Restaurant Manager Career Development Tutorial - Part 3 The Career Management Cycle

Step 1: Learn who you are

Step 2: Determine where you want to go

Step 3: Identify your strengths and development areas

Step 4: Make a career development Plan

Step 5: Engage/Create a team that will help you reach your goals

Step 6: Create a list of achievements that will move you closer to your goal

Step 7: Find jobs where your goals and career development will be organizationally supported.

Step 8: Be willing to accept 360 degree feedback

Step 9: Reassess your goals and career plan

Step 10: Take stock of how much you’ve already achieved and determine the next ‘best’ move

Career Management Step 1: Learn Who You Are

We are not all born with the personality and skills needed to be successful. Take a look at the best managers. The managers at the top of their career share certain personality traits and skills. Very little is left to chance. They never lose sight of their goals. They have learned to put their emotions aside, enhance their strengths, and overcome their weaknesses.

There is no confusion or hesitation when asking what they want, where they are going, or how they reached their current level of success. They were not always the person who stood taller, talked louder, walked faster, worked longer, and exuded confidence. These were skills they learned.

The journey starts with self exploration. It is hard to understand where you are going unless you understand who you are, and what made you the person you are now.

Who Am I?

We are all multifaceted. We have desires that are often molded by beliefs. The problem with beliefs is that many of them are ‘second hand.’ We’ve been told that success requires a certain income, level of fame, lifestyle so we strive to reach that. We never look at what we need as a person to be happy.

It is impossible to understand what we need until we learn what beliefs are truly ours, and what we believe because parents, society, media, or peers have imposed those beliefs on us.  The first step to understanding who we are, and what we want, is to separate our ‘wants’ and ‘needs’ by determining what our beliefs are. Once we explore this then we can determine our level of integrity.

There are no wrong answers. Many people are surprised to learn that money and career choice has little impact on their motivation.