Career Discussions at Work, Practical Tips for - CIPD

Career discussions at work 

Practical tips for HR, managers and employees 

Questions this tool is designed to help you answer 

• Why are career discussions important What do they do for employees 

and the organisation 

• Where and when can career discussions take place 

• What happens in an effective career discussion 

• Who can give career support to employees, and what do they bring 

• What can HR do to encourage more effective career discussions 

We would welcome your feedback 

If you have any queries about these tools or would like to contact us, you can get in touch with the CIPD at: 

151 The Broadway London SW19 1JQ Tel: 020 8612 6200 Fax: 020 8612 6201 

Email: research@cipd.co.uk Website: www.cipd.co.uk

Cover 

Benefits of this 

tool 

Introduction 

Description of the 

tool 

An introductory 

exercise: Reflect 

on your own 

experiences 

The business 

case for effective 

career discussions 

What makes 

for an effective 

career discussion 

The NICEC model 

of effective career 

discussion 

Skills, behaviours 

and personal 

attributes 

Developing 

capability in the 

business 

About the NICEC 

research 

Sources of 

information 

How to use this 

tool 

Tool map 

Benefits of this tool 

For you: 

• Get a deeper understanding of career development in the workplace. 

• Discover a fresh and practical way to tackle this area by focusing on career 

discussions. 

• Understand how to be more effective in discussing your or other people’s careers. 

For your organisation: 

• Understand the business case for investing in career development. 

• Gain materials that can be used in the training of managers and employees. 

• Find out how to audit/improve the capability of the organisation to deliver career 

support. 

Who is this tool for 

• For employees – how to get yourself more and better career discussions at work. 

• For managers and other deliverers of career support – how to give others more 

skilful support through career discussions. 

• For HR professionals, training and development professionals and business leaders 

– both of the above, plus fresh ways of thinking about career development, and 

ideas about how to enhance the capability of your organisation to deliver good 

career support. 

What’s in the tool 

• An introductory exercise to aid reflection on personal experiences of career 

conversations. 

• A review of the business case for effective career discussions. 

• Discussion of the characteristics of effective career discussions. 

• An overview of models and frameworks to use in career discussions. 

• A 4–stage model of an effective career discussion and tips for those involved in the 

discussions. 

• A checklist to assess how effective your behaviours are in creating the conditions 

for effective career conversations to take place. 

• A tool to audit your organisation’s capability to support career discussions. 

• An overview of the key findings of a National Institute for Careers Education and 

Counselling (NICEC) research project looking at what makes for effective career 

discussions. 

Date updated: January 2005 

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Introduction 

As individuals, we all think from time to time about the future, and want to 

feel a sense of direction in our working lives. Some of us want to ‘get on’ 

in conventional hierarchical terms. Some of us want other things from our 

careers, like the chance to do something new, or the ability to combine more 

flexible work patterns with our other commitments and interests. This concern 

with career development comes up often in employee attitude surveys. The 

bad news is that employees are often not satisfied with how their career 

development is handled at work. 

The CIPD Managing Employee Careers Survey (2003) showed that HR 

practitioners want to improve career development for all employees, but: 

• Only a third felt that senior managers were firmly committed to career 

management activities. 

• Only five per cent trained all their line managers to support the career 

development of their staff, although the vast majority expected line 

managers to deliver this support. 

• There was a desire to support all staff in their careers, but in practice 

most effort goes into relatively small groups of very senior or highpotential 

employees. 

Supporting the varied career development needs of all employees is a huge 

and complex challenge. This tool only aims to tackle a part of the problem, but 

it may be a refreshingly different place to start. If you talk to employees about 

their careers, one of the most common complaints is that they don’t get access 

to really honest advice, tailored to their own needs and situations. They often 

say either they have no discussions about their careers, or that the discussions 

they have are not very honest or informative. So the starting point for this tool is 

just that – the need for more effective career discussions at work. 

This tool is based on some very simple but powerful ideas: 

• Most individuals can manage their own careers better if they have some 

support in doing this from other people in the workplace. 

• Most of this help is given in discussions or conversations, often in 

informal settings. 

• If we could help more people have more frequent or more effective 

discussions about their careers, it would make a positive contribution to 

career development. 

These ideas have been validated and developed through a NICEC research 

project based on the real-life experiences of many employees (Hirsh, Jackson 

and Kidd, 2001). The findings of that research are used as the basis for this 

tool. For more information, please see About the NICEC research. 

Career discussions at work Practical tips for HR, managers and employees ©CIPD 2005 

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Description of the tool 

This tool has been written from the individual employee’s point of view. It is 

hoped that this approach will be useful for ‘givers’ of career support and HR 

professionals who can gain important insights by looking at their activities 

from the ‘receiver’s’ perspective. Of course, we are likely to wear more than 

one of these ‘hats’. Most of us are both ‘givers’ and ‘receivers’ of career 

support, at least informally, if not formally. HR professionals often talk to 

employees and managers about career issues as well as developing policy. 

You may be happy just to work straight through the tool, reading the various 

sections in turn. However, it is also fine to use the main sections in a different 

order depending on your role in career discussions: 

• If you are an HR professional, you might want to start by looking 

at the ‘business case’ followed by developing the capability of your 

organisation to support career discussions. 

• In your role as someone who supports the careers of others (line 

managers/mentors etc) or if you advise those who do, the main section 

to look at is ‘What makes for an effective career discussion’ Then 

continue through to the practical tips on conducting an effective career 

discussion and the chance to check your own skills. 

• If you see yourself as either a ‘giver’ or ‘receiver’ of career support (or as 

both) you may wish to focus on the practical aspects of having effective 

career discussions, including reflection on your own experiences, 

practical tips and an assessment of your own skills and behaviour. 

You may then like to look at ‘What makes for an effective career 

discussion’. 

This tool examines the case for effective career discussions and provide an 

evidence-based view of the characteristics of good discussions. Alongside 

this, practical guidance is offered to the different parties involved in career 

discussions (individuals, ‘givers’ of career support and HR practitioners) on 

how to undertake their activities. This tool provides information on: 

• the case for effective career discussions (individual and business 

perspectives) 

• a tool to help aid reflection on personal experiences of career 

conversations 

• the characteristics of what makes for an effective career discussion 

• an overview of models and frameworks that can be used in career 

discussions 

• a four-stage model of an effective career discussion 

• practical tips for ‘givers’ and ‘receivers’ of career support 


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• a checklist to assess how effective your behaviours are in creating the 

conditions for effective career conversations to take place 

• a tool to audit your organisation’s capability to support career 

discussions 

• an overview of the NICEC research project looking at what makes for 

effective career discussions. 

