Career Motivation

Abstract

Career Motivation is usually examined among young or mid-career workers. The older worker is left alone. Unfortunately, in an environment in which the older person represents the fastest growing segment of the labor force, this critical resource is being frittered away. Examination of current practices suggests a large portion of older workers are persuaded by their employers' actions that their careers are at an end. Alternatives to extend and increase this group's Career motivation are discussed. Research exploring the underlying processes involved in successful mentorships has been lacking.

In the present study, the roles of Career motivation explanatory factors were examined. Career motivation mediated the relationship between career mentoring and performance effectiveness. Contrary to prediction, only marginal support was received for career self-efficacy as a mediator between mentoring and indicators of career success. Career motivation is unique in that it was the first to reveal linkages between mentoring, career self-efficacy and Career motivation. Theoretical and practical implications of results are discussed. Index TOPICSPAGE NO. What is Career? What is motivation? What is Career Motivation? ypes of Career motivations Identifying Career Motivation Example of Career Motivation worksheet Ways of Career motivation Career motivation at work References What is Career? Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life (or a distinct portion of life)" By the late 20th century, a wide range of choices (especially in the range of potential professions) and more widespread education had allowed it to become possible to plan (or design) a career: in this respect the careers of the career counselor and of the career advisor have grown up.

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It is also not uncommon for adults in the late 20th/early 21st centuries to have dual or multiple careers, either sequentially or concurrently. Thus, professional identities have become hyphenated or hybridized to reflect this shift in work ethic. The progress and actions taken by a person throughout a lifetime, especially those related to that person's occupations. A career is often composed of the jobs held, titles earned and work accomplished over a long period of time, rather than just referring to one position.

While employees in some cultures and economies stay with one job during their career, there is an increasing trend to employees changing jobs more frequently. For example, an individual's career could involve being a lawyer, though the individual could work for several different firms and in several different areas of law over a lifetime. See also career ladder. What is motivation? Motivation is the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal directed behaviors.

It can be considered a driving force; a psychological drive that compels or reinforces an action toward a desired goal. For example, hunger is a motivation that elicits a desire to eat. Motivation has been shown to have roots in physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social areas. Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually interested and committed to a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to attain a goal.

Motivation results from the interaction of both conscious and unconscious factors such as the (1) intensity of desire or need, (2) incentive or reward value of the goal, and (3) expectations of the individual and of his or her peers. These factors are the reasons one has for behaving a certain way. An example is a student that spends extra time studying for a test because he or she wants a better grade in the class. What is Career Motivation? In order to motivate yourself towards a successful and rewarding career, you need a combination of several factors to work together in your favor.

These factors may include your own ambition and efforts to prosper, backed by the love and inspiration of your loved ones. However, it is important to remember that the ultimate responsibility of excelling in the career of your choice is yours and only you can work towards it to make your dreams a reality. While planning for your career development, you will also need to understand and analyze your talents, qualifications and skills that might help you in getting inspired towards the path of development.

Career motivations are what energize and motivate you when you think about what you want to accomplish or work towards in your career. They are concrete descriptions of how you want to engage in your work. They are not job titles and they are not general words or phrases like “fulfillment, financial security, happiness, work/life balance” etc. Understanding what motivates you can help you find a career direction. It seems possible that career motivation is one factor that can help explain the benefits from mentoring relationships. areer motivation is theorized as being comprised of three components: career resilience, career insight, and career identity . Career resiliencies the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, even when circum-stances are discouraging or disruptive. It consists of characteristics such as belief in self, willingness to take risks, and need for achievement. Career insights’ the ability to be realistic about ones career and consists of establishing clear, feasible career goals and realizing ones strengths and weaknesses. Career identities the extent that one defines oneself by ones work.

It is associated with job, organizational, and pro-fissional involvement, nee career motivation career motivation examined personal and situational correlates of career commitment and found that of the variables investigated, having a mentor was the most robust correlate. It was suggested that mentoring increases career commitment by three means. First, mentoring facilitates self-directedness, career involvement, career success, and positive attitudes toward the career. Second, the mentor may demonstrate the rewards that can be attained if an individual sticks with a career.

