Abstract:
A comprehensive and visual personal career management system, designed first and foremost for the individual, and comprised of three distinct sets of functionality that answer three ongoing and critical career management questions: Where am I now? (Career Assessment), Where do I really want to be? (Career Exploration), and How do I get there? (Personal Marketing &amp; Development). A differentiating approach of applying data visualization techniques to career data by enabling a person to capture, assess, and communicate their comprehensive career experiences in a compelling visual way.

Description:
[0001]    The present application is related to provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/788,026, filed Mar. 30, 2006. This utility application is also related to patent application Ser. No. 10/379,188 filed on Mar. 6, 2003 and published by the Patent Office on Sep. 18, 2003, Publication No. US-2003-0177027-A1. It is also related to patent application Ser. No. 10/998,848 filed on Nov. 29, 2004 and published by the Patent Office on Jun. 1, 2006, Publication No. US-2006-0116894-A1. All of these applications are incorporated herein by this reference and the benefit of the filing date of the provisional applications Ser. No. 60/788,026, filed Mar. 30, 2006, is claimed herein as well. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    Personal career management is designed first and foremost for the individual. It is comprised of three distinct sets of functionality that answer three ongoing and critical career management questions: Where am I now? (Career Assessment), Where do I really want to be? (Career Exploration), and How do I get there? (Personal Marketing &amp; Development). 
         [0004]    Where an I now? This question is all about using career assessment methods for developing deep self-knowledge or what the present invention refers to as “discovering your Natural Center”. An individual can discover their Natural Center by answering four questions:
       What am I really good at? (Natural Talents)   What do I really love to do? (Core Passion)   What is really important to me? (Core Values)   What do I get a deep sense of satisfaction from? (Core Purpose).       
 
         [0009]    Where do I really want to be? This question is not easily answered unless you have answered the previous question that led to deep self-knowledge. Answering this question involves “exploring” and considering a wide range of options one might not have thought of before. 
         [0010]    How do I get there? Answering this question also requires one to have answered the prior two questions which help identify the starting point (where am I now) and the destination (where do I really want to be). A key element in answering this question is the ability to develop a specific plan for moving forward which could include activities such as research on specific job opportunities, exploratory interviews, networking, further education or stepping stone career experiences. Another key part is personal marketing—being able to market yourself effectively for a highly desirable job. 
         [0011]    The present invention, in the area of visual personal career management, includes a visual structured framework and set of visual online capabilities that enables an individual to answer the three critical person career management questions: Where am I now?, Where do I really want to be?, and How do I get there? It translates and correlates these questions to three specific sets of online functionality—Career Assessment, Career Exploration, and Personal Marketing &amp; Development, respectively. 
         [0012]    The present invention provides new capabilities that build on and utilize the capabilities provided through patent application Ser. No. 10/379,188 and Ser. No. 10/998,848. The new career assessment capabilities include a visual depiction and menu structure for completing a Visual Portfolio and Visual Resume. In addition, it provides new assessment functions for identifying transferable competencies, a career mobility profile, and the ability to identify Natural Roles, which is a specific and practical method for identifying a person&#39;s Natural Center. The new career exploration capabilities include a job board search feature, that enable searching by structured fields that are part of the taxonomy structure of the NavAgility Career View (i.e., the two dimensional visual depiction of a person&#39;s career experiences). The new personal marketing capabilities include the ability to customize an email signature block that includes a link to a person&#39;s Career View and/or Visual Resume (i.e., the three dimensional visual depiction of a person&#39;s comprehensive career experiences.) It also includes a capability for creating a two-minute career story that augments the person&#39;s Career View and Visual Resume. It also includes the ability to select specific Views from the graphical representation of the Visual Portfolio, and a mechanism for sharing these Views by including them as links in an email. It also includes the ability to participate in Online Talent Showcases that are visual online mechanisms for presenting pre-selected groups of individuals, through their Career Views, to pre-selected sets of recruiters and hiring managers. 
