Stage I Apprenticeship: Learning The Ropes
You are fresh, most likely young or starting over in a new career. You are hungry for knowledge and seek out guidance from others. At first you are most likely part of a team with specific tasks. You may be closely supervised until your boss has confidence in your abilities. Your job is not only to do the work assigned but also to learn about the culture, the company, and the colleagues you work with.
Potential career roadblock: Settling into your current role.
As you develop your capabilities, you may become too comfortable. Youre no longer the new kid on the block. You know your way around. This is the most important time to grow in your career. Ask for more assignments that will expand your expertise and experience. Keep moving ahead.
Some Arguments Against Long
Many of our readers get paralysed thinking about long-term options. Its easy to see your choice of career as a single decision that you have to get right immediately, creating a lot of anxiety. In reality, most of the time youre only committing to a job for a couple of years, and youll have many opportunities to shift course in the future.
Your preferences will also change over your career , the world will change , and you will learn a huge amount about your skills and which options are best.
Most people we know who are having a big impact today wouldnt have predicted theyd be doing the kind of work theyre doing ten years ago.
This means its not useful to make detailed long-term plans. Having an overly detailed long-term plan might even cause you to overly fixate on that one path, and miss a great opportunity that doesnt neatly fit within it.
This is especially true when youre early in your career. In your first couple of jobs, youll learn a lot about what fits you best, and this will probably let you significantly improve your thinking about which long-term paths are best.
So long as you keep taking these good next steps jobs that give you career capital, help you learn about what fits you best, and that steadily have more and more impact then youll build a good career over time.
This means that finding out which specific opportunities that happen to be around is often more important than analysing which paths are best in general.
Finding Support For Your Career Development
Your career goals may feel personal, but that doesnât mean you have to pursue them on your own. In fact, your interest in career development planning is good for your employerâcompanies that partner with employees on career growth tend to improve employee retention and decrease turnover. So if youâre comfortable letting them in on your plans, you can foster a mutually productive relationship by seeking support within your organization.
Some people within your company who may support your career development might be:
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Your manager may be willing to assign you projects or offer opportunities that can directly support your goals.
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Your HR or People Ops representative may have additional tools available to support your growth.
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Cross-functional colleagues whose role or work style you admire may be willing to let you assist on upcoming projects if your goals relate to their line of work.
If you arenât comfortable sharing your goals with anyone within your organization or if your goals donât pertain to the work youâre currently doing, you can also seek support elsewhere. For example:
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Career Development Plan Template
To get started, try filling out this career development plan template. Adjust the sections and format to fit your needs, and return to your document over time to add or edit sections as you make progress.
In the Adapting: Career Development Specialization from Macquarie University, youâll evaluate your approach to self-guided change and design a career path that fits your values, interests, and goals.
What Should Go Into Your Long
An ideal long-term plan will focus on elements of your career planning that are relatively stable, but also relevant to your choice of next steps.
We find having some hypotheses about which global problem areas you want to focus on is usually a useful element of a plan . This is because problem areas are specific enough to help you pick out a long-term direction thats much higher impact, and therefore to help you spot good next steps and build career capital in a coherent direction. However, problem areas are not so narrow that small changes in the situation will mean you need to change your plan . Weve also found that in practice we and many other groups in effective altruism find problem areas a useful unit of analysis. This old blog post is out-of-date, but contains some more thoughts.
To help inform the above, its also useful to have an understanding of your greatest strengths and personal preferences.
If you have more time, it can also be useful to write about the moral values and big picture principles that underlie your choice of problem area. These tend to be more stable than your choice of problem, though are too high-level to be applied to most decisions. Wed also encourage you to write out the ingredients you want in a job from a personal perspective.
If all this gets too much, come back to your next step, and make it a good one.
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S For Career Planning
Step 1: Explore Career Options
Use career assessment tools to explore fields further so that you can better utilize guidance from our careerstaff. This stage helps make you aware of the many possibilities that exist. In additionto learning position titles, you will also discover the skills, educational requirements,and personal attributes needed to be successful in various fields. Gathering thisinformation helps career counselors make suggestions for majors, jobs, and careersthat would fit in with your interests and skills. The goal here is to come up witha few options to share with a career counselor.
