career planning workbook

Being the Best
For the BC Public Service
Career
Planning
Workbook
BEING THE BEST
Plan, Learn, and Experience 4
Using Your Career Planning Workbook 5
First Things First: Discover Yourself 6
Identify Your Preferred Job Characteristics 7
Examine Your Strengths 8
Which Abilities Do You Enjoy Using? 8
What About Your Interests? 10
What Have You Learned From Failure? 11
Phase One: Plan: Prepare For Success 12
Step One Determine Your Strengths 12
Step Two Get Input From Your Supervisor 13
Step Three Be Curious! Do Some Networking 15
Step Four Think About Your Potential Career Path 17
Choose A Career Path Within The BC Public Service 17
Check Out @YourService 18
Career Profile 19
Step Five Organize Your Plan And Enter It Into Your EPDP 20
Organize Your Plan 21
Review Your Plan With Your Supervisor 23
Enter Your Plan Into Your EPDP 23
Phase Two: Learn: Build Knowledge And Skills 24
Step One Identify Areas You’d Like To Develop 24
Step Two Identify Activities That Address The Need 26
Step Three Set Realistic Timelines 26
Corporate Learning Programs 27

Other Learning Programs 29
Ministry Specific Learning Programs 29
Phase Three: Experience: Enhance Your Skills 30
Self-Development Opportunities 31
Career Planning Reading List 33
Career Planning Online Resources 34
W
orkbook
Career
Planning
FOR THE BC PUBLIC SERVICE
A message from
Jessica McDonald,
Deputy Minister
to the Premier,
Head of the
BC Public Service
Plan, Learn, and Experience
WE WANT YOU TO SUCCEED
Whether you’re new to the public service or you’ve worked within government for many years, we believe that career development
is important. That’s why it’s such a fundamental element of our Corporate HR Plan,
Being the Best, which states that the BC Public
Service wants “to put more focus on requiring every employee to have a strong career path so the BC Public Service can identify and
develop those with broad interests and potential.”While having a career path will mean different things for different people, the
foundation for success is rooted in one simple idea: your career development is driven by you. Managing your career is a
continuous process that typically includes these elements:
Plan
The planning section is where you begin your journey. Effective planning allows you to understand and learn about your
interests, strengths and weaknesses and chart what learning and experiences you need to achieve your goals.
Learn

Here you begin to research and discover what learning opportunities exist and how your strengths and
interests factor into those opportunities. The more information you seek out, the closer you will come
to identifying areas where you want to invest your time and energy to develop.
Experience
There are many ways to put into practice the different skills, knowledge and competencies you
have developed. With support from your supervisor, you can look into project work, volunteer
for committee work or temporary/developmental assignments to enhance your effectiveness
and efficiency.
Helping our employees to grow and develop professionally greatly contributes to our goal of
‘Being the Best’. I hope you enjoy working through the ideas and exercises supplied in this
Career Planning Workbook.
UsingYourCareerPlanningWorkbook
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Career Planning Workbook is intended to provide a resource for all BC Public Service employees to support
you in managing and developing your career. It includes a number of exercises that are aimed at stimulating ideas
that will help you to determine your career development goals, as well as to establish a clear plan to help you
successfully achieve them!
One of the core elements of career development is the idea that the process belongs to you. No one is more qualified than you to figure out
what’s in your best interests in terms of the direction that your career will take and the best time to make those course changes. This booklet
also incorporates the ways in which we, as your employer, will support you in your career development. This includes highlighting how you
can best utilize your supervisor’s support in developing your career plan. It also identifies many other organizational resources at your
disposal and how you can take advantage of them.
Please remember, however, that while your supervisor can provide support and guidance, it is you that has to consider this input and then
determine if you’re going to act upon it. The public service can provide many different learning and experiential opportunities, but you
must decide if or how you will take advantage of them. In essence, you are the “driver” in your career development journey!
This booklet uses a number of “best-practices” typically used by virtually all career coaches and follows a step-by-step format. All
you need to do is to go through the exercises in a thoughtful way. To do this, it’s best to find a quiet, comfortable place where you
can reflect on the questions being asked, so that you can properly consider your answers. Take your time. You don’t have to do all
of the exercises in one sitting.
The exercises in this booklet are designed to help you stimulate ideas and help start conversations. Remember, as with most

