No matter whether you’re entering the workforce or you’re still in school, it’s a good idea to make sure you have a career plan before you do so. A career plan lists your short-term and long-term professional goals, as well as the steps you can take to achieve them. This will help you make decisions about what classes to take and assit you in identifying extracurricular activities and other opportunities that will make your a strong job candidate. In this article, we’ll go over how to make a career plan to help you achieve your professional goals.
The first step is to find out what career you’d like to go into. To do this, look at your interests, skills, and values. Once you have a list of those, identify potential careers that could result from your skill set. Finally, research salary information, companies in the industries, and the required qualifications. Once you’ve narrowed your list down, try to obtain internships or shadowing opportunities. This will give you a better sense of the jobs and allow you to make an informed decision.
Having a narrow list isn’t enough; ou have to prioritize. What are your top skills? What interests you the most? What’s most important to you? This is where your values come in. If there’s anything that’s a dealbreaker for you, such as long working hours or the work not being intellectually challenging, take that career off your list.
Compare your finalized list of careers against your list of prioritized skills, interests, and values.
Before you make your final choice, consider other factors. What is the demand for this career? Is the industry projected to grow or shrink? If demand is low or entry to the field is difficult, are you prepared to accept that risk? If there are educational requirements, especially college, how much will it cost? Remember that while many families receive financial aid, most will usually end up having to take out student loans. Consider all the outcomes of each career left on your list.
Based on everything you’ve done in steps 1 through 4, make your final career decision. If you’re early in your planning or preparations, it may be a good idea to choose multiple paths in case something changes in one of them, so that you have the flexibility to switch.
Now that you have a career goal, develop an action plan to help you get there. Identify specific sub-goals that are both short-term (<1 year) and long-term (1–5 years). Use the SMART format to make sure your goals are clear.
Specific: Identify your goal clearly and specifically
Measurable: How will you measure your progress towards this goal, and whether you’ve attained it yet or not?
Attainable: Make sure the goal is reasonable; ideally, it should have a 50% or greater chance of success.
Relevant: Your sub-goal should help you reach your ultimate goal of going into the career you’ve decided on.
Time frame: Commit to a specific time frame to achieve this goal.
Write down specific action steps based on your SMART goals to help yourself stay organized. Check them off as you complete them, and make sure to stay flexible; your plan may change as circumstances change, but that’s perfectly okay.
It can often be helpful to meet with someone who can help you with the above steps. They’ll help you stay on track, identify potential careers, and do a lot of the research for you.
Entering the workforce can be a scary process, but with the right action plan, anyone can successfully enter the career they choose. Remember not to be discouraged and to keep working hard. Good luck!