Defining the terms used in this tool 

Throughout this tool we will use the following terms: 

• An ‘effective’ conversation is one that brings positive value to 

the individual – so ‘effectiveness’ is in the eye of the ‘receiver’. 

However, we will also see that effective conversations benefit the 

organisation. 

• A ‘receiver’ is an individual employee getting career support 

through a conversation with someone else. 

• A ‘giver’ is used as shorthand for the person they talk to. 

How to use the 

tool 

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An introductory exercise – reflect on your 

own experience of career discussions 

A useful way to begin thinking about career discussions at work is to look 

back at your own personal experiences. With this aim in mind, why not try 

working through the following activity. 

Exercise 

As an individual ‘receiver’ of career support, you can do this exercise yourself 

or with one or two partners. 

If you have a policy interest in career development, this exercise can be done 

with individuals or groups. It will tell you a good deal about the quality of 

career conversations in your own organisation. 

Activity 

• Think about a memorable and effective career conversation about your own career. By 

‘effective’ we mean ‘a discussion (or series of discussions) with another person about 

aspects of your career which was of significant positive value to you’. 

• This may have occurred inside or outside of your present work setting. The helper need 

not have been a work colleague. 

• If you can’t identify a positive experience, then identify a memorably bad experience. 

Answer the following questions: 

• Who was the conversation with You don’t have to tell the names of people to others, 

but think about their relationship with you. 

• Where did the conversation occur Did it occur as part of a formal process How did it 

come about Was it one conversation or an ongoing dialogue 


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• What did you talk about Who said what and how did you both behave What were 

the most important parts of the conversation 

• What did you (or others) do as a consequence Was there tangible action 

• What was its overall and longer-term impact on you How did the conversation make 

you feel What do you think and feel about it now 


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If you are someone who gives career support, repeat the exercise above, but 

think about real conversations in which you have played the ‘giver’ role. 

Things to consider 

• What do you notice about the characteristics of effective or ineffective discussions you have 

experienced, especially if you have several vivid good or bad experiences to compare 


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The business case for effective career 

discussions 

This section focuses on: 

• why career discussions are important for employees 

• the key impacts of effective career discussions for individuals 

• the business payoff of more effective career discussions. 

1.1 The importance of career discussions for employees 

The CIPD (2003) Managing Employee Careers Survey showed that the majority 

of organisations expect employees to take responsibility for their own careers, 

but recognise that employees need support and training in order to do this. 

Information and advice is part of the support we need as employees to 

manage our own careers. This often includes three elements: 

1. information on opportunities – the kinds of jobs and careers the 

organisation can offer. This information needs to relate to ‘someone like 

me’. As employees, we can read job or skill descriptions, but often lack 

an overview of career paths (which are frequently implicit) and the kinds 

of job moves it is possible to make. We often need information about the 

practicalities of making a job move. 

2. information and feedback on our skills, performance and how the 

organisation views our potential. Such feedback increases self-awareness 

– central to effective career development. 

3. advice from others can help us explore our career options and plan action. 

Some people can do this for themselves, but most of us find it a lot easier 

to have someone else to talk to and test our ideas on. 

Much of this support is best given through discussions or conversations. 

As this tool shows, some discussions may take place in formal settings (such 

as appraisal) but far more occur in informal settings. If we focus on effective 

career conversations we can help employees get better-quality information 

and advice from a wider range of people. We can also help employees feel that 

they can help their colleagues by listening to their career concerns and helping 

them with appropriate information and advice. 


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1.2 The impacts of effective career discussions for individuals 

Effective career discussions have a number of positive and practical outcomes 

for individuals. Research has shown that the most important results of 

effective career discussions as reported by the individuals who have them are: 

• a clearer sense of career direction – not necessarily a detailed career 

path but an idea of where they are going in the future 

• increased self-insight – a more realistic view of abilities and potential 

• better information on, and broader understanding of, career options 

• increased confidence and motivation – an emotional impact, which 

often lasts a long time 

• job moves – a relatively common, but often not immediate, outcome. 

Several of these outcomes also have positive impacts on the organisation. 

After an effective career discussion, the employee is likely to need to do 

something concrete to follow up the discussion. 

For more detailed information on the research findings, go to the NICEC 

research. 

Real-life quotes about the personal impact of effective career discussions, 

taken from examples collected in the NICEC research. 

‘I felt good about myself and more in control … 

My confidence and motivation significantly improved – I 

can still think of that conversation now (four years later) 

and it still has that effect.’ 

Tool map 

‘I felt better because I could see progress being 

made. I felt the company was interested in me as 

a person, and looking to develop people.’ 

‘I came out feeling more positive. I knew I definitely 

wanted to do this and I knew what my reasons were. 

I was more focused.’ 


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1.3 The business payoff of more effective career discussions 

So, effective career discussions can help employees, but how do they help the 

business 

We can identify six main strands in the business case for positive career 

development, and therefore for effective career discussions: 

Grow the skills and 

experience the 

business needs 

Standing still is 

lethal 

Deployment of 

skills 

Positive career 

development 

Making the most of 

each person's stay 

Organisational 

performance 

Attracting and 

retaining 


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1 Organisations need effective career development to grow the skills and 

experience the business needs for now and the future. The majority of 

high-skill jobs require skills that are specific to the organisation or are hard 

to recruit. 

2 Career development assists the effective deployment of skills – that 

is, helping people move into jobs where their skills are best used. Lateral 

career moves are important here. A habit of flexibility and lateral 

movement helps at times of cutbacks and redeployment – staff are used to 

moving jobs and are confident about doing so. 

3 Career development seems to be linked to high organisational 

performance as one of the bundle of HRM practices that motivate people 

at work. Recent CIPD research, reported in Understanding the People 

and Performance Link: Unlocking the black box, (CIPD, 2003) found that 

providing career opportunities is one of the 11 key practices that influence 

performance. (further deatils of the research on the CIPD bookstore). 


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4 Attracting and retaining good-quality employees. Research on highflyers 

by the Career Innovation Group shows that ‘high-flyers will stay 

for today if offered challenge and empowerment; they will stay for 

tomorrow if offered the chance to grow.’ In this study, 94% of high-flyers 

were willing to manage their own career moves, many (61%) wanted 

career advice but few (27%) received it. The amount of career support 

experienced by employees was also linked to their intention to stay with 

their employer. 

5 Making the most of each person’s stay. Taking the lid off what people 

can achieve at work is not often used as part of the business case, but it 

should be. What could our organisation achieve if all our people were really 

using their full potential 

6 Standing still is lethal. Even if you don’t actually move jobs, your job is 

still moving under you as the organisation and its environment changes. If 

people are not always developing in response to changing business needs, 

the organisation can’t survive. Career development within the job is just as 

important as emphasising career development by moving jobs. 


