Factors Affecting Career Advancement

Abstract

Career advancement prospects rank high in the order of importance to every enthusiastic person when they enter a profession. This is so because the new entrant may be looking for upward mobility in his/her chosen profession or career. Opportunities for career advancement must be sought for and be known, or explained to, such new staff. To some personnel, the future prospects available for job mobility must be seriously examined at the beginning. Career advancement is affected by the following factors: Job performance;Contextual performance; Gender; Characteristics of human capital; Mentors, networking and commitment to development; Commitment to career development and career orientations; Satisfaction with the psychological contract; Selection criteria and methods;Organizational technology; Human resource planning; Organizational restructuring.Career plateau which involves employees stagnating temporarily or permanently in their careers is a serious career management problem that many employees are facing. This not only affects individual employees in terms of reduced morale, but organizations as well due to decline in productivity. Does the severity of this problem depend on gender or age of the employees? Future researchers can consider establishing if there is a relationship between biographical variables and severity of career plateau problem