Individual Career Path
While people often have a responsibility for their career development, conscientious planning is critical to the achievement of optimal growth at an individual level. An individual can enhance their skills and knowledge that can lead to success in a current, targeted or prospective job with a carefully planned career path. This paper is an evaluation that reflects the results of my self-assessment and self-inventory exercises. It further articulates my professional goals and career plans, thereby outlining an action plan for implementing the set objectives.
Assessment and Inventory Results
The self-assessment and self-inventory exercises have revealed that I have numerous values which include ability utilization, autonomy, flexibility, and helping attitude towards others and society. In case of ability utilization, I am often committed to making full use of my abilities. Every person has abilities, but the way in which they are used differs from one person to the other. A person’s abilities are dependent on his or her personality meaning that a courageous and confident person is likely to have more abilities than one who does not exhibit such personalities. Based on Freud’s psychoanalytic theory that states that early experiences play a huge role in personality development, it can be said that the differences exhibited by people in terms of abilities are because of early life experiences (Cherry, 2017). When it comes to autonomy, I am one person who plans and carries out my work with adequate supervision. With this being one of the leading requirements in the workplace, I believe that I am well-placed for my future career opportunities (Ryan et al., 2011). Flexibility is another criterion on the basis of which employers hire employees. In this regard, I believe that I am flexible as I can work according to the set schedule without any specific preference. When it comes to helping others in the society, I am always at the forefront in order to contribute for the betterment of a larger community. This has played a vital role in helping to strengthen my relationship with other members of the community. The community appreciates my efforts as I am compensated properly for my level of education and experience. I am also blessed with a wide range of skills including advising, consulting, counseling, influencing others, and listening, all of which have catapulted me to the level of eminence today. These skills are often acquired through conditioning as championed by famous psychologists John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner (Cherry, 2017). These skills are like behaviors that are learned from our environment and those around us. Moreover, these skills can be largely attributed to my personality, and the experiences I have gained so far. According to the trait theory, personality is unique to every individual (Cherry, 2017). I believe that these skills are essential part of my journey towards an excellent career in future.
Goals and Career Plans
With a career in counseling; I plan to earn a Master’s degree in Counseling, and become a licensed marriage and family therapist. Therefore, one of my career goals is to increase professional knowledge and training in the realm of counseling. I believe this will be useful and give me an upper hand once I become a licensed marriage and family therapist. The increased professional knowledge and training will pave the way for more opportunities that will assist me in making a contribution to the society. My second career goal is to improve low-functioning work processes or relationships as this would make my future day-to-day work experiences more positive and rewarding. It should be noted that counseling requires an excellent relationship between the counselor and the client. Subsequently, improving my work relationships could play a pivotal role. Additionally, improved relationships with others will ensure smooth and effective societal interaction allowing me to help others and contribute to the betterment of a larger community (Ryan et al., 2011). My third goal is to have innovative experiences in my line of work by volunteering at a community or work level, introducing myself to several people especially those I never communicate with, and joining a professional counseling association to meet new people in my career. My final and utmost goal is to eventually attain a leadership role in my line of work. It cannot be refuted that being a leader will provide me an effective platform for showcasing the aforementioned skills such as advising, consulting, and influencing others. Leadership comes with power that involuntarily influences followers making them believe that the leader is way ahead of them regarding skills and other perspectives of life. Like many other people, I believe that I can do more at a leadership position. This can only be achieved by consistently following the steps and diligently working towards attaining a leadership position.