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What makes for an effective career 

discussion 

This section focuses on: 

• where and when can career discussions take place 

• what range of people can you talk to about your career 

• who is it best to talk to about your career 

• what is talked about in a good career conversation 

• what models and ideas are there for thinking about career 

conversations 

2.1 Where and when can career discussions take place 

Good career conversations can take place in a wide range of settings. Here are 

some important points to consider: 

• Think about the importance of informal and semi-formal settings. 

Good conversations often take place informally, outside of any formal 

management or HR process. Many others take place in what might be 

called ‘semi-formal’ settings (eg mentoring discussions, regular progress 

meetings with line managers, follow-up meetings after an appraisal or 

a job interview). Although very good conversations can take place in 

formal HR processes such as appraisal, they are not all that frequent. 

• Good conversations are sometimes unplanned. Most meetings 

where good conversations take place are planned (eg an appointment 

is made) but they can also be spontaneous and unplanned. Valuable 

conversations with friends and work colleagues, for example, often 

happen spontaneously. 

• Conversations usually take time. Allowing from three-quarters of an 

hour to an hour is probably a good idea, but sometimes a short initial 

conversation is useful as a prelude to setting up a longer meeting. 

• Preparation makes better use of career discussions. If you are going 

to talk through your career issues with someone else, you want to make 

best use of their time, so collect relevant information in advance and 

think about the topics you wish to cover. Good ‘givers’ of career support 

also prepare carefully for conversations, usually by reflecting on what 

they know of the individual, or by asking them for some background 

information if they do not know them well. 

• One thing can lead to another. Sometimes a single conversation on 

its own can be pivotal, but often several conversations are needed to 

work things through. When a series of meetings takes place, it is often 

possible for both the ‘receiver’ and the ‘giver’ to do some ‘homework’ 

between meetings. 


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• Not all the time. You often need career advice when you are 

contemplating a job move (internally or externally) or when you come 

to the end of a development or training programme. It is best to talk to 

people well ahead of time (ie before the development programme ends) 

and try to be proactive in thinking about your career. At other times a 

lighter touch is needed, but maintaining contacts and links with people 

is one way of making sure that you find out about opportunities and 

get the information about things that might affect your career. 

• Make them part of working life. We all need to know how to have 

effective career discussions. The skills and attitudes for having effective 

career discussions need to be part of mainstream workplace culture and 

incorporated into training. 

For more detailed information on the research findings on the characteristics 

of career discussions, go to About the NICEC research. 

Real-life quotes about the kinds of discussion the NICEC research 

interviewees found most helpful: 

‘Discussions to do with getting jobs – task-type 

discussions – are best with the line. You also need 

contemplative discussions – about feedback and what’s 

right for you. HR are better placed to do this.’ 


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‘Ideally I would like a formal process twice a year 

with my boss and/or development adviser; plus 

other sources of feedback (eg from my team), plus 

impartial advice (eg from HR) to give the broader 

view. I also use friends outside work to give 

me ideas.’ 

‘I prefer self-initiated, informal discussions, with 

somebody that you know but who is sufficiently removed 

to be impartial.’ 

‘I think informal discussions with senior managers 

are the most helpful. It is best if these are managers 

I have worked with in the past as they can be 

realistic about my capabilities and I can be honest 

about what I really want to do and why.’ 


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2.2 What range of people can you talk to about your career 

There is a wide range of people you can talk to about your career. Some will 

know more about some things than others, so it can be good to talk to several 

different people. Possible people to talk to include: 

• Your boss is someone you will see regularly and probably have an 

ongoing relationship with. Some career conversations may take place 

as part of appraisal, but more often they are part of other meetings or 

will take place at a meeting specially arranged to discuss your career. 

• Other managers, your ex-boss, your boss’s boss, your project 

manager are also good people to talk to, either because they have 

seen you in action or because they can often give you a broader 

perspective on things than your immediate boss (eg on likely job 

opportunities, emerging business issues and organisational changes). 

• Mentors and coaches don’t just have a role in supporting you in 

your present job but also in developing you for the future. Sometimes 

people are invited to work with coaches as part of a follow-up to a 

formal process, such as a development centre. Both formal and informal 

mentors can give rich support. 

• Heads of function/profession are good for dealing with professional 

issues, such as the sort of work experience most valued for more senior 

roles, or how to obtain a professional qualification. They can also be 

important formal or informal mentors, challenging how you see yourself 

and your career. 

• Colleagues are good at seeing the world of work from your 

perspective. They’ll often be willing to share their experience of working 

in similar and/or different roles. 

• Your HR/training department are the people who should be able to 

tell you how things are done around here and will also have a broad 

overview of work and development opportunities. They may also be the 

gatekeepers to participation in events, such as career workshops, or to 

accessing other career materials. They can use their HR contacts to help 

you network across the organisation. 

• Other career or development specialists can help you take a really 

fresh view of the world of work, especially if they are outside the 

organisation. They are often people who have ‘no axe to grind’ and 

can be very skilled at helping you understand your own drivers and 

preferences. 

For more detailed information on the research findings on the characteristics 

of career discussions, go to About the NICEC research. 


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2.3 Who is it best to talk to 

While it is hard to be definitive about who might be best to talk to about 

different issues, the NICEC research suggested that ‘receivers’ talked about 

different topics with ‘givers’ depending on their role. 

• Who to talk to about skill development Your boss 

in appraisal, HR, senior managers, especially if they 

are role models, coaches, mentors, heads of function/ 

profession. 

• Who to talk to about possible job moves 

Other managers, or people you meet at career 

events. They are often good sources of information 

and may share with you their own experiences of 

making job moves. 

• Who to talk to about your strengths and 

weaknesses A good boss who knows you well, or 

people you have worked for or done projects with, or 

your close colleagues. 

• Who to talk to about the business or if you 

want to get a better understanding of the 

organisation you work for Senior managers, 

heads of function/profession, who can often give 

you a wide overview of the business and usually 

also understand the big picture or career options. 

• How to get a fresh view of yourself People 

outside the business who are likely to have an unbiased 

perspective on you and your work. Good mentors can 

also challenge some of your assumptions about yourself. 

A word about ‘the boss’. Some immediate line managers give the 

best career support of all, but have two common limitations. Firstly, 

your career move is probably a loss to their team. This makes your 

career tricky emotional territory for your boss and this can make 

really honest conversations difficult. Secondly, your boss may not 

know much more about the career options in other parts of the 

organisation than you do. Good bosses will help you network more 

widely to get a wider view. 


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Good conversations don’t always take place with people you know already. 

