Have you ever wondered how you’re doing in your career, what you’re doing right or wrong, or where it should be headed?
You might want to continue in your industry but are unsure of how to progress. Maybe you feel the industry you’re in is getting boring and doesn’t bring the meaning it once used to.
More people are taking up the Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) to make a career switch. Some 1,500 people took up the PCP in the first half of 2017 compared to the 600 in the same period in 2016.
Career Health Check
In today’s fast-moving work environment, we go through various transitions in our career journey. It does not matter if you’re in your first job, at the peak of your career, or even at the crossroads ready to make the jump to another industry.
Not sure what to do next? Give the Career Pit Stop by NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) a try.
Just like how it is during a race, it is essential to review progress, upgrade engines, change car parts and be prepared to rev ahead.
Career Pit Stop is an online assessment tool that provides a glimpse of your career journey. It is not meant to be an appraisal of your current work performance but serves as a guide on areas to help you move towards your career success.
It is important that we are aware of our strengths and weaknesses in areas such as performance, influence, network and clarity. Greater awareness of these bring more choices and opportunities for the future.
The Career Pit Stop also provides a first level understanding of attributes required for adapting to new ways of work and know-how to increase opportunities for personal growth and career progression.
The online exercise can be done at your own pace. It should also be done regularly to check and plan for improvements in your career development.
I gave the Career Pit Stop a try, and here is what I came up with.
The Pit Stop
The Career Pit Stop has 80 two-choice questions, which took me about 10 minutes to finish.
The questions include whether I know my strengths at work, how often I’ve been promoted or recognised and how much I know about my domain knowledge.
The Career Pit Stop also has questions about recruitment and personal career goals.
Recruitment questions include if I often sent resumes without getting any response. Personal career questions include whether I have been taking courses to achieve my career goals, and have I been proactively seeking out a role outside of my comfort zone which has had a very positive impact on my career and development.
The Verdict
Of course, results will vary based on individual responses.
I scored the 76th–100th percentile on attributes such as drive, influence and focus. On the other hand, I only scored the 51st–75th percentile for my network.
It’s obvious I need to work on my networking skills when it said: “Avoid being a wallflower.”
That made me a bit upset, but it also told me what I should do to make up for it, such as how to nurture relationships in my network by sharing my career aspirations and functional skills to add value.
To be honest, I think the Career Pit Stop was spot on, and I do acknowledge my shortcomings. Plus, I also get the results emailed to remind me of what I need to keep working on.