Stanford
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Career Guidance

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A step-by-step guide to starting and navigating your career development journey.

Development—for both employees and managers—is the foundation of our career management approach at Stanford. To demonstrate your commitment to excellence and ensure your continued professional growth, we recommend you take a thoughtful approach to your career development.

This step-by-step guide will help you do just that.

1. Discover your interests, values and strengths

Where do your skills and interests lie? What really makes you tick? Identifying the elements of an ideal career fit based on your skills, values and interests is a good place to start in your career development journey.

Tips to get started:

2. Chart your career path

Career paths are unique. They may be linear or follow a less traditional route. Whatever yours may be, there are many possibilities to explore at Stanford.

Tips to get started:

3. Develop through experience, exposure and education

Career development is a lifelong process, and no one type of development does the job alone. Research shows that the highest potential for learning and growth occur when there is a combination of exposure, experience and educational opportunities.

Tips to get started:

4. Schedule regular check-ins with your manager

Open and ongoing dialogue with your manager is key to your success at Stanford. Schedule regular check-ins and keep your manager informed of your career development aspirations.

Tips to get started:

  • If applicable to you, keep your Performance Management development plan and goals up-to-date. Discuss with your manager during your mid-year and year-end reviews