Many ‘receivers’ in the NICEC research had positive discussions with people 

they didn’t know at all or didn’t know well prior to the discussion. This didn’t 

always mean that people had just taken ‘pot-luck’ on who to talk to. In several 

instances they had spoken to friends and work colleagues first in order to check 

that the person they intended to speak to was trustworthy. 

Once you have found someone who is good to talk to, this often leads to an 

ongoing relationship. One interviewee described going 300 miles to have a 

one-hour discussion with a former boss when facing a tricky 

job choice. 

Real-life quotes the kinds of relationships valued by the NICEC research 

interviewees. 

‘Mutual respect is fundamental to more informal 

mentoring relationships – the relationship needs to come 

first and career support follows.’ 

‘I don’t want people exploring my innermost 

thoughts. I want a relationship to evolve – here I 

am to help you. Even with someone you like, the 

right relationship takes a while to evolve.’ 

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2.4 What is talked about in a good career conversation 

All the things you would expect, in no set order! As an individual employee 

you may need to talk about: 

• where you’re at, your feelings about work: helping both you and the 

‘giver’ to be clear what your career issues really are. Just talking about 

how you feel about your current job and career situation can clarify 

matters and discharge some negative emotions which can get in the 

way of positive thought and action. 

• skills and performance: feedback on how you are doing, what your 

strengths and weaknesses are, how people see you ‘in the round’. 

• values and drivers, work–life issues: helping to clarify what’s really 

important for you, and how to create space for life outside work. Is this 

what you really want to do 


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• potential and aspirations: views on how far you can go in this 

organisation and in what kinds of directions; reflections on what your 

own aspirations really are. 

• options in the business and outside: discussing job and career options 

in very broad terms and getting a wider view of what you might do in 

future. It helps to think about the wider labour market as well as career 

options inside the organisation. 

• processes and politics: how things are done ‘around here’, including 

both processes and tactics; how to raise your profile and be more visible 

to key people; how to crack the system for moving job if that’s what 

you need to do. 

• the pros and cons of choices – direction: identifying or exploring 

particular career options quite carefully; looking at the pros and cons, 

making a decision, or at least being clearer about where you want to go 

and the development or work experience required. 

• next steps, who to see: good conversations usually lead to actions. 

These may be contacts to follow up, perhaps to help you start 

networking for yourself, jobs to apply for, or training courses to attend. 

How an experienced ‘giver’ of career support thinks about his conversations: 

‘I have possible aspects of the conversation in my mind, 

but I’m happy to move between them in the order which 

seems most natural. I am an amateur jazz musician and 

it’s a bit like playing jazz really – improvising around a 

theme.’ 


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2.5 What models and ideas are there for thinking about 

career conversations 

One trick is to have a simple framework for thinking about what the 

conversation is doing. The NICEC research found that good ‘givers’ do 

this often so as to help the other person through what can be a complex 

conversation. When you are talking about your own career you may also find 

it helpful to have some underlying framework for the conversation. 

Examples of frameworks for thinking: 

1 Where are you now It is important to understand fully just 

where you are starting out from. Where do you want to be 

Being clear where you want to go or what you want to achieve 

is essential or how will you know when you have arrived How 

can you get there Identifying the steps necessary to move from 

where you are now to where you want to be. This is based on 

Egan’s three-stage problem management model that is widely 

used in counselling. (Egan, 2001). 

2 Identifying your career anchors. What Schein described as the 

patterns of self-perceived talents, motives and values that guide, 

constrain, stabilise and integrate a person’s career. They represent 

the personal values ‘you would not give up if you were forced to 

make a choice’ (Schein, 1990). 

3 What do you want more of/less of in your life; at work; in 

the future, etc It often helps to know not only what you want 

but also what you want to avoid. How much are you prepared to 

trade one off against the other 

4 Kitbags. Careers are like a journey. What do you want to take 

with you and what are you prepared to leave behind 

5 Force fields. Identifying the various forces that might affect 

your career or a career decision. It’s often useful to distinguish 

between ‘positive’ forces that will help your career or make a 

decision easier, and ‘negative’ forces that might count against 

you or make a decision more difficult (Hopson and Scally, 1999). 

6 Drawing timelines – work and life. A commonly used way of 

reviewing not only what has happened in the past but also of 

thinking about future life events. Put key events in your working 

life above a horizontal timeline, and those in your personal life 

below (Hopson and Scally, 1999). 

7 Five- and ten-year plans. Looking at what you would hope 

to achieve or where you would like to be in five or ten years’ 

time. Such plans should not be treated as absolute deadlines for 

achieving particular goals. Being sure you’re going in the right 

direction may be more important than speed of progress. 


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The NICEC model of effective career 

discussion 

This section includes: 

• a four-stage model of effective career discussions 

• tips for both ‘givers’ and ‘receivers’ of career support for each of the 

four stages of the model. 

3.1 The four-stage model of effective career discussions 

The NICEC research produced a model of an effective career discussion which 

includes four typical stages or aspects of the discussion: 

1 setting up the discussion - getting a discussion to happen and preparing 

for it by gathering information, reflection and planning the agenda. 

2 establishing trust – helping to set a positive atmosphere for the discussion 

3 sharing information – listening and questioning, exploring career options 

4 agreeing action – concluding the discussion and getting practical follow-up 

action. 

Figure 1 presents a model of the stages of an effective career discussion. 

This is followed by a table that provides a set of practical tips for ‘givers’ and 

‘receivers’ for each stage of the discussion. 

Tool map 

A reminder about terminology 

• A ‘receiver’ is an individual employee getting career support 

through a conversation with someone else. 

• A ‘giver’ is used as shorthand for the person they talk to. 


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Figure 1: Four-stage model of an effective career discussion 

Giver 

Am I committed to 

helping R 

How do I prepare 

Whom should I consult 

Am I showing that I 

understand R’s concerns 

Am I tailoring the 

discussion to R’s needs 

Am I showing how 

R’s expectation and 

aspirations fit with the 

business 

Should I draw on my 

own experience 

Setting up the discussion 

Individual responsibility for 

career 

Awareness of HR processes 

Preparation 

Establishing trust 

Agreeing a contract 

Listening and empathising 

Questioning and probing 

Sharing information 

Receiver 

Should I initiate the 

discussion 

What do I want from it 

Do I need to reflect on 

my skills and aspirations 

Am I being honest and 

open 

Do I understand how 

my expectations and 

aspirations fit with the 

business 

What constructive 

feedback can I offer 

How far should I 

challenge R 

What information does 

R need 

Information about self 

and situation 

Exploring pros and cons 

of options 

Questioning and probing 

Setting direction 

Am I asking the right 

questions 

Am I being open about 

my strengths and 

weaknesses 

What information 

do I want 

Agreeing action 

How will I deliver what I 

have promised 

Concluding the discussion 

Agreeing actions and any 

further contact 

Am I clear about what I 

will do now 

Do I feel clear about the 

agreed actions and who 

is doing what 


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3.2 Tips for ‘givers’ and ‘receivers’ of career support 

In this section, tips are given for both ‘givers’ and ‘receivers’ of career support 

in each of the four sections of the effective career discussion model. In the 

tables of ‘tips’ below, the left column describes the issue, the middle column 

shows the kinds of things the ‘giver’ needs to be thinking about (and doing) 

and the right-hand column shows what the ‘receiver’ of career support needs 

to pay attention to. It is helpful to look at both middle and right columns 

whichever your role. 