         [0013]    A significant and differentiating component of the present invention comes from the visual representation of career experiences. The benefits of data visualization have been known for centuries and practiced just as long. In his seminal book, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Edward R. Tufte points out, “Often the most effective way to describe, explore, and summarize a set of numbers—even a very large set—is to look at pictures of those numbers. Furthermore, of all the methods for analyzing and communicating statistical information, well designed data graphics are usually the simplest, and at the same time the most powerful.” (See Tufte, Edward R. “The Visual Display of Quantitative Information”, Chesire, Conn.: Graphics Press LLC, 2001). What executive today would be satisfied with analyzing business results by looking only at mountains of data? The patterns and trends would be totally lost in the data. The present invention extends the differentiating approach of applying data visualization techniques to career data by enabling a person to capture, assess, and communicate their comprehensive career experiences in a compelling visual way. 
         [0014]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0015]    The state of prior art for personal career management is primarily focused on capturing skills. These are often referred to as Skills Management systems. Their design point is usually targeted at helping a Human Resources organization capture employee data that can be used for control purposes such as resource management and resource deployment. This is diametrically opposed to the present invention which is a Personal Career Management system designed first and foremost for the individual. In addition, the prior art of skills and competency management systems are text based versus the visual/graphical approaches of the present invention. A common skills management approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,275,812 by Haq et al., entitled “Intelligent 
         [0016]    Pertaining to the present invention approach of helping individuals develop deep self-knowledge through a method for discovering their Natural Center and Natural Roles, there is no known prior art. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0017]    An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism that provides a comprehensive and visual personal career management system for individuals comprised of career assessment, career exploration and personal marketing and development capabilities. 
         [0018]    The present invention is comprised of three visual functional frameworks and navigation schemes and five major functions:
       Visual Portfolio functional framework and navigation—a graphical depiction of the various Views for the visual capture and communication of comprehensive, multi-dimensional career experiences.   Natural Center functional framework and navigation—for the surfacing of deep self-knowledge through the present embodiment of the present invention which includes three functions:
           Transferable Competencies—for the capture and prioritization of a portfolio of transferable competencies that include transferable roles, skills, knowledge, and strengths.   Career Mobility Profile—for the visual representation of diversity of career experiences across many dimensions that include companies, jobs, career areas, disciplines, projects, roles, skills, and knowledge.   Natural Roles—for the surfacing and prioritization of traditional roles and the translation of these traditional role labels into descriptions and highly targeted Natural Role labels which are roles at the intersection of the individual&#39;s Natural Talents (what they are really good at), Core Passion (what they really like to do), Core Value (what is really important to them), and their Core Purpose (what they derive a deep sense of satisfaction from).   
           Personal Marketing functional framework and navigation—for the communication of comprehensive, multi-dimensional career experiences through the present embodiment of the present invention which includes four major functions:
           Email Signature Block—for the inclusion of a link to an individual&#39;s Career and/or their Visual Resume in their email signature block, thus turning every email sent into a personal marketing message.   Career Story—for the creation of a two minute audio clip attached to the individual&#39;s Career View and Visual Resume.   Send Portfolio—for the visual packaging and communication of a custom set of Views that can be attached to an email via simple links.   Online Talent Showcase—for presenting pre-selected groups of individuals via his or her Career View, to pre-selected groups of hiring managers and recruiters.   
               
 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0029]    For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0030]      FIG. 1  is the present embodiment of the Visual Portfolio functional framework and navigation—a graphical depiction of the various Views for the visual capture and communication of comprehensive, multi-dimensional career experiences. It is used by individuals to select which View (or dimension) of their career experiences they want to capture. 
           [0031]      FIG. 2A  represents the present embodiment of the Natural Center functional framework and navigation. 
           [0032]      FIG. 2B  represents and example of the Transferable Competencies function which helps an individual capture and prioritization of a portfolio of transferable competencies that include transferable roles, skills, knowledge, and strengths. 
           [0033]      FIG. 2C  represents an example of a Career Mobility Profile which helps an individual quickly and automatically assess through a visual representation, the diversity of career experiences across many dimensions that include companies, jobs, career areas, disciplines, projects, roles, skills, etc. 
           [0034]      FIG. 2D  represents an example of one step in the Natural Roles function which is used to translate traditional role labels into unique descriptions and labels called Natural Roles which are representative of a person working at his or her Natural Center. 