things in life, you get back what you put in. If you invest the time to go through the exercises in a thoughtful way, you will likely dis-
cover things about yourself and your career that you might not have thought of before…that’s exciting!
This booklet is also available online. Please go to @Your Service and click on the Careers & Hiring link in the Information
column on the left side of the screen.
BEING THE BEST
5
T
here’s an old saying that states that knowledge is power. This is especially
true when it comes to finding a career that excites you. Before you can
make any decisions about career direction, it’s important to know what drives
you…what inspires you. The more you’re inspired and motivated at work, the
more successful and happy you’re likely to be in your job.
Define What Success Means For You
Defining success is important because a successful career may
mean different things to different people. For some, success is
based on advancement or job titles. For others, it might be
related to salary and benefits. For some, it’s the level to which
their skills are advanced. And to some, it may revolve around
making a clear contribution to society.
How can you find out what inspires you? One way is to
make sure that the key characteristics of the job match-
up favourably to the things that are most important to
you at work. You could call these the “characteristics”
that you’d most like to have in your job.
Knowing these characteristics before you start your
career planning will give you a sense of what to look for
in a job when you’re ready to start examining
potential career paths.
6
Shauna

Assistant Deputy Minister
Discov er Yourself!
FIRST THINGS FIRST
JOB CHARACTERISTICS IMPORTANT FAIRLY IMPORTANT NOT IMPORTANT
15. Loyalty is valued in the organization
16. Allows me to make important decisions
17. Mobility: can move to other locales
18. Multi-cultural affiliation
19. Can exercise power and authority
20. Involves precision–detailed work
21. Gives me a sense of prestige
22. Recognition from colleagues/superiors
23. Job stability
24. Good relationship with supervisor
25. Time freedom – flexible hours
26. Opportunities for travel
27. Allows me to work w/ others most of the time
28. Allows me to work alone most of the time
7
JOB CHARACTERISTICS IMPORTANT FAIRLY IMPORTANT NOT IMPORTANT
1. Affiliation/friendships with co-workers
2. Alignment w/boss’s expectations
3. Artistic creativity
4. Working autonomously/independently
5. Work offers change and variety
6. Activity with my community
7. Healthy competition between departments
8. Excellent employee benefits
9. Allows me to help others/impact society
10. Can influence people positively

11. Intellectually challenging work
12. Leaving a positive legacy
13. Physical work environment/office space
14. Location is close to home
Identify Your Preferred Job Characteristics
Use this table to help you determine which of these 28 job characteristics are most important to you:
Adapted from Right Management Consultants ‘Career Survey’
Jot down the ten job characteristics that are most important to you:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Examine Your Strengths
Knowing your interests and abilities allows you to take stock of your core strengths.
When your natural strengths are fully utilized at work, it increases the likelihood
of you feeling satisfied and engaged.
Which Abilities Do You Enjoy Using?
Knowing how to move forward in your career really begins with an honest
evaluation of your abilities. When you get a better awareness of yourself along
these lines, you’ll be in a much better position to make good career choices.
One of the most important considerations in thinking about your future path is the
notion of using the abilities that you actually like to use. We all have many abilities, but
sometimes our work requires us to use abilities that we don’t enjoy using. So, why not try
to visualize a career in which you get to use those skills that you actually enjoy using? The

next few exercises can help you to determine what those abilities may be for you.
From the list below, place a checkmark beside the abilities you like to use:
MY ABILITIES GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF ABILITIES LIKE DOING DON’T LIKE DOING
1. Research research, observe, investigate, study, perceive, sense, measure, test, inspect, examine
2. Analysis analyze, compare, extract, correlate, derive, evaluate, differentiate, identify
3. Interpretation interpret, explain, understand, portray, advise, deduce, read-between-the-lines
4. Problem-Solving solve, trouble-shoot, improve, critique, re-direct, redesign, restructure
5. Systematizing systematize, coordinate, organize, develop procedures, bring together
6. Planning plan long-term, plan short-term, forecast, strategize, set goals
7. Management manage, supervise, control, direct, budget, administer, delegate, cope, administer
8. Leadership lead, show the way, govern, inspire, motivate, assert, decide, advise
9. Initiative take the initiative, be among the first to do or try
8
Adapted from Right Management Consultants ‘Career Survey’
Continued on the next page
MY ABILITIES GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF ABILITIES LIKE DOING DON’T LIKE DOING
10. Flexibility be flexible, adapt easily to change, be “politically” aware
11. Innovation innovate, invent, change, develop, devise, break with convention
12. Team Player work well with a team, be a team player when necessary
13. Vision ask “what if?” or “why not?” then act to find the answer; “see” the future
14. Synthesis synthesize, adapt, bring together with imagination, fuse, produce
15. Listening listen actively, understand the message others are delivering
16. Written Presentation write clearly, concisely and effectively; eye for grammatical errors; editorial ability
17. Verbal Presentation speak clearly, concisely and effectively; use the spoken word to get results
18. Persuasion persuade, convince, influence, overcome opposition, sell, win over
19. Negotiation mediate, intervene, resolve differences, arbitrate
20. Imagination imagine, visualize, conceptualize, fantasize, picture
Adapted from Right Management Consultants ‘Career Survey’
Jot down seven or eight abilities that you most like to use:
1.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9
There are a number of tools that can help you to assess
your skills and abilities. Please see the Resources section on
pages
33-34 of this workbook to find out more
10
What About Your Interests?
It makes sense that there’s a greater likelihood of achieving job satisfaction if you’re doing things that you actually enjoy doing! So give some thought
to your work-related experiences over the past year. List the three or four activities that you enjoyed most during that time and the reason(s) why:
Now consider your entire professional career (and include your educational career if you’re new to the world of work).
In which jobs/assignments did you find the greatest interest and satisfaction:
ACTIVITIES I’VE ENJOYED MOST OVER THE PAST YEAR THE REASON I ENJOYED THIS ACTIVITY
1.
2.
3.
4.
JOBS IN MY CAREER THAT PROVIDED THE MOST SATISFACTION THE REASON THIS JOB WAS SO SATISFYING/REWARDING
1.
2.
3.
What Have You Learned From Failure?
Everyone has, at some point, worked in a job or been assigned a task where we didn’t succeed. That’s OK – we can learn a great deal from failure.
This is also true to finding the right career path. Sometimes, the way to determine where we would like to go, is to rule out the place we want to avoid!