1 Setting up the discussion 

• Individual responsibility for career 

• Awareness of HR processes 

• Preparation. 

Issue Tips for ‘givers’ Tips for ‘receivers’ 

Driving the 

discussion 

Involving the 

line manager 

See the individual as in the driving seat 

of their career, and yourself as someone 

who can help them manage this better. 

Don’t be afraid to offer career support to 

employees who don’t report to you. 

Talk to those you manage about their 

future as well as their job performance. 

In helping other people, consider 

whether you need to involve their boss. 

Setting up the 

discussion 


Sharing 



Put yourself in the driving seat. Think 

about who can help you address career 

issues. Make sure you get the help you 

need by asking for it. 

Try to develop a relationship with your 

boss such that they will actively support 

your career. If this is impossible, try to 

keep your boss informed. 

The fit with 

appraisal 

Timing career 

discussions 

Setting up a 

discussion 

Explain where career development fits 

with appraisal. Suggest a follow-up 

meeting if career issues come up in 

appraisal but need more time. Try to put 

careers on the agenda in regular one-toone 

progress meetings. 

Don’t spring job moves on staff without 

warning. Find space for a proper 

discussion. 

Career discussions that occur naturally 

in day-to-day work can be helpful. If you 

are giving important feedback, take the 

time to explain properly. 

If you want to raise a career issue in 

appraisal, tell your appraiser beforehand. 

Ask for a follow-up to the appraisal 

meeting if there are career issues you 

could not discuss fully. Take advantage of 

other types of career support offered by 

your organisation. 

If you are planning a job move, start 

raising the issue well in advance. 

If you want to talk to someone, ask for 

an appointment and explain what you 

want to discuss. Ask for at least half an 

hour. 

Preparation 

Take time to prepare. If you don’t know 

the individual, see if they are happy to 

send you a CV. Tell them in advance if 

there are issues you want to raise. 

Prepare by thinking about your situation 

and skills, and their fit with the business. 

Think about what you want to discuss 

and what you want from the discussion. 


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2 Establishing trust 

• Agreeing a contract 

• Listening and empathising 

• Questioning and probing. 


Sharing the 

agenda 

Being open 

and honest 

Share your agenda with the individual. 

Consider agreeing a ‘contract’ for the 

discussion. 

Establish an open feel to the 

conversation. Put the other person at 

their ease. Show your interest, listen 

carefully, and check you understand 

what they are saying. Make it clear you 

understand that they may wish the 

discussion to be confidential. Be open 

about your own career if appropriate. 


discussion 


Sharing 



Share your agenda with the ‘giver’. 

Go into the discussion in an open 

frame of mind. Listen carefully to the 

information and advice offered and try 

not to be defensive. The more you can 

disclose your own concerns and feelings, 

the more you are likely to get out of the 

discussion. 

Balancing 

individual 

and business 

needs 

Don’t let short-term business priorities 

constrain or bias your advice. Show 

you are interested in the person first 

and foremost. Think about the business 

overall, not just your part of it. 

Show you realise how your career plans 

relate to the business. Try to link your 

skills development to the organisation’s 

needs. 


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3 Sharing information 

• Information about self and situation 

• Exploring pros and cons of options 

• Questioning and probing 

• Setting direction. 


Using a 

framework 

Sharing 

experiences 

Challenging 

Identifying 

career 

opportunities 

It may help to have a framework in mind 

(eg where are you now Where do you 

want to be How will you get there). 

Use your own and others’ careers to 

illustrate career paths. But don’t expect 

the individual to want a career like yours. 

Challenge the individual’s ideas where 

appropriate in a constructive way. 

Try to meet the individual’s needs for 

information, including opportunities 

outside the business. Where appropriate, 

suggest other people to talk to. 


discussion 


Sharing 



Listen for the frameworks the ‘giver’ 

uses. They may be helpful in the future 

as well as in this discussion. 

The ‘giver’s’ career experiences may 

provide useful insights, but you don’t 

have to behave just like them. 

Be ready to have your ideas challenged. 

Ask why the ‘giver’ disagrees with you. 

Try to broaden your understanding of the 

kinds of work open to you and how the 

changing business is affecting these. 

Pros and cons 

Work–life 

issues 

Help the individual identify a wide 

enough range of career options. Which 

do they feel would suit them best Are 

their preferred options realistic 

Help the individual discuss what they 

really want out of work. If you sense 

that they need to explore more personal 

concerns, give them the opportunity to 

do so, but respect their right to keep 

these matters private. 

If you have some career options in mind, 

seek the ‘giver’s’ views of their relative 

pros and cons. 

Think about what you want in your work 

and how it fits into your life. Be prepared 

to discuss broader personal issues if 

you wish. But if the discussion gets too 

personal for your comfort, say so. 


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4 Agreeing action 

• Concluding the discussion 

• Agreeing actions and any further contact. 


Next steps 

Confidentiality 

Clear actions 

Leave enough time to bring the 

discussion to a close and agree what 

happens next. Ensure the individual 

knows they can come back to you. 

Agree which parts of the discussion are 

confidential, what will be shared with 

other named individuals, and any links 

with formal HR processes. 

Does the individual need you to take 

any actions (eg help them make initial 

contact with others) If you agree to do 

something, do it – and quickly. 


discussion 


Sharing 



Make sure you come away with a clear 

view of what to do next. Ask if you can 

come back if you need to. 

Agree what information should remain 

confidential. If information needs to be 

shared with others, clarify who will do 

this, how and when. 

Try and leave with concrete things to 

do. Check out with your ‘giver’ which 

actions you are taking responsibility for, 

and what they are agreeing to do on 

your behalf. Thank the giver. Consider 

keeping them informed of your progress. 


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Skills, behaviours and personal 


This section shows you: 

• aspects of ourselves that are most important to facilitating effective 


• a practical tool to assess how effective your skills and behaviours are 

during career discussions. 

4.1 Which aspects of ourselves are most important to facilitating 

effective career discussions 

• Our motivation and attitudes may be just as important as our skills. 