           [0035]      FIG. 3A  is the present embodiment of the Personal Marketing functional framework and navigation which is used to navigate or select various personal marketing functions that include but are not limited to those represented by  FIGS. 3B-3D .  FIG. 3B  is the present embodiment of the Email Signature Block function which enables an individual to include a link to his or her Career and/or Visual Resume in his or her email signature block, thus turning every email sent into a personal marketing message.  FIG. 3C  is the present embodiment of the Career Story function used to creation a two minute audio clip which is then attached to the individual&#39;s Career View and Visual Resume.  FIG. 3D  is the present embodiment of the Send Portfolio function used to visually package (i.e., merchandise) and communicate of a custom set of Views that can be attached to an email via simple links.  FIG. 3E  is the present embodiment of the Online Talent Showcase function used to visually present pre-selected groups of individuals via his or her Career View, to pre-selected groups of hiring managers and recruiters. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION 
       [0036]      FIG. 1  is the present embodiment of the Visual Portfolio functional framework and navigation—a graphical depiction of the various Views for the visual capture and communication of comprehensive, multi-dimensional career experiences. It is used by individuals to select which View (or dimension) of their career experiences they want to capture. This is done simply by selecting the graphical icon for the desired View, such as the Project View  100 . It represents a major career assessment component of the personal career management framework and the process of creating and analyzing their Visual Portfolio results in new insights and deep self-knowledge. It represents a complete and comprehensive history of their career experiences and as such it also used as review before an interview. 
         [0037]      FIG. 2A  represents the present embodiment of the Natural Center functional framework and navigation. It represents a visual depiction of a person&#39;s Natural Center being at the intersection of intersection of the individual&#39;s Natural Talents (what they are really good at), Core Passion (what they really like to do), Core Value (what is really important to them), and their Core Purpose (what they derive a deep sense of satisfaction from).  FIGS. 2B-2D  represents the present embodiment of the Natural Center including three functions:  FIG. 2B  Transferable Competencies,  FIG. 2C  Career Mobility Profile,  FIG. 2D  Natural Roles. 
         [0038]      FIG. 2B  represents and example of the Transferable Competencies function which helps an individual capture and prioritization of a portfolio of transferable competencies that include transferable roles, skills, knowledge, and strengths. These are in all three components of the personal career management framework: they offer valuable new insights of differentiating competencies (career assessment), they open up new career options (career exploration), and they offer a more powerful way to market oneself for a new job (personal marketing). Transferable competencies are comprised of transferable roles, skills, knowledge, and strengths with each based on the corresponding View within the Visual Portfolio.  FIG. 2B  is an example of the Transferable Roles function with each row  200  representing a role populated automatically from the Roles View based and ordered and rated  210  based on the number of times a role was played. For each role, the individual then self rates each role for the perceived value of that role in the market today, the individual&#39;s competency level for that role, and the Agility Value or the perceived amount of career options this role might open up for the individual. 
         [0039]      FIG. 2C  represents an example of a Career Mobility Profile which helps an individual quickly and automatically assess through a visual representation, the diversity of career experiences across many dimensions that include companies, jobs, career areas, disciplines, projects, roles, skills, etc. Each arrow represents one dimension of mobility that results in some level of diversity of experience. An example dimension is Job Mobility  220  where low mobility is indicated by having 1 to 5 jobs, medium mobility by 6 to 10 jobs, and high mobility by greater than 10 jobs. This rating is calculated automatically from the number of jobs on the person&#39;s Career View. It gives a person a quick sense of where (i.e., which dimension) they could benefit from additional diverse experiences. 
         [0040]      FIG. 2D  represents an example of one step in the Natural Roles function which is used to translate traditional role labels  230  into unique descriptions  240  and labels  250  called Natural Roles which are representative of a person working at his or her Natural Center. The traditional role labels are placed and prioritized automatically from the Roles View and then further prioritized through a prior Natural Roles step. In the step following the one represented in  FIG. 2D  the Natural Roles are rated and prioritized which validates that a specified Natural Role does actually qualify as a Natural Role which is an example of the person operating at the intersection of the individual&#39;s Natural Talents (what they are really good at), Core Passion (what they really like to do), Core Value (what is really important to them), and their Core Purpose (what they derive a deep sense of satisfaction from). Therefore Natural Roles is a practical and valuable embodiment of the Natural Center framework and method. It is highly valued on all three dimensions of personal career management—driving totally new insights and language representing a person&#39;s unique capabilities (assessment), it opens up totally new opportunities (exploration), and provides powerful new language with which to describe and market oneself (personal marketing). 
