Career planning is an individual activity that occurs throughout a person’s working lifetime. The career that one enters will influence his/her entire lifestyle and indeed is a subcomponent of life planning. Unfortunately, there is no scientific formula for selecting a career; it’s all about balancing costs and benefits. The article emphasizes the need for career planning and describes the career planning process and the career stages. It is imperative for organizations to restructure their career planning to retain best talent.

A career is a sequence of positions held by a person during the course of a lifetime. It comprises of a series of work related activities that provide continuity, order and meaning to a person's life. This is an objective view of a person's career. There is also a subjective element in the concept of career. A career consists of the changes in values, attitudes and motivation that occurs as a person grows older. In both the perceptions, the primary focus is on the individual. The underlying assumption is that a person can shape his destiny through a series of well-planned and well-timed positive moves. However, it must be stated here as a word of caution, mere planning does not ensure career success. A person's career is shaped by many complex factors, e.g., performance, education, experience, influential parents, caste links and a certain amount of luck. Successful people identify their career goals, plan and then take action. For them `luck' occurs when opportunity meets preparation!

The typical career of a person today would probably include many different positions, transitions and organizations more so than in the past, when employees were less mobile and organizations more stable as employers. The important element in one's career is experiencing psychological success which basically is feeling a sense of personal accomplishment and fulfillment. Psychological success energizes our efforts and impels us to undertake new challenges, and scale new heights, that foster our growth over time. According to the Department of Labor Statistics, new college graduates will average 8 to 10 jobs and as many as 3 careerlines in their life time. Most come to believe those people who feel successful in their careers are those who enjoy their work.

Career planning is the process by which one selects career goals and the path to these goals. The major focus of career planning is on assisting the employees achieve a better match between personal goals and the opportunities that are realistically available in the organization. Practically speaking, there may not be enough high level positions to make upward mobility a reality for a large number of employees. Hence, career-planning efforts need to pin-point and highlight those areas that offer psychological success instead of vertical growth.

MBA Review Magazine, Career Planning, Labor Statistics, Personal Goals, Human Resources, Corporate Goals, Career Planning Process, Performance Appraisal, Career Stages, Organizational Career Plans, Quality Management, Knowledge Management.