• As ‘givers’ of career support we must really focus on the needs of the 

individuals we are helping and want to help them to succeed. The 

empathy and the trustworthiness of ‘givers’ are fundamental to this 

whole exchange. 

• Just as the ‘giver’ needs to focus on the person they are helping, if you 

are a ‘receiver’ of support, you need to relate your own career to the 

needs of the business. Avoid a ‘me, me, me’ attitude. We all like to help 

people who are keen to help us too. 

• General facilitation and counselling skills are very useful, and a good 

conversation needs to be well managed by both parties. 

• Both people must be able to challenge and probe the other in 

constructive ways. This is especially the case when giving and receiving 

feedback – often the most difficult aspect to handle. If ‘receivers’ 

are not open to challenge and feedback, they are almost always very 

difficult to help. 

• Sharing information on career opportunities is important too. Some 

‘givers’ have a lot of such knowledge to share. Sometimes the best 

thing to do is to put the ‘receiver’ in touch with someone else who has 

the information they need. 


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4.2 a your skills and behaviours are during career discussions 

Being aware of your own personal style is particularly important if you want to 

develop your capability as a ‘giver’ of career support. It is also important that 

‘receivers’ are aware that their behaviour can have a big impact on the nature 

of any career discussion. 

You may wish to reflect on your own experiences of career conversations 

before you complete this exercise. 

Activity 

• Look at the checklists on the next page. 

• They show some of the behaviours the NICEC research associated with 

effective and ineffective ‘givers’ and ‘receivers’ of career support. 

• You can look at this tool from the point of view of a ‘giver’ of career 

support or as a ‘receiver’ – remember most of us act as both. 

• Put: √ a tick beside effective behaviours you use well 

! an exclamation mark beside ones you want to prioritise to 

improve, including ineffective behaviours you know you indulge 

in! 

• You can assess yourself – or perhaps better – ask a colleague to assess 

you too. 

Tool map 


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Behaviour checklist 

Effective behaviours for ‘givers’ √/! Effective behaviours for ‘receivers’ √/! 

• Showing real interest in the person 

and insight 

• Being positive and enthusiastic 

• Offering constructive challenge and 

advice 

• Using facilitative interpersonal skills 

• Giving information 

• Giving honest feedback on skills and 

potential 

• Share networks 

• Managing the session 

• Being proactive in seeking out 

people to talk to 

• Preparing by thinking about yourself 

and options 

• Being willing to engage in selfdisclosure 

• Being open-minded and able to look 

at yourself 

• Starting to talk well before a job 

move and being flexible on timing 

and tactics of moves 

• Thinking about your career as a 

business proposition 

• Taking ownership and following up 

Ineffective behaviours for ‘givers’ √/! Ineffective behaviours for ‘receivers’ √/! 

• Appearing uninterested in the person 

asking for advice or failing to show 

empathy with their situation 

• Misunderstanding the issue by 

failing to listen or to check with the 

individual 

• Jumping in with a career suggestion 

or even a job offer without preparing 

the ground first 

• ‘Toeing the organisation/party line’ 

rather than being frank and open 

• Promising to do something during a 

discussion and then failing to follow 

it up 

• Waiting for help to come to you 

rather than going out to find it 

• Failing to prepare the advice ‘giver’ 

for the discussion 

• Rejecting advice or feedback out of 

hand, failing to listen attentively, or 

getting aggressive or defensive 

• Appearing interested only in yourself 

and not in the organisation or other 

people 

• Failing to tell the ‘giver’ your real 

career issues. 

Having completed the checklist, you can use it as an aide-memoire. The most 

important thing is to be aware of any weak spots. You are likely to modify your 

behaviour simply as a result of this awareness. If you are stuck on how to improve, 

look at the behavioural descriptions in the ‘practical tips’ section of this tool and talk 

to a colleague. Review your answers to this exercise after your next career discussion. 


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Developing capability in the business 

The NICEC research indicates some strong implications for how organisations 

support career development and how they get the message across about the 

need for effective career discussions – especially informal ones – as part of 

this. The key implications are summarised here in the form of a checklist. We 

see these activities as ways of increasing the capability of the organisation to 

deliver effective career discussion. 

HR professionals and senior managers with responsibility for career 

development need to have in mind several different ways in which support for 

career development can be strengthened. Effective career development can 

be supported by policies and formal HR processes or interventions, but it also 

needs the right kind of organisational climate, clarity about who does what, 

and appropriate training for these roles. 

5.1 Tool – the career capability checklists 

You can use this tool as an HR manager or business leader. You can use it 

with focus groups of staff as a research or audit tool. The tool is designed to 

make you think about different aspects of the organisation’s career activities, 

including: 

a strategy and climate 

b processes 

c people to talk to 

d training in career support. 

Tool map 

Strategy 

and 

climate 

Processess 

People to 

talk to 

Training in 

career 

support 

The tool comprises four checklists – one for each of these different aspects of 

the organisation’s career activities. Rate your organisation, or your part of the 

organisation, on each checklist question using the following scale: 

√= pretty good = some attention needed ! = need to really tackle this 


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Checklist A 

Strategy and climate 

Question 

1 Does the organisation have an appropriate and positive career strategy of encouraging 

employees to develop their careers 

2 Has the business case for career development been explained to all staff and all their 

managers 

3 Do the most senior leaders in the organisation role-model this strategy in the climate 

they set for career development For example, do they spend some of their own time 

helping individuals with their careers 

4 Do employee attitude surveys contain specific, practical items on career development 

For example, ’Have you had a useful discussion about your career over the past 

12 months’ 


Score 

√//! 


tool 

Tool map 

Checklist B 

Process 

Question 

5 Is the organisation clear and realistic about the discussion of career issues in 

appraisals or development reviews Do personal development plans explicitly address 

development for the future as well as current jobs 

Score 

√//! 

6 Do staff have more frequent and less formal opportunities to discuss their careers with 

their boss eg in regular monthly or quarterly meetings 

7 Have you built in opportunities for career discussion in other relevant HR processes, for 

example, at training events, after development or assessment centres, after an internal 

job application 

8 Where you have special development schemes for selected populations (for example, 

graduate or high-potential schemes), is there someone for the individual to discuss 

their career with 



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Checklist C 

People to talk to 

Question 

9 Is the role of the line manager in career development a realistic one, and is it well 

communicated 

10 Do employees have more senior managers they can go to for career advice, such as 

‘the boss’s boss’, or heads of function/ profession 

11 Is there someone ‘off line’ an individual can talk to about their career This can be 

someone in HR, a mentor, an external or internal career coach, or in a career workshop. 

