

Ask HN: Career Development Plans. Is there a point to this madness? - johnward

I have never really gotten anything out of "Career Development Plans". In the end they just seem to add overhead to the task I already don't have enough time to accomplish. Actually, each time the development planning period comes a long I start looking for new jobs. I see these as a useless exercise when in the end real work gets in the way of achieving these "goals".<p>Why do companies, especially older or larger corporations, seem so set on this method? Do you find value in the process? Is it really "career development"  if it's not something I want to do? What is so wrong with not wanting to move up or being happy with the amount of responsibility (or maybe work/life balance) you currently have?
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LucasCollecchia
Assume for a moment that organizations are information technologies. If that's
the case, then processing units are the firm's humans, plus whatever
mechanized information systems they have.

Now, unlike mechanical systems, human components of this larger IT network are
far less modular. Certain positions require decades of experience and
knowledge in order to perform optimally. You can't merely buy a person off the
rack to slot into your organization if you have particular needs for their
position.

From the perspective of an organization, then, in order to ensure continuity
of capacity of a system, niche capacities need to be actively cultivated. If
your position as X manager is part of their VP of X pipeline, then the
organization's ability to selectively pick people who would be best suited for
grooming into the VP of X position could be vital to their staffing strategy.

That said, this assumes a certain approach to developing capacity within firms
(one, however, that is excessively common), which itself is a strategy choice
mediated by a number of factors, including the firm's attractiveness to hires
from the outside. If you're Google, for instance, you likely have the ability
to pull the capacity you need from the market if its a generalized asset.

~~~
johnward
This is why I have a problem with the term "career development" in general. My
career will never revolve around any one company. It sounds more like it's
employee development for the benefit of the company not the employee's career.

~~~
LucasCollecchia
Well, you're probably right. There's a conflict of interest with respect to
developing an employee's career from the perspective of the employee and the
firm. Both want what's best for themselves.

One of the big concepts in negotiation theory, has been the rise of interest
harmonization, wherein parties attempt to figure out how to make their
dealings with others create shared interests. If successful these efforts
might make career development efforts live up to their name.

