Patent Abstract:
Systems, including computer program products, and methods for career planning are described. The techniques described include storing a set of roles for an organization, storing user information for a user, the user information including a first role and a second, later role, and automatically generating a career path based on the set of roles, the first role, and the second role.

Full Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0001]     This description relates to a career planning tool.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     Typically, career progression occurs at a large company by an employee being promoted from a position he currently has. If the employee wants to try something different, he must try to find a job opening in another department using some kind of job postings, either a bulletin board or some intranet posting, or word of mouth from other employees.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0003]     In one aspect, there are systems and methods that include storing a set of roles for an organization, storing user information for a user, the user information including a first role and a second, later role, and automatically generating a career path based on the set of roles, the first role, and the second role.  
         [0004]     Other embodiments may also include one or more of the following features. The method/system may include generating a training recommendation based on the career path. The method/system may include comparing a first set of qualification data included in role information for a role in the career path with a second set of qualification data included in the user information, and identifying a qualification included in the first set of qualification data but not in the second set of qualification data. Generating a training recommendation may include determining an association between the qualification and a training program. The career path may include a set of intermediate roles between the current role and the second role. The method/system may include providing a list of roles from the set of roles. Storing the user information may include displaying available roles from a list of roles and receiving a user selection from the displayed available roles. The method/system may include sorting roles from the set of roles according to qualification data and selecting roles with a particular set of qualifications. Determining the second role may include receiving a user input. The method/system may include saving the career path and/or sending the career path associated with the user to a second user. The second user can be a manager and/or a human resources employee.  
         [0005]     In another aspect, there are systems and a methods that include providing links between roles that may be part of a career path, receiving a first role and a second role based on to user input, and generating a career path including a set of roles between the first role and the second role based on the links between roles.  
         [0006]     Embodiments may include one or more of the following features. The links can include binary links. The method/system may include displaying the set of roles to a user. The method/system may include determining a path with the least number of roles between a first role and a second role. The method/system may include determining a path with a typical progression of roles between a first role and a second role. The method/system may include determining a plurality of paths between a first role and a second role. The method/system may include receiving a path selection corresponding to user input.  
         [0007]     The method/system may include using a job category to obtain the second role corresponding to the user input. The method/system may include using job family within a job category to obtain the second role corresponding to the user input. The method/system may include determining the links between roles based on skill and competency measures.  
         [0008]     In another aspect, there are systems and methods that include providing a list of roles, providing rules to govern links between roles, and generating a career path between a first role and a second role based on the rules.  
         [0009]     Other embodiments may also include one or more of the following features. The method/system may include generating the rules based on a possible progression between two roles. The rules can include skill set data, competency measures, and/or certifications. Providing rules may include receiving rules based on a user input. The method/system may include providing a second set of rules corresponding to an accelerated path. The accelerated path can include less intermediate roles than a typical career path. The method/system may include generating a set of links between two roles such that no rules are violated. The method/system may include generating a list of training suggestions for a progression from a fist role to a second role.  
         [0010]     In another aspect, there are systems and methods that include providing a plurality of backgrounds, each background associated with a respective employee, sorting the backgrounds by role, and sending backgrounds to a user in response to user input.  
         [0011]     Other embodiments may also include one or more of the following features. The method/system may include selecting a role and set of backgrounds based on user input. The method/system may include contacting the employee associated with a particular background. Contacting the employee can include e-mailing and/or establishing an internet chat session. The method/system may include allowing the employee to select whether their background information can be viewed by other users. The method/system may include displaying job openings associated with a role in the career path.  
         [0012]     In another aspect, there are computer program products, tangibly embodied in an information carrier, for career planning, the computer program products being operable to cause data processing apparatus to implement any of the above methods and features.  
         [0013]     Other features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and from the claims. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  is a screen shot of a career planning tool.  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a screen shot of a career path.  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a diagram of an organization.  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram of a role.  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  is a screen shot of a background.  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  is a screen shot of methods for generating a career path.  
         [0020]      FIG. 7  is a block diagram of a guided mode.  
         [0021]      FIG. 8  is a screen shot of an explorer method.  
         [0022]      FIG. 9  is a screen shot of a role matchmaker.  
         [0023]      FIG. 10  is a screen shot of the role matchmaker administrator tool.  
         [0024]      FIG. 11  is a screen shot of a development plan.  