Finally, mentoring helps the development of career commitment because both the mentoring relationship and career commitment revolve around the needs and ambitions of individuals. To promote career motivation employees should be provided with positive reinforcement for good performance, given opportunities for achievement and input, and receive support for skill development support. This can be achieved by encouraging employees to think about the long-term effects of their current work behavior and to develop career plans. Information about career options should be provided and realistic expectations cultivated.

Goal setting should be encouraged and fair and accurate feedback provided. Finally, to heighten career motivation, work involvement should be emphasized by pro-viding job challenges, and by encouraging professional activities and opportunities for leadership and advancement Supporting these suggestions, found individuals were more likely to have high levels of career motivation when their manager was supportive, provided clear performance feedback, encouraged subordinates to set career goals, initiated discussions related to development and career-related issues and made the job challenging.

That is, man-ager mentor-like behaviors were associated with higher levels of career motivation among subordinates’. In sum, the existing literature suggests a relationship between mentoring and Career motivation. Hypothesis 1. Mentored individuals will have a higher level of career motivation than those who have not been mentored. Hypothesis 2a. Among those who are mentored, there will be a positive relationship between psychosocial mentoring and Career motivation. Hypothesis 2b. Among those who are mentored, there will be a positive relationship between career mentoring and career motivation.

We suggest that career motivation plays a part in the relationship between mentoring and indicators of career success. It seems likely that mentoring relates to career motivation, which in turn relates to career success. For example, London (1983) stated that one aspect of career motivation is the desire for upward mobility. He suggested individuals would establish career paths to further their advancement possibilities, request to be considered for promotions, volunteer for important assignments, request and assume leadership roles, and request salary increases.

London also suggested that those high in career motivation might have greater career advancement opportunities since they work harder on projects that affect their career. Career motivation behaviors have been theorized to predict pro-motions and salaries, yet only one empirical study to date has shown career motivation to be as-associated with promotions. We extend this line of research in the present study by relating career motivation with both objective and subjective indicators of career success. Past studies have primarily used objective measures such as employee income, promotion rate and job title to define career success.

However, solely using objective criteria to determine success may neglect important information. For ex-ample, a managers, who appeared successful by reason of position and income, did not feel successful or proud of their accomplishments. It is important to explore individual’s appraisal of their own success because these perceptions are likely to impact their career. Hypothesis 3. Career motivation will positively relate to objective and Subjective career success. Hypothesis 4a. Career motivation will mediate the relationship between career mentoring and career success.

Hypothesis 4b. Career motivation will mediate the relationship between psychosocial mentoring and career success. There are three types of Career motivations:

1.  Core Career motivations: Core Career motivations are what you want to spend your time doing. These include competencies (skills, knowledge and attributes) that you want to develop, specific things you want to create, or passions and causes that you want to pursue.
2. Work environment Motivations: Work environment Motivations is things that are important for you in your workplace. These include aspects of the physical environment, the work culture, the way Work is structured (e. g. hours, schedule, etc. ), and how you like to work with others (e. g. as a leader, Support person, expert advisor, etc. ).
3. Lifestyle Motivations: Lifestyle Motivations are what your career allows you to do in other areas of your life. This could include money, time, travel, relationships, and other parts that make up your work/life balance. All three types are important, but your core Motivations will be most helpful in pointing in a career direction.

It can take time to uncover your own Motivations, and it can be tricky to separate what you really want from what you feel you “should” want. It’s a good idea to revisit them from time to time.

Sample Motivations:

• I want to manage information about people (not technical or financial) in a social service or educational setting (core Motivation)
• I want to design and manage service-oriented systems, processes and procedures to make systems run more efficiently and help people (core Motivation)
• I want to be recognized for making others’ lives easier (core Motivation) I like being in a structured work environment where I have to respond to things that happen unexpectedly (work environment Motivation)
• I want to balance the time and energy
• I use while earning my living with the time and energy
• I devote to my passion for competitive marathon running (lifestyle Motivation)

Identifying Career Motivation

Follow these steps to make a list of four to six personal Career motivations:

1. Step 1: Complete the Career motivation Worksheet on page

Brainstorm a list of possible career options that includes different type of work and educational opportunities.

