Disadvantages of Career Development Programs
Career-development programs exist in high schools, colleges and businesses.
The goal of career-development programs is to help job seekers identify their career objectives.
A development program also spells out the actions or activities they will do to meet your objectives.
In the workplace, a career-development program may involve mentoring, shadowing and special assignments.
A special assignment is short-term and involves taking on advanced or additional responsibilities.
Uncertainty
Despite the best-laid-out plans, no one is able to guarantee a successful outcome. Greehause (1999) states uncertainty as a disadvantage of any career-development plan.
One may choose to get a degree in accounting, but finds out after graduation that the job doesn’t satisfy him. The job market may change drastically before one becomes graduate.
A person may not be able to find a position in his chosen field. Some people find themselves in careers that are unrelated to their degree or plan due to a poor labor market.
Multiple solutions
Putting together a career-development plan and sticking to it may limit one’s choices. Many career goals have more than one solution.
For example, some employers hire only computer-support specialists who have a bachelor’s degree. Many may value professional certification, such as A+, over a degree.
The formal-education route gives you the conceptual knowledge from day one and opens up doors to advanced positions that require a degree.
Employee beneficial activities
Career-development programs that employees and supervisors put together may fail to give employees beneficial learning activities.
In some cases the organization does not have the proper resources to provide the best learning opportunities.
Budget, time and personnel constraints may make it difficult to give each employee the set of learning activities they need.
Flexibility
New graduates, particularly those with MBAs, may accept positions that are part of career-development programs.
Many of these programs groom candidates for executive-level management positions.
One of the disadvantages of management- development programs is a lack of flexibility. A company typically predetermines what job assignments and rotations management trainees go through.
A person may find that you would rather spend more time learning advertising than research and development.
The company might not give him or her a choice in the skills you develop.
