5 steps of career planning
Career planning is one of the most useful things in our lives that can be used to identify where you are, where you want to be and how to get there. Here are five key steps to help you create your own career plan–
Step 1: Self-Assessment
To discover what you really want to do, try answering these basic questions about your personality, preferences, and values in your career plan:
What motivates me and what do I enjoy doing?
What are my personal qualities and lifestyle priorities?
What do my family and friends see as my strengths and weaknesses?
What are the five main things I look for in a job?
Step 2: Efficiency analysis
Along with your personal preferences, your existing skills are an important factor in the direction you can go. Reflect on your skill set with the following questions:
What qualifications and experience do I have?
What are my core strengths, transferable skills and specific skills?
What is my biggest achievement so far?
What are my weaknesses and areas for improvement?
Step 3: Setting Your Directions
Based on your core interests, qualities, skills and experience, you can now begin to develop an idea of the role/industry type that best suits you. Try intelligence as part of your career planning:
Wide range of art that really appeals to you.
The type of role that best suits you.
How these options match your personal preferences.
Key skills that may need to be developed.
Step 4: Commit to a deadline
Now that you have an idea of where you want to go, it’s time to figure out how you can get there. Ask yourself the following questions to help you break down your career planning goals into smaller, more manageable milestones:
What do I want to achieve in the next six, 12, 18 months?
How and when will I achieve my training and learning goals?
How and when will I acquire the additional skills and experience I need?
How can I expand my network, and when?
Step 5: Review your career plan
After establishing your goals and how to achieve them, you will now have a clear path to follow. It is important to monitor the progress of your career plan at least every six months, to ensure you are on track to meet your goals. Reevaluating your career plans and goals allows you to make adjustments based on changing economic and personal circumstances.