So take a moment and consider your entire professional career (and include your educational career if you’re new to the world of work).
Jot down two experiences in which you didn’t succeed; and beside it, write down the reason(s) that contributed to that failure:
So…what did you learn from those unsuccessful experiences – either about yourself or the work – and how will you use this information in your current
career planning process?
Are there certain job functions or assignments that you’ll avoid in future? If so, jot them down here:
JOB / ASSIGNMENT IN WHICH I DIDN’T SUCCEED WHY NOT?
1.
2.
3.
4.
11
A
s you learn more about yourself, it’s important to keep track of your findings. Using a career planning booklet like this one can help.
It keeps your notes and findings all in one place so that they can be easily referenced again and again. It’s also important to remember
that career planning is not something that is done once or only at certain times of the year. Instead, this booklet should be viewed as an
ongoing, “living” document that is regularly adjusted to meet your changing needs and progress.
This booklet is designed to provide you an easy, step-by-step process that will help you get a clear picture of how best to develop your career.
Determine Your Strengths
In the first column of the following chart, list the activities/jobs in your career that have been most interesting to you. Use the Interests chart
on page 10 to jog your memory. Next, give some thought to the skills that you used that made each job so appealing. Then in the middle
column, write down those skills/competencies that you used in those particular jobs that made them so enjoyable for you. In the last
column, jot down the top abilities that you checked off in the chart on page nine.
THINGS I LIKED FROM PREVIOUS JOBS SKILLS I USED THAT MADE THOSE JOBS INTERESTING MY TOP ABILITIES FROM PAGE NINE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
12

Prepare forSuccess
PHASE ONE: PLAN
Asking for input during this “self-discovery process” can give you additional insights that will inform your decision-making
regarding next steps in your career. This can include speaking to a mentor, a career counsellor, a human resources manager, a work
colleague and even friends and family members. Remember, the more information you seek out, the closer you will
come to more accurately identifying areas in which you will want to invest your time and energy to develop.
Do you see any themes emerging? By this point, you will typically begin to see some overlap between the skills that you’ve used in your
career that made a particular job(s) enjoyable and the abilities that you like to use. That’s good! These overlapping items tend to
identify the key strengths that you enjoy using day-to-day. Take a moment to jot down your top five strengths here:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Get Input From Your Supervisor
One of the most important things to remember about this journey is that you don’t have to take it alone! Your supervisor can offer
coaching and support to assist you in your career development process. He or she can help you to align your learning goals with corporate
direction and even alert you to opportunities or resources that you may not be aware of. Please remember, however, that this process
belongs to you. Your supervisor can provide support and guidance, however, it is ultimately up to you to consider this input and then
determine if you’re going to act upon it.
These questions might be helpful in getting this conversation started
n What would you say are my key strengths?
13
n What skills should I build on?
n What would you suggest as a potential career path?
n Which items from my previous EPDPs should I consider in examining my potential career paths?
n Are there any developmental opportunities that come to mind that you think would be helpful for me?
n Who else should I speak to that could help me in this process?
14
15