         [0025]      FIG. 12  is a screen shot of an employee profile. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0026]      FIG. 1  illustrates a screenshot  100  for assisting a user to plan a career path within the organization at which the user works. A career planning software tool running on a network generates screenshot  100  and the other screenshots described below. Screenshot  100  includes a background section  102 , a career planning section  104 , and a career resources section  106 . An employee uses each section independently, or in conjunction with the results and information included in another section.  
         [0027]     The background section  102  includes a role  108  (e.g., IT technician), a position  110  (e.g., entry level), a family  112  (e.g., IT help services), and a category  114  (e.g., IT) associated with a current role of a user. The background section  102  includes a hyper-link  116  for a user to personalize the background of that particular user. For example, the user can personalize the background by adding additional information about education, training, previous roles, and the like. The user can also personalize the background to update the role  108 , position level  110 , family  112 , or category  114  listed for the user&#39;s current job status.  
         [0028]     The career planning section  104  of the career planning tool uses information included in background section  102  to determine a career path. Career planning section  104  includes a career path hyper-link  120 , a development plan hyper-link  122 , and a job connection hyper-link  124 . When a user clicks on the career path hyper-link  120 , the career planning tool accesses a career path section that generates a career path based on a current role and a desired role input by a user. When a user clicks on the development plan hyper-link  122 , the career planning tool accesses a development plan section that provides recommendations for training based on skills required or desired for a subsequent role on the employee&#39;s career path. When a user clicks on job connection hyper-link  124 , the career planning tool accesses a job connection section that provides a listing of job opportunities currently available. The career planning tool displays complete listing of jobs or the career planning tool queries the list to display jobs associated with a particular role on a career path.  
         [0029]     The career resources section  106  provides additional information about a particular role. The career resources section  106  includes a hyper-link  130  to a section including employee profiles, a hyper-link  132  to a section including a network connection, a hyper-link  134  to a section including business description, and a hyper-link  136  to a section including a toolkit. Employee profiles (accessed by a user selecting hyper-link  130 ) include employee interviews allowing the user to obtain a description of a particular role generated by another employee in that particular role. Clicking on the network connection hyper-link  132  allows the user to view the background information of other employees, sorted by a particular role. The business section (accessed by a user clicking on hyper-link  134 ) includes a description of some aspect of the company, role, or business. The toolkit (accessed by a user clicking on hyper-link  136 ) includes general information to help a user progress. For example, the toolkit can include a resume-building tool or interviewing and networking tips.  
         [0030]     Each of the hyper-links on  FIG. 1  and other figures, when clicked invokes another screen that enables a user to perform various functions. Note that the tabs on the screen provide another way to navigate to another screen.  
         [0031]      FIG. 2  illustrates a screenshot  200  of a user interface that the career planning tool displays when the user clicks on hyper-link  120 . Screenshot  200  includes career paths  202 ,  204 , and  206  (also referred to as roadmaps). Each career path  202 ,  204 , and  206  includes roles. One or more intermediate roles ( 212 ,  214 ,  216 ,  218 ,  220 ,  222 ,  224 , and  226 ) connect a starting role  208  (e.g.,  208   a,    208   b,  or  208   c ) to a desired role  210  (e.g.,  210   a,    210   b,  or  210   c ) to form the career path. Screenshot  200  also includes hyper-links  230   a,    230   b,  and  230   c  to job openings. Career paths  202 ,  204 , and  206  each show a suggested path between the current role  208  (also referred to as a starting role) and the desired role  210  (also referred to as an ending role). The use of a career path enables an employee to select the desired role  210  and direct his movement within the company toward desired role  210 . The number and type of intermediate roles varies among career paths. The desired position can be multiple roles away from the current role or can be only a single role away. For example, career path  202  includes two intermediate roles  212  and  214 , while career path  204  includes three intermediate roles  216 ,  218 , and  220 . The generation of multiple career paths (e.g.  202 ,  204 , and  206 ) between two roles allows a user to chose the most appealing career path. A user selects a career path by pressing the select button  240 ,  242 , or  244  associated with the career path. A user can also view job openings for a role on a career path by clicking on one of the hyper-links  230  to job openings. While, in this example, the career planning tool generates three career paths and displays the career paths to the user, the number of career paths the career planning tool generates and displays varies depending on the preferences of the user, starting role  208  and desired role  210 .  
