Stanford's Career Philosophy

Since its opening in 1891, Stanford has been dedicated to finding solutions to big challenges and to preparing students for leadership in a complex world. To advance this agenda, Stanford must employ talented, motivated people and encourage them to commit their full effort in the pursuit of excellence.

Each individual retains the ultimate responsibility for his or her career planning and continuous growth. Managers stand as full partners in supporting Stanford staff members to develop their full potential.

We believe that as an employee you should:

• Pursue continuous growth and development, excelling in your current role and preparing for new experiences.
• Own your development plans, seek and pursue learning experiences and build productive relationships with peers and mentors.
• Capture and share your skills, experiences and aspirations to market yourself for potential opportunities. Your goal is to be the best possible candidate for opportunities.

To be the best led, best managed university in the world, managers are expected to:

• Initiate formal and informal conversations with employees focused on their development, providing guidance, leadership and mentorship throughout the year.
• Enable growth for employees in their current roles, and when appropriate, preparation for longer-term career movement. To achieve this, you should support the creation of a personalized development plan for your employees and enable their participation in experience, exposure and education opportunities.
• Search for talent internally first.
• Identify successors for each member of your team.
• Think of career development success as the intersection of an employee who is aware and prepared for the next career opportunity just in time for the emergence of the organizational opportunity.