Be Curious! Do Some “Networking”
Another way to find out about how to explore your career potential within the BC Public Service is to “network” with some of your
colleagues. If you think you might be interested in a particular job-type or if you’re curious about working within a different ministry,
you might want to go on an “interest interview” with someone who works in your area of interest. Having this sort of conversation
will allow you to find out more about what interest or career-potential might be there for you.
Ask questions such as:
n What would a typical day look like in your work unit? (i.e., fast-paced, lots of variety, work to plan)
n How would you describe the culture here? (i.e., teamwork, leadership style, flexibility, politics)
n What are the most challenging aspects of the work? (i.e., competing priorities, change management)
16
n How is career development viewed here? (i.e., professional development, stretch projects, mentors)
n What do you like most about working here?
Why?
n Are there other people that you think I should talk to within your organization?
17
Think About Your Potential Career Path
By now, you’ve gathered much important information about yourself and have confirmed your findings with other key stakeholders.
You’ve also had an opportunity to talk to others about their own career choices. You are likely starting to get a sense of the types
work that you think would be satisfying and rewarding to you.
Choose a Career Path Within the BC Public Service
One of the things that makes the BC Public Service such a great place to work is the number of career opportunities that it provides.
Offering 200 different jobs in 280 communities, we are the largest employer in the province!
To help you in researching those opportunities, we’ve developed a Career Profiles
section within our @Your Service website that provides
important information about key career streams within the BC Public Service. These paths include:
CAREER PATH MOST INTERESTING FAIRLY INTERESTING NOT INTERESTING
1. Social Services
2. Communications
3. Project Management
4. Information Technology/Information Management

5. Administrative Services
6. Policy, Research and Economics
7. Compliance and Enforcement
8. Security
9. Finance
10. Leadership and Supervisory/Management
11. Scientic and Technical
12. Human Resources
13. Court and Judicial Services
14. Education Services
15. Health Services
Why is it so important to get all this feedback?
It’s always important to check out whether your
self-perceptions are consistent with what other key
people have to say. This includes your supervisor,
peers, clients or people who work for you.
Jason
Parattack Crewleader
18
Most of these key streams are, and will continue to be, in high demand. Which career paths are most interesting to you?
Check Out @Your Service
Within our @Your Service website, you’ll find a Careers & Hiring link in the Infor-
mation column on the left side of the screen. Click on this link and once inside,
you’ll see a Career Development section that houses numerous resources, including a
large number of “career profiles”. Each profile describes the core elements of the
types of jobs that you could pursue within each career path. You can use this
information to determine if that particular type of work fits with your
interests, skills and qualifications. On the following page is an
example of one of the many profiles currently listed on the site.
19

CAREER PROFILE
Financial Officer
Salary Range: Approximately $41,000 to $80,000 annually
Job Summary
Are you someone who thrives in a challenging field where you can apply your financial expertise? As a Financial Officer in the BC Public
Service you would be responsible for planning, executing and controlling accounting, budgetary and financial management practices,
systems and procedures towards the efficient and effective operation of government programs and activities. Financial Officers provide
functional direction and advice on the control and use of financial resources. Various job opportunities exist across all ministries,
boards, agencies and commissions of the BC Public Service. Some of these positions may include the following:
n Financial Analyst n Financial Procedures Analyst n Collections Officer
n Budget Analyst n Supervisor of Accounts Payable n Collections Officer
n Revenue Analyst n Accounting Policy Analyst n Auditor
n Finance and Administration Officer n Financial Systems Officer n Audit Team Leader
On the Job
At work, Financial Officers:
n Maintain accounting records and systems, prepare financial statements, and compile financial statistics;
n Establish or maintain procedures and controls for the identification, claiming, collection and recording of revenues and public money;
n Develop, establish and improve financial administration policies, accounting systems and procedures;
n Provide functional direction and advice on the control and use of financial resources and on the solution of financial and
accounting problems;
n Estimate financial requirements to carry out programs and activities;
n Analyze revenues and expenditures in relation to current budgets and long-range forecasts and perform budget monitoring, analysis,
forecasting and reporting;
n Supervise accounts payable processing for the ministry and multiple supported entities;
n Verify account and payment requisitioning procedures to ensure that payments are made in accordance with legislation, policies
and regulations; and
n Conduct financial analysis of business enterprises, municipal governments, boards and commissions to determine conformity
with statutory requirements, and provide consultative services related to ministry financial policies and procedures.
Projected Openings
Currently, there are approximately 934 Financial Officers in the BC Public Service with an average age of 46.1 years. The projected