Step 2: Conduct Field Research
This stage is useful in deciding between different fields to pursue. What better wayto explore career options than to meet with someone working in the field? It entailsmeeting with people in different positions or industries that you are interested inand asking them questions about their job. This is also the first step in startingto build a professional network. To help you with this stage, pick up a packet inthe Career Center on Field Research and Informational Interviews.
Step 3: Determine Your Job Target
Step 4: Build Your Credentials and Resume
This stage is ongoing and the more you build your credentials, the better your resumebecomes. A great resume leads to interviews and offers. The best ways to build yourcredentials and knowledge are by:
Upload your resume at CLUpostings.com so employers can view it.
Step 5: Prepare for Your Job Search
How To Map A Clear Career Plan
The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed’s data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.
For many people, planning for a career stops either upon graduation or when they are hired at their first “real” job. Later in life, they may realize that extending their career plan would have been a better choice than ending it so early. Having a plan for achieving your short- and long-term goals can help you identify your strengths, increase your confidence and urge you to take control of your own path. This article will define what a career plan is and provide guidelines for creating a career plan that works for you.
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Review Your Career Plan Regularly
Once youve established your goals and how to achieve them, you now have a clearer direction in which to focus.
Its important to monitor the progress of your career plan at least every quarter, to ensure that you are on track to meet your goals. Re-evaluating your career plan and goals is vital to both staying on track and adjusting them, based on changing economic and personal circumstances.
Build Your Career Capital
Career capital consists of your qualifications, experience and reputation. It requires investments of time and resources to grow. Find workshops and trainings that would enhance your capabilities. Dont assume your organization has no money for professional development you wont know unless you ask. However, you may need to do it on your own time or even with some of your own money. Realize this is an investment in your future.
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Smart Tips To Develop A Personalised Career Plan
A well-built career plan is a powerful tool that can drive you towards professional success and enable you to take proactive steps.
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Heather Shanley
HR and Recruitment Expert
This article is sponsored by Tal& Dev, an online career management platform committed to helping individuals take their careers to the next level by developing a career strategy that encompasses their aspirations, passions and potential.
Taking the time to work on your personal career plan is an excellent way to establish your professional goals.
Mapping out the steps to success will help you create a framework that you can refer to throughout your career as you develop and make professional advancements. If you’re looking for some solid tips and examples of career-building strategies to inform your career plan, read on!
Watch the video for career planning tips:
Above All Make Sure You Perform Well
You can do all the other stuff, but if you do not deliver, sooner or later you will trip up. So step number one in your career development is to do what you are currently doing to the very best of your ability and with all your energy even if it is not yet what you ultimately want from your career.
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How To Make A Career Plan
- Assess your options. First things first, you need to figure out what career is right for you. Prioritise your choice based on your interests and strengths, and consider the importance of factors like salary, company culture, working hours, and commute time.
- List your current skills. Listing your current skills, abilities, and experience will not only help you to understand what career path suits you, itll also help you figure out if youre qualified enough to take your preferred route. Areas where you lack in knowledge will inform the actions you plan to take in terms of training and development.
- Set goals and actions. Once youve decided on your ideal career path, its time to set some goals which will help you decide what actions you need to take. These could both be short-term and long-term, and big or small.
- Give yourself timeframes. Setting deadlines for each of your goals will motivate you to get things done. Whether you work towards exact dates, or pick a broader timescale adding this into your career plan will give your goals some realistic context, not to mention keep you motivated to keep going.
- Keep checking back. A career plan isnt a one-stop-solution. To make sure your goals are up-to-date, its important to keep checking back on your career planner. Not only will it allow you to track your progress, itll also mean you can make alterations if your circumstances change.
Are You A Plotter A Pantser Or Somewhere In Between
Posted August 19, 2017
I read a lot of books about writing. Truth be known, if I spent as much time writing as I do reading, Id be writing my tenth book by now. But heres something Ive noticed along the way: there are a lot of similarities between writing advice and career advice. For instance, the guidelines for writing a query letter to an agent or publisher arent all that different from writing a cover letter to an employer. The 60-second pitch writers prepare to summarize their book to a potential publisher at a writing conference is basically the same as the elevator pitch job candidates prepare to sell themselves quickly at a job fair or networking event.