Review your list and think about why you have chosen your options. Do they connect with the Motivations you included on the Career motivation Worksheet? Add any new insights to the worksheet. 3. Brainstorm a list of “de-Motivations” that describe what you don’t want in your career. Reflect on your past work and educational experience. Review your list and think about the opposite of each de-Motivation. Do these opposites connect with the Motivations you included on the worksheet? 4. Review all the statements on your worksheet and identify patterns and themes.

Write a set of four to six statements that summarize your key Career motivations, and make sure that at least three or four of your statements describe your core Motivations. Include enough detail to be meaningful. Don’t worry if some of your Motivations conflict with one another, or if they’re not realistic right now—it’s all part of the journey. Example of Career Motivation worksheet What are your interests? Rank the following interests in order of their importance to you. • Working with things, numbers and objects ________ • Contact with people ________ Working with machines ________ • Working with animals or plants ________ • Working to improve social conditions ________ • Detailed, organized, routine work ________ • Studying people or communicating ideas ________ • Scientific or technical work ________ • Directing or organizing ________ • Abstract and creative work ________ • Working on or producing things ________ Now use your rankings to answer these questions: 1. What interests and activities energize you? ________________________________________________________________ 2. What are the skills that you really enjoy using? _______________________________________________________________ 3. What kinds of activities engage you so completely that you get wrapped up in them and lose track of time? 4. What kinds of subject or knowledge areas are you drawn to? ________________________________________________________________ 5. What are the first 2 or 3 sections that you head for when you go to the bookstore? ________________________________________________________________ What are your passions or causes? 1. What causes do you get excited about? ________________________________________________________________ 2.

Where is the “juice” or “spark” when you think about your career? ________________________________________________________________ 3. If you were independently wealthy, had done everything you wanted to do in terms of travel/leisure and had the total support, understanding and acceptance of your family and friends, what would you choose to do with your time? 4. What would you do if you knew (and were 100% guaranteed) that you would not fail? What type of work environment do you want? Rank the following work environments in order of their importance to you. • Setting your own schedule ________ Influencing people's opinions, attitudes or actions ________ • Variety with many changing duties ________ • Working under stressful situations ________ • Making decisions based on personal judgment ________ • Knowing exactly what is expected of me ________ • Taking responsibility- being in control ________ • Work requiring precision ________ • Freely expressing ideas and emotions ________ • Making decisions based on facts ________ • Working closely with people ________ • Working alone ________ Now use your rankings to answer these questions: 1. How do you see yourself working with others (e. . leader, support person, expert advisor, etc. )? 2. What type of people would you work well with, and how would you work with them? ________________________________________________________________ 3. What places and environments make you feel engaged and energized? 4. What type of organization would you like to be part of? ________________________________________________________________ What type of lifestyle do you want? 1. What does your career need to provide you with in terms of money and time commitment so that it will fit with and support the other important aspects of your life? _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 2. What kind of income do you have to have in order to support the kind of life that you want to build? ________________________________________________________________ 3. How much time are you willing to devote to your career so that it balances with the rest of your life? ________________________________________________________

Ways of Career motivation Motivation Through Relationships

The people who love and care for you can make a great difference in your life in motivating and inspiring you towards a better career. Some of your closest relationships may work as a base of all your career improvements. These relationships might be the best and only reason for which you want to move ahead in your career and do well to provide absolute security and happiness to your family. It is the care and concern that you share in these relationships that might encourage you to achieve your career goals, which in turn helps you to provide the best of everything to your loved ones.

Motivation Through

Leisure You leisure time activities and associations can also help you in motivating yourself towards your career. It is important to interact with different kinds of people coming from different walks of life and professions. You also need to participate in the hobbies and activities that you enjoy so that your recreational requirements are also fulfilled. These activities help you unwind from a long day or a weekly routine and will keep you motivated when you are planning your career.

Your entire personality needs to be taken care of in order to motivate yourself. Lack of relaxation and recreation may lead you towards boredom and depression, which in turn can diminish your enthusiasm and energy levels. Motivation From Peers One of the best ways to motivate yourself towards a great career may come from your present workplace itself. Attending seminars, conferences and meetings can help you in acquiring many professional contacts such as career counselors, academic professionals, supervisors and people with similar interests and career objectives.

