Career Research Process: an example

It has been noted that “research is a term used literally for any kind of investigation that is intended to uncover interesting or new facts” (Walliman and Walliman, 2011, p.1).

The career research process I have used is the one proposed by Morgan (2010) and it consists of the following stages:

1. Assessment. The research process commences with assessment of personal skills and knowledge, as well as, passion in order to be able to identify genuine career aspirations. Specifically, my hobbies and spheres that attracted my interest the most have been deeply analysed during this initial stage of career research process.

2. Collecting Information. Both, primary and secondary data sources have been used to collect the relevant information during the second stage of career research process. Secondary sources of data used in research process comprise industry analyses, industry magazines and newspapers, and a range of books devoted to career management. Primary data sources used during the career research, on the other hand, include individuals already employed in the industry.

3. Presentation.  This stage includes improvement of the verbal pitch, and development of a personal marketing plan as a prospective employee. A high level of importance of developing a personal marketing plan can be explained by increasing level of competition in the job marker for graduates with little or no formal job experiences.

4. Project management. Achievement of career objectives is approached as a project management with identification of short-term and long-term goals and organising regular reviews.

5. Interview preparation. Performances in interviews play a great role in the achievement of career objectives, and accordingly interview preparation is identified as a strategic stage in career progression.

6. Project update. This stage in career research process involves career progression monitoring conducted in a regular basis, and strategy modification if necessary.

References

Morgan, H. (2010) “The Process of Job Search” Available at: http://careersherpa.net/the-process-of-job-search/

Walliman, N. S. & Walliman N. (2011) “Research methods: the basics” Taylor and Francis