But my favorite parallel between writing and job-seeking is the concept of writers as either “Plotters” or “Pantsers.” The Plotters like to plan ahead: they develop their characters and plot, write outlines, and break their stories into chapters or scenes, always knowing where they, and the story, are going.
Pantsers, on the other hand, work off the seat of their pants.They take a less-structured, more intuitive approach to their writing, and often speak about showing up to the paper and seeing what happens.
Although I dont recall seeing it, Im sure theres a middle grounda Plontser so to speak who does a little of both.
©2017 Katharine S. Brooks. All rights reserved.
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Why Career Planning Is Important For Businesses
Businesses should care about career planning, too. If you help employees take steps forward in their careers, youll improve employee engagement and retention. You can even help prevent burnout and boost job satisfaction because workers will have bigger goals to focus on beyond their day-to-day.
Organizations that ignore career planning will limit employees professional development which means theyre likely to look for opportunities elsewhere. If you create a formal process that helps your team plan their careers, theyll know you care about their growth. In return, theyll be loyal, and youll see the benefit of them growing their careers over time.
Create A Plan Of Action
Identify realistic expectations for your plan. List each action step specifically and in detail to help you track your progress and remain on track. As you complete each step, cross it off, or if your priorities change, it’s up to you if you decide to amend the plan as needed.
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How To Create A Plan For Your Career
Managing Editor for Jobs & Career Development at LinkedIn News
Developing a five-year plan for your career may seem like an impossible task. Thinking that far ahead about your end goal, and the steps you need to take can be intimidating. Creating a 5-year career plan does not have to be daunting. Start by taking an inventory of your life, adjusting your plan as needed, keeping an open mind and leaning on mentors.
Thinking of the future can be scary, making you question if you should develop a career plan. But, it is wise to have one, said executive coach Kristen Zavo.
Having at least a rough idea of your life and career goals is a must, Zavo said. In addition to that, reviewing and updating it semi-annually is key to ensuring your plan grows with you and continues to be aligned with your desired lifestyle, corporate achievements, and impact.
Establishing a five-year plan depends on what your career goals are, said Wendy Tansey, an executive and leadership coach at The People Expert. If you are comfortable with the position you are in, she states that a development plan might be adequate.
However, if you have aspirations to be a manager or in an executive position in the years to come, a five-year plan is certainly going to only help you reach your goal.
Having a career plan is key to taking an active role in ones career, versus relying on the momentum of corporate life or whims of your manager to steer the course, said Zavo.
To Make It Happen In Your Career You Need To Plan Your Career
Career planning is a process of understanding oneself, exploring career options, making wise decisions and moving forward. What complicates it is that people, careers and organizations are constantly changing.
Therefore, career planning is not something done one time early in your career. Rather, its an ongoing process throughout your life. It doesnt matter whats your profession, your industry or your place of employment.The reality is lives change, professions change, industries change, organizations change and so your career will change. You can bet on it!
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Get Ideas And Inspiration
- AllAboutCareers career exploration, jobs and advice
- Graduate-Jobs research job descriptions to understand what that job entails, what the essential skills are and the typical salaries.
- Prospects view a comprehensive degree subject list to find out which career paths are directly related to what you studied.
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Learn About Potential Career Options
The first step to creating a useful career plan is figuring out what career you’re interested in pursuing. Think about your talents and the activities you enjoy. Ask friends, family and colleagues about their careers, including their job satisfaction level and what qualifications they needed. You can also research top companies in a variety of fields to seek professionals in that field. Research an industry or company that interests you. Find networking events or informational interviews you can set up to ask questions about potential career paths.
Here’s a list of career paths that may interest you:
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Consider Educational Resources And Develop New Skills
If youre considering moving into a field that requires a degree or certifications, you may need to seek additional education beyond your current work experience. College courses, continuing-education classes or even free online resources can help deepen your understanding of your new potential career.
If youre employed, find opportunities at your current job to gain the skills you need to make a career change. For example, a marketer who wants to move into finance may ask for control over the marketing budget to gain skills regarding working with ledgers. Seizing opportunities like this is helpful, but only if you remember to apply those newly gained skills to your resume and cover letter.
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