MY Career GPS

An Opportunity to Take Stock of your Own Career

My Career GPS is a career planning and career reflection guide for employed adults. Just as our workplaces and the work we do change constantly, so do we, as workers, constantly change in terms of our needs, preferences, goals and satisfactions at work. My GPS provides a structured approach to help working adults to:

• Take stock of your actual work situation and your levels of satisfaction
• Clarify who you are right now as a worker
• Assess your life/work balance
• Identify what is most important for you to achieve in your work
• Value your work contribution
• et some here and now goals to pursue your own personal development as an individual and as a worker

My Career GPS is a journey of self-discovery and reflection. Each section takes time and thought and individuals work at their own pace. There is no recommended time for completing My Career GPS but others have reported that they have completed all seven sections thoughtfully and thoroughly in 10 to 15 hours, preferably spread out over a 4 to 6 week period. Individuals will of course find some sections much more personally relevant than others and will choose to spend more or less time depending on their own needs and realities.

This is an investment in you.

Some comments from individuals who have completed My Career GPS:

• “I liked the leadership, communication and developing empathy sections – these are all important in the world of work and in my personal life”
• “This didn’t feel like work; it felt like growth”
• “I have a full life but I had not taken time for my own reflection”
• “This looked at things through a creative lens-it opened possibilities”
• “The process is gentle but doesn’t let you off the hook – you still have to decide”

My Career GPS was developed as one part of a three year research project funded by HRSDC and titled: “Meeting Workplace Skills Needs: The Career Development Contribution”. The impacts of the program on employed adults were measured. Positive impacts included increased self-esteem, quality of managing work life, ability to manage one’s own career and sense of being able to influence one’s own career future. These changes persisted three and six months after completion of the program.

There have not been many career development programs aimed at working adults. My Career GPS is filling a need for many adults to take time out for themselves throughout their careers. It is a self-directed program that is simple, promising, inexpensive and accessible. My Career GPS supports the importance of lifelong learning and strongly reinforces that our careers are not only what we do in the work place; our careers are how we choose to live our lives.