         [0032]     In the illustrated example, an employee is currently in a project management role (starting role  208 ) and desires to eventually work in an accounting role (desired role  210 ). A typical career path  204  directs an employee to progress from the current project management role (starting role  208   b ) to intermediate role  216 , a market research/strategy (Res/Strat) role. From intermediate role  216 , the user progresses to another intermediate role  218 , a Product management (Prod. Mgmt) Legal role, to a financial analysis role  220  and finally to the desired role  210   b,  an accounting role. While career path  204  provides the typical progression between the starting role  208   b  and the desired role  210   b,  a user may not find this career path particularly appealing and can select a different career path. The user can desire a more focused or “shortest” career path  202  (also referred to as an accelerated career path) between starting role  208   a  and desired role  210   a.  In this example, shortest path  202  progresses directly from the current project management marketing and communications (MARCOMM) role  208   a  to a Prod. MgmtLegal role  212 , skipping the market Res/Strat role  216  entirely. Thus, career path  202  eliminates one of the intermediate roles from career path  204 . A third career path  206  suggests a progression similar to the typical path  204  but includes slightly different intermediate roles. In this career path, the role of business analysis  224  replaces the role of Product management legal  218 .  
         [0033]      FIG. 3  illustrates how roles fit into a hierarchical taxonomy  300  of a particular organization  302 . In order to make the number and variety of roles manageable and to provide a user-friendly interface, the organization  302  is divided into categories  304   a,    304   b,  and  304   c  (generally categories  304 ). Category  304   b  is divided into families  306   a,    306   b,  and  306   c  (generally families  306 ). A family, for example family  306   b,  is divided into roles  308   a,    308   b,    308   c,    308   d,  and  308   e  (generally roles  308 ). A role, for example role  308   c  is divided into positions  310   a,    310   b,    310   c,  and  310   d  (generally positions  310 ).  
         [0034]     As described above, the career planning tool most broadly divides the organization  302  into categories  304 . For example, categories  304  can be broad divisions such as engineering, human resources, and accounting. The career planning tool divides each category  304  into families  306 . For example, the engineering family can be divided into electrical engineering, software engineering, and mechanical engineering. Each family  306  is further divided into roles  308 . For example, the electrical engineering family can include roles  308  such as hardware designer and process integration engineer. Each role  308  includes a predetermined number of positions  310 . Positions  310  specify the level of experience of the employee in the particular role. For example, the role can be broken down into four positions such that position  310   a  is an entry position, position  310   b  is an intermediate position, position  310   c  is an advanced position, and position  310   d  is a managerial position. While in this example a role  308  includes four positions  310   a,    310   b,    310   c,  and  310   d,  the number of positions can vary depending on the role  308  or the organization  302 . In some examples, an administrator of the career planning tool enters a taxonomy  300  for organization  302  into a storage module (e.g., a database) to which the career planning tool has access.  
         [0035]     For example, an employee working at a support desk answering telephone calls for computer support might be classified in the category  304  of Information Technology, family  306  of technical support, and role  308  of support desk. The career planning tool assigns the employee&#39;s position as an intermediate level position  310   b  based on the employee&#39;s seniority within the role.  
         [0036]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , each role  308  includes a skill set  402 , a description  412 , a link  414  to employees in the role, and a link  416  to specific jobs. Skill set  402  can include general skills  404 , competencies  406 , certifications  408 , and education  410  associated with role  308 . A description of the role  412  includes standard tasks of a person in the role. The role  308  includes a link  414  to employees in the role or a link  416  to specific jobs associated with the role  308 . Links  420  and  422  link the role  308   a  to other roles  308   b - g.  The career planning tool uses the links  420  and  422  to generate a career path based on a typical or possible progression from one role to another role.  
         [0037]     A typical progression is one in which an employee follows a standard path followed by other employees in similar situations. A possible progression is one in which a user moves to a role subsequent to the current role that is possible, but not typical such as progressing from an entry level to a manager. Links  420  and  422  associate a role  308   a  with typical subsequent roles (using link  420 ) or possible subsequent roles (using link  422 ). To follow link  422  and move from the current role to a role specified by a possible link  422  can require special features included in the skill set  402 . A link  422  to a possible subsequent role can also link a current role to a role outside the category in which the current role is classified. For example, the career planning tool provides a link from an engineering role to a role in advertising using a possible progression link  422 . In some examples, an administrator defines links  420  and  422  and enters these links into a storage module. To define a link (e.g.,  420  or  422 ), an administrator generates a pointer from one role  308   a  to one of the other roles (e.g.,  308   b - g ) defined in the organizations&#39; taxonomy (e.g.,  300 ).  
         [0038]      FIG. 5  illustrates a screenshot  500  of a user interface that enables a user to input background information including a current role section  502 , a previous roles section  504 , an education section  506 , a general skills section  508 , a competencies section  510 , and a certifications section  512 . Various features of the career planning tool rely on the background information of the user. For example, the career planning tool uses the background information to determine if a user possesses the skill set required for a different role. When the user first navigates to user interface  500 , (e.g., clicks on hyper-link  116  ( FIG. 1 )) the career planning tool automatically populates the background based on the minimum requirements for the current role of the user. A user modifies the information, however, to reflect his current status. Background information, such as skills listed in section  508  and competencies listed in section  510 , includes a scaled level of mastery  514  for each particular skill or competency. The user inputs a level of mastery according to his skill level. For example, if a user has a good understanding of writing the user selects “high”  516  as the level of mastery. If the user does not feel confident with his writing skills, the user selects “low”  518 . Skills listed in section  508  can vary greatly from the use of a particular program, to problem solving skills, or teaching. Competencies listed in section  510  are traits of the employee, such as leadership and analytical thinking. When a user completes the background and selects button  520  to submit the information, the career planning tool saves the background information of the user. If the user selects to volunteer for the networking feature by checking box  522 , the career planning tool makes the employee&#39;s background available for other users to view.  
         [0039]      FIG. 6  illustrates a screenshot  600  of a user interface including buttons  610 ,  612 ,  614 , and  616  for choosing a mode  602 ,  604 ,  606  or  608 . The career planning tool generates this interface, for example, in response to the user clicking on the roadmap hyper-link  120  ( FIG. 1 ). The career planning tool enables a user to generate a career path based on information in the background by using a guided mode  602 , an explorer mode  604 , a focused mode  606 , or a role matchmaker mode  608 .  
         [0040]     To select a desired mode, the user clicks on the button  610 ,  612 ,  614 , or  616  associated with the mode  602 ,  604 ,  606  or  608  respectively. For example, if the user desires to use the guided mode  602 , the user presses button  610 . The various modes assist a user in determining a desired role (e.g.,  210 ). The guided mode  602  allows a user to step through roles one at a time. In guided mode  602 , a user selects a next role linked to the current role by links  420  and  422 . This process repeats in a stepwise fashion until the user chooses the final desired role  210 .  
         [0041]     Explorer mode  604  allows a user to browse a list of roles and select a desired role  210 . In explorer mode  604 , the career planning tool sorts the roles according to hierarchy  300  shown in  FIG. 3 . The user selects a category  304 , a family  306 , and a role  308 . If a user knows the role he desires, in focused mode  606  the user directly inputs the desired role  210 . This mode can be short and quick but requires the user to know exactly the role they desire. On the other hand, if a user does not know what subsequent roles he might desire, the role matcher mode  608  generates a list of roles based on the qualifications in the user&#39;s background according to a set of rules. After the user determines a desired role, the career planning tool generates a career path (e.g.,  200 ,  204 , or  206 ) linking a starting role (e.g.,  208 ) to the desired role (e.g.,  210 ).  
         [0042]     Referring to  FIG. 7 , guided mode  602  allows a user to step through roles one at a time creating a career path to a desired role. The career planning tool uses links  420  and  422  to determine subsequent roles. In guided mode, the career planning tool displays roles linked to the current role for user selection. For example, upon determining the current role of IT help desk  702 , the career planning tool displays a list of subsequent roles including database management role  704 , programming role  706 , system support role  708 , and marketing role  710 . The user selects the role he finds most desirable.  
         [0043]     For example, the user selects marketing role  710  (as indicated by dashed circle). Upon selecting marketing role  710 , the career planning tool generates a list of roles linked to marketing role  710 . This list includes brand manager role  714 , television advertising role  716 , and customer service role  718 . The user desires to advance to a brand manager role  714  and selects brand manager role  714 . In response to the user selecting brand manager role  714 , the career planning tool generates a list of possible roles from brand manager role  714 . This list includes VP marketing role  722 , technical sales role  724 , and marketing director role  726 . The user selects the VP marketing role  722  as his final desired role. The career planning tool generates a career path based on the employee selections. In this example the career path would include the current role of IT help desk  702 , marketing role  710 , brand manager role  714 , and VP marketing role  722 . In this example, the guided mode generates a single career path based on the roles selected by the user, however, since multiple options are presented to the user at each step the user can generate multiple career paths using this method.  
         [0044]      FIG. 8  illustrates a screen shot  800  of a user interface to which a user navigates when the user selects the explorer mode  604  by clicking on button  612  ( FIG. 6 ). The explorer mode  604  includes navigating from a desired category  304  to find a particular role  308  based on the hierarchical taxonomy  300  of the organization. The career planning tool provides a list of categories  802 . In response to the user selecting a particular category  304  from the list of categories  802 , a list of the families  804  within the chosen category appears. In response to the user selecting a particular family  306  from the list of families  804 , the career planning tool provides a list of roles  806  within the family  306 . Thus, by making selections of a category  305 , family  306 , and role  308  from the respective lists  802 ,  804 , and  806 , the user navigates from the top level of the hierarchy shown in  FIG. 3  to a particular role  308 . After the user determines a particular role  308  (i.e. desired role), the career planning tool generates one or more career paths (e.g.,  200 ,  204 , or  206 ) linking a starting role (e.g.,  208 ) to the particular role  308 .  
         [0045]     Focused mode  606  allows the user to directly input a desired role  210 . For example, the career planning tool generates a user interface with a place for the user to enter a desired role. The career planning tool receives the desired role and creates one or more career paths between the current role of the employee and the entered desired role. This mode can be quick, but requires the user to know a desired role before generating a career path.  
         [0046]      FIG. 9  illustrates a screen shot  900  of a user interface to which a user navigates when the user selects the matchmaker mode  608  by clicking on button  616  ( FIG. 6 ). In matchmaker mode  608 , the career planning tool matches a user&#39;s skill set to the skill set  402  of other roles  308 . Matches of possible roles  904 ,  906 ,  908 , and  910  are returned to the user. The career planning tool determines whether there is a match, for example, by comparing the skill set  402  required for a desired role to the skill set (e.g., sections  508 ,  510  and  512 ) included in the background for the employee. The role matchmaker generates a set of best matches  802 , a set of close matches (not shown), and a set of career change matches (not shown). The user can select one of these roles  904 ,  906 ,  908  and  910  by pressing the select button  920 ,  922 ,  924 , or  926  associated with the role.  
         [0047]      FIG. 10  illustrates a screen shot  1000  of a user interface an administrator uses to set features of the role matchmaker mode  608  for a best match  1010 , a close match  1012 , and a career change  1014 . The role matchmaker mode  608  bases a career path on skills (e.g., section  500 ), competencies (e.g., section  510 ), and certifications (e.g., section  512 ) possessed by the user. An administrator sets the percentage match required between the current skills, competencies, and certifications and those of a subsequent role to generate a match. Typically, a best match  1010  most closely matches the skill set currently possessed by the user, followed by the close match  1012 . A career change match  1014  includes the least percentage matching between the current and desired skill set.  
         [0048]     In this example, a best match requires an employee to possess 25 percent of the skills necessary for a particular role and 90 percent of the competencies necessary for a particular role, but does not require the employee to have any of the certifications for the subsequent role. For the best match  1010 , the career planning tool includes no positions at levels below the current level as a match.  
         [0049]     In this example, a close match  1012  requires an employee to possess 15 percent of the skills necessary for a particular role and 80 percent of the competencies necessary for a particular role, but does not require the employee to have any of the certifications for the role. For the close match  1012 , the career planning tool includes positions up to one level below the current level.  
         [0050]     In this example, a career change  1014  requires an employee to possess 0 percent of the skills necessary for a particular role and 70 percent of the competencies necessary for a particular role, but does not require the employee to have any of the certifications for the role. For the career change  1014 , the career planning tool includes positions up to two levels below the current level. An administrator sets and changes the percentages required for each type of match.  
         [0051]      FIG. 11  illustrates a screen shot  1100  of a user interface for a development plan accessed by the user by clicking on button  122  ( FIG. 1 ). The career planning tool generates a development plan for the user based on the current role  208 , desired role  210 , and qualifications included in the background for the particular user. A development plan provides an employee with a list of suggestions for improving particular skills or competencies needed for desired role  210  or for another role selected from the career path. The development plan includes a list of competencies  1102 , action steps  1104 , and review dates  1106 . The development plan user interface includes a hyper-link to job openings  1108 . The development plan bases action step recommendations on skills  404 , competencies  406 , and certifications  408  in the skill set  402  of the desired role. The career planning tool suggests various types of action steps  1104  and categorizes the action steps  1104  according to general types of training available. For example, the categories can include specific training  1110 , taking on a particular assignment or responsibility within the current role  1112 , networking to form connections  1114 , and/or job shadowing  1116 . The user provides a review date  1122  for review of action steps  1104 , setting a goal for completing action steps  1104 . The user prints the development plan by pressing print button  1120  or saves the development plan by pressing save button  1122 . The user can also e-mail the saved development plan to another user such as a manager, mentor, or HR representative.  
         [0052]     For example, a user desires to move from his current role (e.g.,  208 ) to a different role but does not possess all of the required skill set  402  for the different role. In this example, one competency listed is leadership. An action step categorized in the training and development section  1110  to help the user improve this competency suggests the user to take a management program through the learning services. Another competency listed is analytical thinking. To improve this competency, the development plan directs the user to take on a particular in job assignment  1112  of diagnosing the cause of a problem. The career planning tool recognizes the need to increase the level of analytical thinking and leadership proficiency by comparing the information in the role with the information in the user&#39;s background.  
         [0053]     The user chooses a date to review progress on the suggested action items. In this example, the user has not set a review date for either of these action steps. However, the user can enter the review date in the review date space  1124 ,  1126 , or  1128 . For example, based on the suggestions included in the development plan the employee recognizes the need to improve leadership skills and decides to enroll in the management training program as suggested under training and development category  1110 . The user enters a review data into space  1124 ,  1126 , or  1128  indicating a time he desires to have completed the class. The review date  1106  provides a goal for the employee to complete the training by a set time.  
         [0054]      FIG. 12  illustrates a screen shot  1200 , accessed by the user by clicking on hyper-link  130  ( FIG. 1 ), that includes a career path  1202  for the employee and a profile section  1204 . The employee profile section  1204  includes answers to specific questions  1206   a - j  regarding the role to help a user determine if they would be interested and/or qualified for the role. For example, a question  1206   f  might be the typical job assignments of an employee in the role. To view an employee&#39;s response to this question  1206   f,  the user clicks on the corresponding button  1208   f.    
         [0055]     The career planning tool can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or in combinations of them. The career planning tool can be implemented as a computer program product, i.e., a computer program tangibly embodied in an information carrier, e.g., in a machine-readable storage device or in a propagated signal, for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus, e.g., a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple computers. A computer program can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.  
         [0056]     The career planning tool can include multiple processes run on a server. The server generates results in response to user input. The results are sent to a client system and displayed as a user interface. A captured picture of the user interface is referred to as a screenshot.  
         [0057]     Method steps of the career planning tool can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing a computer program to perform functions of the career planning tool by operating on input data and generating output. Method steps can also be performed by, and apparatus of the career planning tool can be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit). These steps can be performed in a different order than described above.  
         [0058]     Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. Information carriers suitable for embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in special purpose logic circuitry.  
         [0059]     To provide for interaction with a user, the career planning tool can be implemented on a computer having a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.  
         [0060]     The career planning tool can be implemented in a computing system that includes a back end component, e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g., an application server, or that includes a front end component, e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user can interact with an implementation of the career planning tool, or any combination of such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The components of the computing system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples of communication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a wide area network (“WAN”), e.g., the Internet.  
         [0061]     The computing career planning tool can include clients and servers. A client and server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other.  
         [0062]     The career planning tool has been described in terms of particular embodiments. Other embodiments are within the scope of the claims that follow. The following are examples for illustration only and not to limit the alternatives in any way. The steps of the invention can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results.  
         [0063]     For example, although the hierarchical taxonomy shown in  FIG. 3  is for an organization, the taxonomy could relate to an entire industry or include multiple industries and organizations forming a nationwide job system. In this situation, the career planning would not be limited to roles within a single organization, but would include roles from multiple organizations.  
         [0064]     In another example, the career planning tool can be based on specific jobs instead of roles such that a user selects a particular job and a career path is generated from the current job to the desired job. On the other hand, the career planning tool can be less specific than the roles within an organization and be based instead on job types to provide a career path for moving between industries or job types. For example, the method might include suggesting training to move from an engineering role to a marketing role either within the company or across multiple companies.  
         [0065]     In another example, career paths are used not only to plan a career within an organization but also to learn about a different organization and determine a role of interest within the different organization. This method allows an employee to consider moves between businesses. For example, a user may determine a role of interest within a first company and the career planning tool would provide a list of roles in other companies that would utilize the same set of skills and/or interests.  
         [0066]     Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims:

Technology Classification (CPC): 6