12 Can staff approach others at work to talk about career issues without their boss 

getting cross 

13 Do employees know they can come and talk to someone in HR or training about 

their career 


Score 

√//! 


tool 

Tool map 

Checklist D 

Training in career support 

Question 

14 Do all managers receive training in how to support the career development of 

others, including how to facilitate an effective career discussion Note that training 

in how to conduct performance appraisals does not usually equip managers to 

discuss career issues. 

Score 

√//! 

15 Do all employees have access to training in how to manage their own careers 

16 Do those who take a special role in career development (eg mentors, training and 

HR professionals, internal career coaches) have more advanced training in how to 

conduct an effective career discussion 



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5.2 Next steps 

Use your organisation’s ratings on the checklists above to identify key action 

areas, not just at a detailed level but within the broader ‘blocks’. 

• Is the work you need to do primarily strategic 

• Is it concerned with strengthening some of the concrete processes 

employees can use 

• Is your organisation too vague about who is there to help with career 

development Is it making unrealistic demands on the immediate line 

manager 

• Are individuals and their supporters happy with the framework but 

lacking in confidence because they haven’t had the opportunity to 

practise the skills 

You might find it useful to complete an action plan for each action area 

identified. This should involve: 

• prioritising which of the weak areas to address and when 

• agreeing actions, targets and timescales 

• deciding what might be acceptable evidence of success 

• collecting baseline data so that ‘before’ and ‘after’ action can be 

compared. 

You can use the action plan template on the next page. 

Tool map 


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Action plan 

Issue to be addressed: 

What are you trying to achieve Target: 

How are you going to get there Route: 


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When are you aiming to get there Timescale: 

How will you demonstrate that you have achieved the target Evidence: 


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About the NICEC research 

Key findings of the NICEC research: Straight Talking: Effective career 

discussions at work 

This section includes: 

• Key research findings: Who were the discussions with 

• Key research findings: Where and when did the discussions take place 

• Key research findings: The impact of career discussions on individuals 

• Key research findings: What makes a career discussion effective 

• Information about the research 

• Research publications and how to get them 

6.1 Key findings: Who were the discussions with 

Figure 1: Types of discussion 

HR 11% 

Friends/work 

colleagues 

8% 

Boss in appraisal 6% 

Boss not in appraisal 

15% 


tool 

Tool map 

Specialist advisers 

15% 

Other manager 

not on-going 

15% 

Mentor 14% 

Event 8% 

Other manager 

on-going 

15% 

A breakdown of the 162 positive conversations reported by ‘receivers’ of 

career support revealed very diverse sources of support (Figure 1): 

• Over half the conversations (55%) took place with managers in the 

organisation, including the boss. Discussions with managers other than 

the direct boss were often ‘ongoing’ (ie they involved some degree of 

informal mentoring), although most were not. 

• Only a fifth were with the individual’s line manager, and the majority of 

these were outside formal appraisal. 

• Individuals also had good conversations at career or training events 

(8%); with formal mentors or coaches (14%); and with specialists, such 

as external advisers or psychologists (12%). 

• Discussions with HR, including both generalists and HR development 

specialists, represented 11% of all positive discussions. 

Future 

direction 

Self-insight Career discussions at work Practical tips for HR, managers and employees ©CIPD 2005 

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6.2 Key findings: Where and when did the discussions occur 

Figure 2: Settings for positive discussions 

Conversations also took place in a wide range of settings (Figure 2): 

Regular meeting 

4% 

mentorong/coaching 

14% 

Follow-up 

4% 

Event 8% 

External 

3% 

Appraisal 6% 

Informal meeting 

29% 

Informal unplanned 

21% 

• Half the discussions were not part of any formal HR process. Only 7% 

Future took place as part of a performance appraisal or development review, and 

direction 

a further 4% in regular ‘one-to-one’ review meetings with the boss. And 

Self-insight 14% took place as a follow-up to another event (eg failing a selection 

interview, or after a development centre). 


Feel-good • The vast majority (80%) of discussions took place by appointment, 

as did the majority (59%) of discussions that were not part of any 

Job-move 

formal HR process. Three-quarters of discussions with friends and work 

On-going colleagues were unplanned, as were about half of the discussions with 

dialogue 

other managers with whom ‘receivers’ had an ongoing relationship. 

Political 

• About three-quarters of the discussions for which length was recorded 

Development 

lasted over 45 minutes. 

Career skills 

• Of the 60% of discussions clearly initiated by the ‘receiver’ or the 

Contacts 

‘giver’, the ‘receiver’ initiated twice as many as the ‘giver’. 

Retention 

• Most discussions (83%), apart from those that took place in a group 

Secondment setting, took place with someone who was older than the ‘receiver’; 

64% took place with someone of the same gender as the ‘receiver’. 

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 

The other key feature % of of positive respondents discussions reporting that the impact emerged from the study 

was the importance of the relationship between the ‘giver’ and the ‘receiver’. 

Although under half the positive conversations were part of an ‘ongoing’ 

career support relationship, these relationships could be very important; some 

lasted for years. 

Of the remaining positive discussions, many took place with people the 


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‘receivers’ did not know well. However, some had carefully selected the 

individual with whom they intended to have a discussion. 

6.3 Key findings: The impact of career discussions on individuals 

About three-quarters of positive career discussions led to practical action of some 

kind, ranging from follow-up meetings to a job move or development activity. 

Effective career discussions had a wide range of impacts on the individual, which 

included practical actions but also affected how they thought or felt (Figure 3). 

Figure 3: Impacts of positive discussions 

• Four main types of impact occurred in over half the positive discussions: 

a clearer future career direction; self-insight; information about career 

Future 

direction 

Self-insight 


Feel-good 

Job-move 

On-going 

dialogue 

Political 

Development 

Career skills 

Contacts 

Retention 

Secondment 

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 

% of respondents reporting the impact 

opportunities; and generally ‘feeling good’ (eg feeling reassured, feeling 

valued). Other impacts included: job moves, on-going dialogue with 

the organisation, greater political awareness about internal processes, 

development opportunities, and improved career skills. 

• Nearly all positive discussions had no negative impacts; but over half 

the negative discussions had negative impacts and only a quarter 

had positive ones. The main impact from negative discussions was 

emotional: feeling bad about oneself, work or one’s job. 

• Conversations with different people and in different settings had 

different, but overlapping, impacts. An individual was likely to benefit 

from a variety of career discussions: some giving information, and 

others of a more exploratory or reflective nature. 


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6.4 Key findings: What makes a career discussion effective 

• In general, the most important requirements in ‘givers’ of career support 

were: the ‘giver’s’ personal qualities; challenging the ‘receiver’ and 

offering advice where appropriate; using interpersonal skills to facilitate 

the discussion; and providing information about opportunities. 