         [0041]      FIG. 3A  is the present embodiment of the Personal Marketing functional framework and navigation which is used to navigate or select various personal marketing functions that include but are not limited to those represented by  FIGS. 3B-3D . They are focused on enhancing the ability of the individual to differentiate themselves in a crowded job market through more effective and compelling abilities to communicate their unique value proposition. 
         [0042]      FIG. 3B  is the present embodiment of the Email Signature Block function which enables an individual to include a link to his or her Career and/or Visual Resume in his or her email signature block, thus turning every email sent into a personal marketing message. The email signature block, as created by the individual, can be previewed  300  and then downloaded to a local computer as a signature file ready to include in various email services such as Microsoft&#39;s Outlook. 
         [0043]      FIG. 3C  is the present embodiment of the Career Story function used to creation a two minute audio clip which is then attached to the individual&#39;s Career View and Visual Resume. The Career Story is crafted first by identifying the common themes  310  or threads that weave through a set of career experiences, creating coherency through additional context. These themes then become the basis for outlining  320  the career story and then writing the script  330  for the career story. The script function counts the number of words used since we recommend a two minute audio story and that translates to approximately 400 written words. The actual capture of the audio clip is done outside of this present embodiment through the use of a digital recording device. A separate function is used to upload attach the audio clip to the Career View. The Career Story is a powerful personal marketing tool often referred to as your “elevator pitch”. 
         [0044]      FIG. 3D  is the present embodiment of the Send Portfolio function used to visually package (i.e., merchandise) and communicate of a custom set of Views that can be attached to an email via simple links. The graphical depiction is the same as that used to capture the Visual Portfolio in  FIG. 1  except for the ability to select via check boxes  340  which Views to include in an email sent to a specific person such as a hiring manager, recruiter, career coach or mentor. 
         [0045]      FIG. 3E  is the present embodiment of the Online Talent Showcase function used to visually present pre-selected groups of individuals via his or her Career View, to pre-selected groups of hiring managers and recruiters. An individual participates in a sponsored  350  showcase through an invitation/acceptance process enabled by the Showcase Coordinator function of the present invention. An Online Talent Showcase runs for a specified period, during which time, the individual&#39;s Career View is visible as a row  360  in the Showcase. Participating recruiters can view the Career View by selecting the Member Id link  360  and they can use the Fit  370  rating mechanism to determine if a Career View is a high, medium or poor fit for the talent they are seeking. A recruiter can also add a specific Career View to an unlimited number of talent pools  380  that they have previously specified. System for Dynamic Resource Management.” In this approach, skills data is captured in text format via templates and weighted in order to establish relative significance of various skills. 
         [0046]    Other similar examples of prior art also focus on capturing skills but for different applications. One such application is called Learning Management. A common learning management approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,996,366 by L&#39;Allier, et al., entitled “Automated individualized learning program creation system and associated methods.” In this approach, skills are captured through a natural language text based method that enables identification of gaps between the skills currently possessed by an individual and those skills they aspire to possess, and then training recommendations are made that can help close the gap. 
         [0047]    There are numerous human resource applications, all designed to capture employee information for use by the human resource organization for control purposes. These include the skills management and learning management systems described above, but can also include other applications such as Performance Management and Leadership Succession Planning. While these prior art applications are numerous they all possess one common trait and flaw—they all depend on capturing employee skill or competency data and they all have a control system design point. As a result, most, if not all of these approaches have failed because the individual receives little value and is well aware of the control system design point. Human Resource organizations that use these applications, therefore often resort to compliance driven approaches that force employees to enter their data, or else his or her promotions, annual bonuses or raises will be jeopardized. Even with such heavy handed methods, compliance is underwhelming in its effectiveness and the applications often fail due to lack of data input by individuals. 
         [0048]    The present invention has a design point of providing value to the individual by providing compelling value through a comprehensive and visual personal career management system. The skills and competencies that result are presented visually in order to increase the value to the individual and to motivate usage. The end result is more comprehensive, structured data captured through value-driven versus compliance driven approach, and with the added benefit of being able to visualize the data.