Motivation
People set professional goals and objectives and lay down a roadmap to fulfill them. Often, the journey to realizing or fulfilling the set professional goals and objectives is hampered by various obstacles. There is a high probability that the realization of my professional goals could be jeopardized by hindrances as well. Some of these problems could include an uncooperative society or community, the lack of opportunities, low paychecks or compensation among others (Hall, 2016). To overcome such obstacles, and attain professional goals and objectives; various psychological principles need to be taken into the consideration. First, I believe that I can be motivated to overcome some of the mentioned obstacles with stimulation. Stimulation is a situation where one is more alert, more productive and more creative, and this only occurs when the surrounding environment is interesting and accommodating (Hall, 2016). Once stimulated, I believe I will be motivated to achieve all the professional goals bypassing the obstacles. Second, identity is one of the psychological principles that increase belonging, esteem, and success in the long run (Oshana, 2010). So, I believe that with the right sense of identity; I can feel encouraged to overcome any kind of obstacles by going an extra mile and making an effort towards reaching my set objectives.
Action Plan
The journey towards realizing my career goals relies primarily on the steps I will take in applying for a Master’s degree in Counseling, thereby graduating or earning internship hours required for taking exam and becoming a licensed therapist in California in Winter of 2020. The first step will be to meet with officials of a graduate school in Spring 2018 to organize and plan for my pursuit of a Master’s degree in Counseling. Second, I will allocate time to talk to Career Consultants and discuss my career options in detail. Third, I will carefully organize and complete the course with assistance from professors and counseling experts who will enable me to make the right decisions from a career-oriented perspective. With these steps, I hope to realize my overall goal of completing Master’s in Counseling. Eventually, I intend to open my own private practice and continue to earn number of education units required in California to maintain the license.
Further, in meeting personal and professional goals, I will have to implement psychological knowledge and skills in occupational and other pursuits. One of the ways that will help me in the implementation of professional knowledge and skills is community engagement. I believe that through this, I will be able to understand, demonstrate, and apply my psychological principles, skills, and knowledge to address or solve societal and organizational issues. Also, in my career line, rising to a position of leadership will help me in the implementation of psychological knowledge and skills (In Dunn, 2015).
Conclusion
From my assessment and inventory results, my values include ability utilization, autonomy, flexibility, and helping others and society. The assessment further reveals my professional skills that include advising, consulting, counseling, influencing others, and listening. These values and skills are in line with my professional goals that include increasing specialized knowledge and training in counseling, improving low-functioning work processes or relationships, having new experiences in my line of work, and attaining a leadership role in the field of my interest. The realization of these goals could be hampered by various obstacles, which I could overcome through motivation from psychological principles including stimulation and the sense of identity. Consequently, I look forward to becoming a successful marriage and family therapist who will play a significant counseling role in the community.
References
Cherry, K. (2017, June 09). 10 Types of Psychological Theories. Retrieved November 14, 2017, from https://www.verywell.com/what-is-a-theory-2795970
Hall, K. (2016, May 12). Overcoming obstacles. Retrieved on November 9, 2017, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/pieces-mind/201605/overcoming-obstacles
In Dunn, D. (2015). The Oxford handbook of undergraduate psychology education. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Retrieved November 14, 2017, from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=YblRCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA292&lpg=PA292&dq=implementing+psychological+knowledge+and+skills+in+occupational+pursuits&source=bl&ots=Xe9OvoLY5q&sig=zS6_y37339QwmsGZ7mDWz8eOdQU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjnqtjimr7XAhXLFsAKHRD3DWIQ6AEIUjAJ#v=onepage&q=implementing%20psychological%20knowledge%20and%20skills%20in%20occupational%20pursuits&f=false
Oshana, M. (2010). The importance of how we see ourselves: Self-identity and responsible agency. Lanham, Md: Lexington Books. Retrieved on November 9, 2017, from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=Ynh6eLfwNgQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=importance+of+identity&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiU7qbg1bHXAhUmAcAKHZVyB7AQ6AEIKTAB#v=onepage&q=importance%20of%20identity&f=false
Ryan, R. M., Lynch, M. F., Vansteenkiste, M., & Deci, E. L. (2011). Motivation and autonomy in counseling, psychotherapy, and behavior change: A look at theory and practice 1ψ7. The Counseling Psychologist, 39(2), 193-260. Retrieved on November 9, 2017, from https://www.apa.org/education/ce/motivation-autonomy.pdf