When you’re stuck in your career and don’t know where you are and where you want to go, a career plan can serve as a knight in shining armor. It is sort of a road map of where you want to be and how should you get there.
A written plan, whether it’s a set of strategies to source top talent based on the centralised and decentralised recruitment models or a career plan, gives you more clarity and helps plan out long-term and short-term goals and actions to achieve. Let’s walk you through some helpful steps in creating a career plan based on your interests.
Step 1: Evaluate Your Skills
The first step toward creating a career plan is to evaluate your skills. What you currently know is an important indicator of the direction in which you should head. Not certain about your skills? Ask yourself these questions:
- What are your qualifications and experience?
- What are your strengths, technical skills, soft skills, and transferable skills?
- Do you have any particular areas of development?
Step 2: Reflect on Your Last Career Path
Reflection can help improve performance and productivity. Therefore, take your time to think about your current and the career path that you would like to follow. This is the stage where you ask yourself if you’re really happy with your current career path. If not, ask what you really want or would like to change in your current role. This will make it a lot easier for you to create a plan based on your lifestyle.
On the other hand, if you are happy with your current role, you must take the time and explore career growth opportunities. It helps to invest in career development otherwise, you will just feel stuck. Find yourself a mentor, and attend workshops and training sessions to broaden your perspective.
Step 3: Determine Your Career Direction
Once you have a clear picture of your skills, experience, interests, and attributes, it is time to spitball the types of industries and roles that could potentially align with your career goals. After this, document how these options match your preferences. Choose the role that you are attracted to the most.
Step 4: Make a Choice
It is now time to choose a career path that works best for you. Fortunately, there can be more than one career path, depending on your career, situation, and comfort level.
When you are in the early phase of planning, it’s best to identify multiple options. Why? Because it helps decide which path you really want to stick to. However, it’s recommended to narrow down and focus on two options only. Because when you’re in multiple places, you can’t give your best.
Step 5: Set Career Goals
It is possible to be successful in your career without setting goals. Imagine how successful you can be with proper goal setting. It’s important to have short-term as well as long-term goals. Write them down and share the list with someone you can trust. This will help you create a better sense of accountability.
You must review and adjust these goals regularly. Once you have managed to accomplish your previous goals, don’t be afraid to develop new ones.
Step 6: Get Help
This is an important step in career planning. Some people hesitate to ask for help. Unfortunately, you can’t go any further in your career if you don’t recruit help. Find yourself a mentor who can help you move ahead in your career. Can’t afford a career coach? No problem, ask the manager at your current job for some advice.
Keep on building connections and don’t be afraid to ask for help even if they are your colleagues. Keep on networking and show commitment to growth. That’s the only way forward.
Step 7: Keep on Reviewing Your Career Plan
Establishing goals and measuring your success isn’t the end of the story. You must continue reviewing your career plan to monitor your progress. The best practice is to review your career plan at least every quarter to ensure you’re on the track. This way, you can also adjust your goals based on the changing economic and/or personal circumstances.
Final Words
We spend 25 percent of our time at work. The relationships that you build and things that you experience in your workplace can impact your career choices. Decide whether you want to continue your current role as a marketing specialist you want to choose something different such as the career of mortgage recruiters. Since our career determines our happiness, take the time to do extensive career planning.