirement, you are well-established so that you no longer work too hard to earn daily expenses. It is even better if at this stage you have a pension fund that was previously collected while still having an income. As in the example, if you become an ASN, pension fund matters are not a problem. However, for those who work outside the ASN sector, the preparation of a pension fund is absolutely necessary. Career Planning and Development Steps To achieve a great career, there are steps you can take. These steps are as follows. 1. Develop a Vision and Life Mission Life vision and mission is a guide to plan your life for at least the next five years. Some things that should be planned are what do you want to get in the future? Do you want to have a vehicle first or a house for example. Then you imagine in the next few years, what you will become and what achievements you have made. Successful writer? Professional teacher? Artist? Politician? Or an entrepreneur with millions in profits? If the next five or ten years is too far to imagine, you can look at the short term first, next year for example. The most important thing is to have a picture so that you can be sure of the next steps to achieve it. This vision and mission is necessary to suggest and motivate you to get success. 2. Focus on Exploring Your Own Ability Try to look closely and assess yourself, what exactly are the shortcomings and advantages we have. For example, you are a person who likes to write. If you display your written work on social media, many people like, comment and even share your written work, maybe you have potential in that field. Furthermore, this talent can continue to be honed by taking majors related to the world of writing or taking special training in writing. 3. Evaluate Yourself If for example we have experienced failure somewhere, try to evaluate where you went wrong. Is there a mismatch between our interests and the job? Is there an inability to work with a team or is the work pressure from your boss too heavy. By evaluating ourselves we can learn from these failures. And will fix it in a new place. 4. Seeking Information on Current Careers Finding information nowadays is very easy. So there is no reason for us to be uninformed. If we really like the digital world, find out where you can have a brilliant career and as expected. 5. Draft a Career Path In this step you map out ways or strategies that can be done to get the career you want. For example, if you want to become a professional teacher. Afte undergraduate education, in the first year you can try to open tutoring for the children of the nearest neighbors for a modest fee. Then in the following year, look for a regular school to teach, without looking at how much money you get, and focus on the experience gained. Then the next year, you can start looking for a large, quality school in your city to improve your skills. Urgency of Career Development 1. Assisting in Career Decisions Career development systems provide useful assistance to employees as well as managers in making career decisions. They get the opportunity to assess their skills and competencies and know their future goals and aspirations. So that they can prepare themselves for the career path they want to achieve. 2. Better Use of Employee Skills Career development systems help organizations make better use of employee skills. Since managers know the skills and competencies of employees, they place employees in jobs where they will be able to produce maximum output. Likewise, employees themselves can finally work according to their skills, so employees can be more productive. 3. Employees Understand Themselves Better With various career development programs, employees will become more familiar with themselves. They will find their abilities that may not have been discovered so far. In other words, employees can find their passion. By understanding passion, an employee can also work more productively, creatively, and innovatively because they work with passion. In addition, working with passion will produce something of higher quality than what is done out of compulsion. 4. Increased Employee Participation By following career development, employee participation can increase because employees are placed in a place that suits their abilities. The next impact is that employees will feel involved and contribute to the company, which will increase their loyalty. This can reduce employee turnover. 5. Welfare Guarantee Providing a career development program is a form of welfare guarantee (benefit) that is very important for employees. Guaranteed welfare of life will make employees more loyal at work. Training, education, and even scholarships received by employees become capital for them to perform better. Principles of Career Development According to Mondy (1993), career development includes activities to prepare an individual for the advancement of a planned career path. Furthermore, Mondy (1993) explains several principles in career development, among others: 1. The job itself has a huge influence on career development. When each day's work presents a different challenge, what is learned on the job is far more important than the activities of a formal development plan. 2. The form of skill development required is determined by the specific demands of the job. The skills needed to become a supervisor will be different from the skills needed to become a middle manager. 3. Development will occur only if an individual has not acquired skills that match the demands of the job. If the goal is further developed by an individual, the individual who already has the skills demanded by the job will occupy a new job. 4. The time spent on development can be reduced by identifying a rational sequence of individual job placements. Career Development Tips 1. Defining the Big Dream Your big dream is what you want to achieve in life. Set a big goal t encompasses your career and life. Don't be afraid to dream big because this is what will motivate you. Your ultimate goal may change over time. You don't need to worry, as most people go through this process in their lives. Stay focused on what you are currently pursuing for optimal results. 2. Breaking Down the Big Dream into Smaller Targets Yearly goals are usually more difficult to achieve because you have to pursue many things at the same time. So, try breaking down your big goals into smaller targets that can be accomplished in a shorter period of time. For example, if you're planning to launch a new product, break down the big goal into simpler steps. Start by doing research on potential customers, continue with designing the product, and so on. 3. Developing a Network The people you know, especially those working in your current field, play a big role in your career development. They can give you the knowledge you need about your career path and the challenges you will face. Start networking for career development now by attending conferences that bring you together with new people. Showcase your skills as well. The more people realize your potential, the better your chances of getting a chance to work in a new place.