retirement rate is 18.7% over the next five years and 37.7% over the next 10 years.*
Assuming there is no shift in the priorities of the BC Public Service, this field could have as many as 352 openings over the next 10 years.
*Source data is the Workforce Planning Branch, June, 2008
Education and Experience
Education and experience are determined by the type and complexity of the position. Requirements can range from the completion of at
least a second level of CA, CGA or CMA or equivalent with at least two years related experience or a two-year diploma or certificate in a
recognized financial management/accounting program and at least two years related experience in a professional accounting designation
(CA, CGA, CMA) and a number of years experience (e.g. five years experience in accounting or auditing).
Competencies
n Expertise n Planning, Organizing and Co-ordinating n Analytical Thinking
Go to @Your Service and click on the Careers & Hiring link to view some of your favourite career profiles.
Assemble Your Plan and Enter It Into Your EPDP
By this point, you’re likely starting to get a sense of the types of career choices that may be of interest to you. You’re also probably getting
a sense of the skill-sets that you’ll need to succeed in those chosen paths.
The question now, is, “What do I need to do to get me there?” The answer is: you need a plan! Having a career plan in place is like having
a GPS unit to help you plan out the route you’d like to take.
Putting a plan in place starts with organizing yourself. First, you’ll need to review your answers to the questions in this booklet to make sure
you’ve captured all of your key information. It’s easier to review your key responses if they’re all in one place.
20
Organize Your Plan
To assist you with this, we’ve set aside the next couple of pages for you to re-enter your responses to the various exercises in this booklet:
n Job characteristics that are important to me (copy your entries from page 7)
n My seven or eight top abilities I like to use the most. (copy your entries from page 9)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

8.
n The work-related activities I enjoyed most in the last year (copy your entries from page 10)
21
n The jobs in my career in which I found my greatest satisfaction (copy your entries from page 10)
n The functions and/or assignments that I’d avoid in future (copy your entries from page 11)
n My top five strengths (copy your entries from page 13)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
n The career paths that interest me the most (copy your entries from page 18)
22
Review Your Plan With Your Supervisor
Before you enter your plan into your EPDP, it would also be helpful to get a final, objective perspective to gauge your
thinking. Once again, the best person to do this is your supervisor. Engaging your supervisor throughout this process
will help both of you establish a mutual understanding about where you’d like to take your career. It will also give you
an opportunity to have an honest dialogue about the best ways to get there. Your supervisor can be an important
guide in this journey as she/he can make you aware of resources or opportunities that you hadn’t considered.
To help facilitate this discussion with your supervisor, you can print out those pages in this booklet where you’ve
organized all your key answers (see pages 21-22
). Give your supervisor some time to review before your meeting.
This way, she/he will be able to give some thought to your findings and be better prepared for your meeting(s).
Enter Your Plan Into Your EPDP
Your EPDP should be used to keep track of your development goals, establish appropriate
deadlines for completion, as well as provide opportunities to regularly check-in to ensure
that you’re on course. In fact, the e.Performance tool that we use for our EPDPs provides
structure for these activities by giving you places to document “action steps”, as well as
organizing your objectives into short-termor long-term goals.
Remember, even the best plans encounter obstacles at times. When this happens,

don’t be discouraged. Be flexible. Talk to your supervisor. Modify your plan
if you feel you must, but don’t lose sight of your goals!
23
Rayne
Conservation Officer
24
T
he knowledge and skills that we had when we began work are typically not sufficient to take us through our entire career. In fact, a
Hudson Institute survey, Workforce 2020, warns that by 2020, 60% of jobs will require skills that only 20% of today’s population now has.
One of the best ways to further develop your career is to build on your existing knowledge and skills and/or develop new skill-sets. Doing
so will help you feel more confident and better prepared to deal with a fast changing workplace.
Once again, the best place to start is having a conversation with your supervisor. He or she will work with you to ensure that you’ll achieve
your learning goals, by following these three key steps that can be incorporated into your
EPDP.
Identify One or Two Areas You’d Most Like To Develop
n State your goal in specific terms. Goals like “being a better project leader” are too vague. A more focused goal might be:
“I would like to improve how I go about planning a project”.
Build knowledge and skills
PHASE TWO: LEARN
Check it out!
There are many potential developmental opportunities within
the BC Public Service. See
pages 31 and 32 of this booklet for opportunities
that you might want to discuss with your supervisor.
25
n Ensure clarity around the nature of your need. For instance, is your developmental need knowledge-based i.e., related to information that you
need to acquire? If so, jot down some ideas for building your knowledge in this area:
n Is your need skills-based i.e., wanting to improve a specific ability such as facilitation skills, policy-writing skills? If so, list some ideas for
increasing these skills:
n Or is your need experience based i.e., you need more involvement in a given project? If so, note how you will go about getting this experience: