Explore Your Future Career

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Career Planning Toolkit

Cotton is here to support you along the way.

Owning your career means being intentional about your growth. Many factors shape your next career move. You can own your performance, attitude, and development, but you can’t always control when the right opportunity will be available.

Growth doesn’t have to wait for a new role. This toolkit will help you identify where you want to go, the skills and experiences you need to get there, and the steps you can take now.

Building Your Future Career

Building a career is less about job titles and levels and more about gaining experiences, developing skills, and performing well across different roles over time. We believe in building long-term careers through diverse experiences, development opportunities, and strong performance — a shared responsibility between employees and the company.

Working in Different Businesses and Functions
Being Mentored and Mentoring Others
Getting Exposure and Involvement
Learning Lessons On-the-Job
Assignments
Being Coached and Coaching Others
Managing People
Community Involvement
Special Projects
Stretching Roles

Know What You Do NOT Want to Do

Disregard roles and job categories in which you have no interest or passion.

Complete the assessment below to help eliminate options
I prefer to be an individual contributor
I am interested in managing people because I think I will enjoy it
I am interested in managing people because it is a way to earn more salary and benefits
I am interested in making a lateral move
I am interested in becoming the company’s best person for what I currently do
I am interested in taking a role in a different department
I am interested in taking a cross or multi-business unit role
I am interested in moving to a different location or city
I am interested in finding a role in a different function
I am mostly interested in connecting deeply with our customers
I prefer to lead others through influence
I have been told by others that I am skilled at coaching others
Self-Reflection

Ready to turn these reflections into a concrete plan?

BUILD YOUR CAREER PLAN →