Career Development

Penn State believes that supporting career development for our employees is critical to the success of our organization.  It is an exercise that focuses on future possibilities; an opportunity to think and plan—with the flexibility required to meet individual needs.  As an organization, we want to provide employees and their managers with the tools and resources that will examine career aspirations and begin to craft career development plans. 

While each employee has primary responsibility for defining and pursuing their personal career goals and aspirations, your manager and the university are partners.

You

  • Create a career/leadership development plan, including goals to achieve.
  • Explore and participate in opportunities for development.

Your Manager

  • Provides feedback and opportunities for development. 
  • Communicates team/organizational career opportunities. 

The University

  • Educates managers and staff members about the career development process. 
  • Provides the processes, tools and systems to support professional development. 

A career conversation is an opportunity to learn about an individual's strengths, interests, and career aspirations and identify the skills they need to develop to take on future roles. While the end of year performance review conversation looks back at performance over the prior year, a career conversation is focused on the future.

These resources are available to help you establish your development plan and guide conversations and inform the decision you make in pursuit of your career goals and aspirations.

Career Conversations

Create a career development plan and review it with your manager.

Step 1: Complete the Owning Your Career – Self Reflection activity.

Step 2: Draft your Career Development Plan.

Step 3: Review your plan with your manager.

Share your objectives and get their feedback regarding actions you can take to meet your objectives.

The Staff Job Catalog

The staff job catalog describes the key responsibilities for staff job profiles at Penn State, as well as the skills, experience and technical expertise that are required to be successful in them. 

How can you use the staff job catalog to support your career development? 

To grow in your current position: Review the responsibilities, skills and experience that are relevant to your current position.  Discuss with your manager in which areas you should focus to continue to grow and develop in your current position. 

To assess your career path: Review the responsibilities of the next job profile in your job string and ask yourself how it ‘maps’ into your values, motivators, skills and interests.  Will it be more satisfying to you?  If so, that’s great!  If not, you might consider looking into other career paths at Penn State for a better fit. 

To prepare for your next position (once you’ve identified it): Review the description of the position that you would like to attain in the future.  It could be in your current job string, or in another career path. Then discuss with your manager how you can best prepare yourself for the position, should an opportunity present itself. 

Skills Profile

Take time to establish or review your Skills Profile in the LRN. Rate your proficiency for skills in your current job profile, declare and rate other skills you have, and consider your proficiency with skills in other job profiles of interest to you. It’s a good idea to draft your Career Development Plan before you move to your skills profile. Your plan will help you narrow down your skills development focus areas.

The Skills Profile Job Aid takes you step by step through the process to manage your Skills Profile.

Professional Development

Penn State maintains a large library of eLearning modules and books and provides access to numerous instructor-led courses and programs to support skill development. Visit the Learning and Development webpage and the Learning Resource Network (LRN) to explore these opportunities.

Internal Career Mobility

When you’re ready for a career move, you can explore open positions at Penn State. Visit the Career Hub in Workday to start your search.

Mentoring

Depending on your career development goals, a mentor may be a valuable partner to help you refine and meet your objectives. Visit mentoring.psu.edu to learn more about mentorship opportunities at Penn State.

Tips for Receiving Development Feedback

  • Ask for feedback on an ongoing basis.
  • Do your best to stay open-minded.
  • Do not reject feedback; assume best intentions.
  • Listen for understanding. Clarify what the feedback means.
  • Respond to feedback. Share your own views. Jointly agree on ways to improve.
  • Thank the person for giving the feedback; show appreciation.