Effective career pathing will help employees achieve their professional goals and ambitions. Without engaging in career pathing, they might end up in a less-than-ideal role, begin to stagnate in their career, or even burn out. Successful career pathing will make work more exciting, bolstering motivation and leading to greater satisfaction on a daily basis. As such, it should be a key aspect of continuous performance management in any organization.
In this article, we’ll walk through the process of career pathing, discussing how managers can guide employees through its key steps. Then, we’ll share examples of what career paths can look like across different industries.
What Is Career Pathing?
Traditionally, career planning was framed in terms of career ladders. These ladders offered a clear upward progression from an entry-level role to a senior one. But today, a person’s career trajectory can take diverse forms, so career paths is a more accurate frame for thinking about it. In career pathing, an individual lays out a personalized roadmap that outlines the goals and milestones of their dream career, rather than following a prescribed formula.
In other words, career pathing is the process of setting and working toward long-term professional goals. An employee’s career path could involve lateral moves as well as vertical steps up the corporate ladder. Through this process, employees can define and achieve a highly rewarding career.
Why Career Pathing Is Important for Businesses
Career paths can dramatically enhance morale and performance by driving employees to achieve high-level personal goals. Engagement rises significantly when employees are striving toward clear and meaningful objectives.
Further, successful career pathing helps organizations retain employees—especially high-potentials. These talented employees will look elsewhere if they don’t receive personal growth and career advancement opportunities. A high percentage of Gen X, Millennial, and Gen Z employees expect ongoing developmental support from their company, so career pathing is a smart business strategy.
In turn, you’ll be able to use internal recruitment to fill open positions, as you’ll have a robust pool of talent ready for advancement. This further boosts morale and incentivizes all employees to aim higher.
Consider that 44% of HR leaders believe their company needs more compelling career paths, according to Gartner. Just 50% of employees say their manager provides feedback related to their future goals. And 63% of departing employees are seeking opportunities for career advancement. Engaging in career pathing can enhance the employee experience, boosting retention and motivation.
Roles in Creating Career Paths
Who should be involved in the creation of career paths?
- HR: Your HR team can lead succession-planning efforts that support career-pathing discussions. Inform managers about prospective future staffing needs.
- Managers: Every manager should guide their direct reports though the career pathing process. Then, they can provide ongoing coaching tailored to individual goals.
- Employees: Each employee should take responsibility for forming a personal career path and following through on commitments.
Career pathing requires a team. When employees, managers, and HR work in sync, their efforts will garner the best results.
How to Develop Compelling Career Paths
In this section, we’ll discuss a 5-pronged plan to creating a career path. Partner with employees to carry out this plan, striving to build their confidence, enthusiasm, and capabilities every step of the way.
- Identify Strengths and Interests
Ask employees about what types of work they find most enjoyable and meaningful. Ask questions like these:
- “In your ideal role, what would you do on a daily basis?”
- “What responsibilities would you like to assume?”
- “What are you curious to learn about (even if it doesn’t fall into the scope of your current role)?”
Asking specific questions like these will draw out more candid answers. Make sure employees understand the concept of career pathing, too, so they don’t feel they need to offer prescribed answers.
Share your observations of their strengths as well. Then discuss areas where their interests and strengths overlap.
“Try to find the intersection of what you enjoy and are good at,” writes Caroline Castrillon in Forbes. “Once you’ve decided, conduct a gap analysis to identify any skills that need to be acquired or developed.”
- Map Future Prospects
Identify prospective roles for each employee that match their interests and strengths. Begin by asking them about their career aims, and then help them refine their options by comparing them with their aptitudes and passions. Encourage them to think outside of the box, helping them brainstorm options. With high-potentials, discuss whether they’d be interested in a leadership position. Coach them to success, so they’ll excel in a next-level position.
Build a map of future job possibilities in the organization with the employee, as the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) says. After outlining options, guide the employee to select a career advancement target.
- Set Short-Term Goals
Help employees establish SMART career goals that align with their career advancement ambitions. (SHRM offers a handy form for creating career goals.) Earning new credentials, training in a new area, or upgrading an existing skill set are examples of such goals. Try to ensure that these goals align with organizational goals and needs, helping to fill current or anticipated gaps.
