This chapter has discussed the importance of career planning and development.

1. A career is an ongoing sequence of work-related activities. It is work-related—not something that occurs in isolation.
2. Individuals go through four career stages—apprenticeship, advancement, maintenance, and strategic thinking.
3. Mentoring can be extremely important to a junior employee in terms of career development.
4. In selecting a career, individuals are expressing a part of their personality.
5. Three points in careers are of particular importance for career development—when a person is just hired, at midcareer, and at preretirement.
6. Programs to combat problems of the new hiree include realistic job previews, challenging initial assignments, and demanding bosses.
7. Programs to combat midcareer problems include counseling to illustrate and develop midcareer alternatives (transfers, retraining).
8. Programs to combat preretirement problems include counseling, workshops, and seminars on what to expect, alternative careers, and coping with change.
9. Career pathing can inform people about the sequence of job opportunities in the organization.
10. Career planning involves matching a person's aspirations with opportunities. Some common practices involve counseling, seminars, and self-assessment centers.
11. An issue of growing importance is the dual-career couple. Organizations need to become more active in finding ways to minimize problems of dual-career couples.
12. Career progress and development can halt because of a temporary cutback or a permanent reduction in the workforce. A layoff or job loss can create psychological and behavioral problems for individuals and families that are affected.