Career development is a lifelong process of learning to choose a career, improving the skills, and advancing the skills for a better career path. There are five career stages for an employee. From exploration to decline, here are the explanation of each stage.
Exploration
Exploration is the first stage in the development of a career. This stage itself is about in the mid or twenties or the transition from college to work. In this stage, the employees will explore what career they want depending on their interests or their background in the study. From an organizational standpoint, the exploration stage is relevant because it occurs prior to employment.
Establishment
The second stage is called the establishment. During this period, someone will start to search for work or their first job. It is the time that somehow begins with anxieties, uncertainties, and risks. Usually, the employee will be at the staff level, and they will learn from mistakes. Joining a career development program is one of the best ideas at this stage.
Mid-Career
In the middle stage of career development, many people will face certain dilemmas. It happens especially for those who choose the first job that is different from their passion. In this stage, some of them will continue the work and get greater responsibilities. For instance, they are those who have known well about their jobs. Meanwhile, the other employees will choose to get a new job and adjust their priorities to get a better lifestyle for example.
Late Career
What did the employees do in their late career stage? It is a pleasant stage for them because they can relax a bit from all of their tasks. It means that they are the seniors in the company and usually have a younger team to help with their jobs. In the late career stage, someone is no longer learning, but they teach others how to do the jobs based on the knowledge they have gained.
Decline
It is the final stage that all employees will face. This stage is difficult for everyone or can be the hardest for those who had continued successes in an early stage. The decline is the stage at which all employees should retire from their jobs. The maximum age of working is the reason for the decline itself. This career development stage allows the younger employee to take control because the older one has retired.