In the process, you may gain invaluable resources and advice from masterminds that might motivate you to a great extent. Seeing other people with the same or similar educational backgrounds and qualifications in higher positions can further motivate you to improve your own career prospects through sharing knowledge and ideas with them about how you can go about it. Just knowing that you have a great network of resource pool can be sufficient to motivate you. Motivation From Your Mentor Your personal mentor can be the most important person who can motivate you so that you achieve your career objectives.

A good mentor can be your friend, philosopher and guide to direct you towards the road of success. A mentor will not only coach you and provide critical advice to support you in your endeavors, but will also introduce you with useful contacts and the right people to further expedite your career development process. The mentor can also measure your success and failure aspects and alter your action plan accordingly. Career motivation at work 1. Clarify your goals Nothing is more demotivating than working haphazardly without having a clear vision, mission and set of objectives for your work.

Without a clear vision and knowledge of how your work impacts the big picture you may well end up spending a lot of time on urgent unimportant matters rater than tasks that positively impact the big picture. Clarify in no uncertain terms your vision, mission and objectives and focus on them beginning always with the end in mind. It is remarkable what you will achieve once you have honed in on your precise goals and can focus on them and visualize yourself achieving them.

Establish a clear game-plan for achieving your goals

Once you have clarified your vision and goals, formulate a detailed strategy for getting there and chart your progress on a regular and ongoing basis. Break down large complex projects into a series of manageable tasks that are interesting and achievable. Having a blueprint for success that is composed of clear, sensible milestones and achievable interesting tasks will greatly simplify and lend meaning to your daily routine and will also give you a feeling of control over your work and deadlines which largely boosts motivation.

The more organized you are and can focus and adhere to accomplishing your goals according to your detailed blueprint for success, the more motivated you will be and the less likely you are to fall into a fit of panic or insecurity and lose confidence and motivation. 3. Ride the Wave of your Successes Success is very stimulating. Work hard enough to achieve successful results and see how motivated you are to achieve further successes as you excel in your performance. Work hard, aim to overachieve your goals and ride the momentum of each success to achieve further successes.

Remind yourself that once your vision is clear and you have a set of well-defined, reasonable objectives and milestones to reach, the secret of success is hard work, creativity and perseverance. Aim to ride the wave of each success to further the next success and channel the positive energy to achieving similar superlative performance in your next task or project. It is not always that you can ride the wave of euphoria that arises from a sound success story so make sure you leverage and take advantage of these bursts of energy and motivation to the extent possible. . Reward yourself Reward yourself as you achieve your objectives and/or reach specific important milestones. Plan ahead what forms this reward will take and what tasks/projects/results will be rewarded. This will give you something to look forward to, extra drive to get there and a surge of excitement and enthusiasm when you do attain your desired goals.

Keep Things in Perspective

It is important to keep things in perspective and always remind yourself of why you work.

Beside the pay, it is often about realizing your potential, feeling alive and useful, feeling connected, making a difference in the world, expressing creativity, expanding your skills and abilities, helping others and contributing to the community. List the reasons you entered the field you are in and when times are tough remind yourself of why you do the work you do. Also remind yourself that work is work and that you have a life outside of work to look forward to, enjoy and make a difference in.

Maintain a healthy work/life balance

It is very easy to lose yourself at work and forget what awaits you outside of the work arena.

Maintaining a healthy work/life balance is essential both for your general motivation level and your overall wellbeing. Make sure you take the time to do the things you like to do outside of work whether it be connecting with friends and family, exercising, reading, taking courses, shopping or other hobbies and activities that channel your creativity and energy. Having something to look forward to after work will see you through moments of drudgery at work when your motivation and energy levels are not as high as they could be and will also make you more productive at work. . Think positive Negativity is a contagious affliction that drains you of energy, slows you down, saps your enthusiasm and blinds you to the reasons you work. Avoid negative feelings at all costs and concentrate on the positive. To do this, listen to motivational tapes, to music that particularly inspires you, read motivational books, talk to inspired or inspiring people, surround yourself with positive stimuli and concentrate on the reasons you work. Find things to laugh at as long as you are not laughing at your peers and count your blessings at every opportunity.

Focus on positives regardless of how small or inconsequential they are whether it be a positive remark from a boss or peer, accomplishing your day's goals earlier than usual, overachieving on a small deliverable, working well with people, a looming vacation, completing a difficult task or any other positive stimulus.

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