Consider ways in which their role or responsibilities could shift as they build new skills. For example, could they head a new type of project? Having concrete outcomes to strive for will boost motivation. Be careful not to overpromise, but do discuss the possibilities.
- Support Employees in Achieving Their Career Path Plans
Connect each employee with a mentor who can provide feedback and advice. Try to ensure that mentors and mentees have compatible personalities, as well as skill sets. If the employee aims to make a lateral move, help them cultivate relationships with leaders and peers in that department, as Castrillon advises. Supporting their projects, when time allows, could serve as a valuable enrichment experience.
Try to hold in-depth discussions with your direct reports about their career aspirations twice a year. At least once per quarter, hold shorter check-ins about progress toward these goals.
- Leverage Tools for Tracking Progress
Performance management software that includes goal-tracking tools will help employees stay on track. Moreover, it empowers them to observe their own progress on a daily basis, which strengthens morale and motivation. 360 feedback solutions will provide valuable insights on professional development as well, sharing input from colleagues. Using such tools will catalyze ongoing personal growth.
Now that you know the key steps of successful career pathing, let’s look at some potential career trajectories.
Examples of Career Pathing Across Different Industries
Career pathing is crucial in any field, although it can take many different forms. Below, we share just a few possible career trajectories.
Corporate Ladder
Even in traditional corporate roles, like marketing, finance, or operations, options for career paths have expanded dramatically. In marketing, someone might begin as a content creator or social media coordinator. After building experience, they might step into one of these positions:
- Senior content strategist
- Digital marketing manager
- Brand strategist
- Market research analyst
Eventually, they might step into a position like senior marketing manager or director of marketing. They can specialize, or diversify, their focus depending on their interests, homing in on digital marketing or becoming more of a generalist, for example.
Someone working in finance might begin as a financial analyst, perhaps after completing an internship in this area. Then, they might become a cash manager, strategic planner, or senior financial analyst. Chief financial officer (CFO), treasurer, or controller are several top-level options.
Additionally, an individual in any of these fields could become a CEO if they gain the appropriate leadership and analytical abilities. Learning about various aspects of the company’s operations will prepare them to lead at a high level.
Technology and IT
In the tech field, an individual could start out as a technical support specialist, junior developer, or junior engineer. From there, they might progress to a senior engineer or developer role. Alternatively, they could specialize in a certain area, becoming a cybersecurity or user experience design specialist.
Some tech professionals progress into departmental director positions, setting them up for a C-suite role in the future, if desired. Others prefer to continue honing and applying their technical skills in a particular area of expertise, like data security. Or, if they want to segue into another area, like data analysis, they could gain certificates and practical experience in that subject.
Healthcare
In the healthcare field, someone could start out as a medical technician or nursing assistant after receiving the appropriate training. Medical administrative assistant, social and human service assistant, and health information management technician are several alternative roles. From there, an individual can gain advanced training and certification, potentially focusing on a sub-specialty. For instance, a nursing assistant might become an advanced practice registered nurse, a certified nurse-midwife, or a certified registered nurse anesthetist.
A nursing professional could then step into a leadership role, like clinical nurse manager, director of patient care services, or nurse educator. A medical technician might become a senior medical technologist.
Meanwhile, a doctor will typically pursue a residency lasting 3–9 years after completing medical school, then may accept a fellowship in a sub-specialty area.
Creative Industries
Creative career paths can involve design, writing, or content creation. Someone pursuing such a career path might work in creative agencies that support companies’ brand design strategy. Over time, they might gain exposure in different areas of media creation, making lateral moves as they diversify their skill set. For example, a graphic designer might segue into video production, ultimately becoming a media manager, creative director, and then head of an agency.
As these examples show, career goals across fields can range widely. Even within a field, there are numerous potential paths to choose from. Encourage employees to get creative as they explore their options. Sharing examples of senior professionals who have followed a nontraditional career path may inspire them.
Through effective career pathing, you’ll inspire and motivate employees to reach higher goals. In turn, they’ll achieve greater success for your organization. As they achieve each milestone, help them set new goals so their career will always remain dynamic and rewarding.
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