• The key personal qualities of effective ‘givers’ were: interest in the 

individual and commitment to helping; honesty; impartiality; and being 

seen as trustworthy. These qualities and attitudes were just as important 

as specific helping skills, if not more so. 

• ‘Receivers’ valued ‘givers’ being frank and honest, particularly in giving 

constructive feedback about skills and potential. Communicating 

information and giving direct advice were also valued. Non-directive 

counselling-type behaviours were rarely sufficient. 

• Individual ‘receivers’ also needed skills and a positive attitude in 

order to obtain opportunities for career discussion and to use these 

opportunities productively. 

• Unsuccessful discussions came about because the ‘giver’ lacked interest 

and commitment to the individual; did not attempt to understand 

their concerns; ‘over-managed’ the conversation; or avoided frank and 

honest dialogue. 


tool 

Tool map 

6.5 Information about the research 

The project set out to examine good experiences of career discussion at work 

as a means of discerning how more employees might receive effective career 

support. Five major employing organisations helped the researchers locate 

employees (mainly managers and professionals) who had experienced an 

‘effective career discussion.’ 

In confidential interviews, these ‘receivers’ of career support gave accounts of 

one or more positive and negative experiences of career discussion. Interviews 

were also held with some effective ‘givers’ of career support. The study 

gathered information from 118 ‘receivers’ and 33 ‘givers’, producing details 

of 250 specific conversations. ‘Givers’ and ‘receivers’ were also asked for their 

general views on the subject of career discussions at work. 

The research was conducted by Wendy Hirsh, Charles Jackson and Jennifer 

M. Kidd. Wendy Hirsh and Charles Jackson are NICEC Fellows and Jennifer 

M. Kidd is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Organisational Psychology, 

Birkbeck, University of London. It was published by the NICEE (The National 

Institute for Careers Education and Counselling) and CRAC (Careers Research 

and Advisory Centre). The research was funded by and conducted with: 

BP plc, the Cabinet Office, the Home Office, the Department of Health, 

Kingfisher plc, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Rolls-Royce plc and Royal Mail. 


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Introduction 


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on your own 

experiences 

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discussion 


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research 

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Sources of information 

From the CIPD website 

Career management (Guide) CIPD guides 

The future of careers (Executive Briefing) CIPD bookstore 

Learning alliances: tapping into talent (Book) CIPD bookstore 

Managing employee careers (Survey Report) CIPD survey 

Reflections: trends and issues in career management CIPD website 

Understanding the people and performance link: unlocking the black 

box (Research Report) CIPD bookstore 

Further references and reading 

HIRSH, W., JACKSON, C., and KIDD, J. (2001). A word with the wise. 

People Management. 14, pp42–46. People Management article 

Materials for individuals on personal career planning 

BOLLES, R. What color is your parachute Berkeley, California: 

Ten Speed Press. Updated annually. 

HAWKINS, P. (1999) The art of building windmills: career tactics for the 

21st century. Liverpool: Graduates into Employment Unit, University of 

Liverpool. 

HIRSH, W. and JACKSON, C. (2002) Planning your career in a week. 3rd 

edition. London: Hodder and Stoughton for the Chartered Management 

Institute. 

HOPSON, B. and SCALLY, M. (1999) Build your own rainbow. Leeds: 

Management Books 2000 Limited. 

SCHEIN, E. H. (1990) Career anchors: discovering your real values. 

London: Pfeiffer and Co. 

SHEEHY, G. (1982) Passages: predictable crises of adult life. 

New York: Bantam Books. 

WILLIS, L. and DAISLEY, J. (1995) Springboard women’s development 

workbook. Stroud: Hawthorne Press (first published 1990). 

This tool was prepared by Wendy Hirsh, Charles Jackson and 

Jessica Jarvis (CIPD). 


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on your own 

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discussion 


and personal 


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business 


research 

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tool 

Tool map 

Wider reading on career development in organisations 

ARNOLD, J. (1997) Managing careers into the 21st century, London: 

Paul Chapman. 

BARUCH, Y. (2004) Managing careers: Theory and Practice. Harlow: 

Pearson Education. 

EGAN, G. (2001) The skilled helper: a problem-management and 

opportunity-development approach to helping. 7th edition. London: 

Wadsworth. 

HALL, D. T. (1976) Careers in organizations. Glenview: Scott, Foresman 

and Company. 

HERRIOT, P. and PEMBERTON, C. (1995) New deals. Chichester: John Wiley. 

HIRSH, W. and JACKSON, C. (1996) Strategies for career development: 

promise, practice and pretence. IES Report 305. London: Institute for 

Employment Studies. 

HONEY, P. and MUMFORD, A. (1982) The manual of learning styles. 

Maidenhead: Peter Honey Publishers. 

IDS. (1999) Career management. IDS Studies, Personnel policy and 

practice, Number 678, Incomes Data Services. 

HIRSH, W. and JACKSON, C. (2004) Managing Careers in Large 

Organisations. London: Work Foundation. 

KIDD, J. M., JACKSON, C., and HIRSH, W. (2003) The outcomes of effective 

career discussions at work. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 62, 119–33. 

SCHEIN, E. H. (1978) Career dynamics: matching individual and 

organisational needs. London: Addison-Wesley. 

WATERMAN, R., WATERMAN, J, and COLLARD, B. (1994) Towards a 

career resilient workforce. Harvard Business Review. July–August 1994. 

WINTER J, and JACKSON, C. (1999) Riding the wave: the new global 

career culture. Oxford: The Career Innovation Group. 

Relevant website links 

Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) www.crac.org.uk 

National Institute for Careers Education and Counselling (NICEC) 

www.crac.org.uk/nicec 

The Career Innovation Group www.careerinnovation.com 

The CIPD’s special interest Counselling and Career Management Forum 

The library holds a range of books and resources offering more detailed 

guidance. If you would like further information, please consult the 

CIPD Library and Information Services. 


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tool 

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How to use this tool 

Tool map 

i 

Tool map 

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Use this facility to print the tool out (including any 

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Hyperlinks Red links will link you to the CIPD website or an 

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tool 



on your own 

experiences 

The business 








discussion 


and personal 


Developing 


business 


research 

Sources of 


Tool map 

Cover 

Benefits of this tool 

Introduction 

Description of 

this tool 

Introductory excercise: Reflect on 

your own experiences 


tool 

Tool map 

The business 

case for 

effective career 

discussions 

What 

makes for an 


discussion 

The NICEC 

model of 


discussions 

Skills, 

behaviours 

and personal 


Developing 

capability in 

the business 


research 

Sources of information 

How to use the tool 


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