5 Important Steps to Achieving your Career Plan

Everyone has big dreams about what they want to do and where they want to be when they finally hit the employment market. Some have already found themselves in an industry doing what they set out to do, but some on the other hand are not so satisfied with where they currently find themselves.

As with every endeavour we set out to achieve in life, the success therein is greatly tied to proper planning and a deliberate effort to stick to the plan.

In the following sections we will be outlining 5 important steps to achieving your desired career plan.

1. Do a Self Evaluation

• Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses. This will help you learn more about your competencies and inform you on areas you need to work on.
• Actionable steps you can take might include improving or refining your skills bringing you up to date with current industry standards and for your weaknesses, you might need to learn a new skill or take some personal improvement lessons.
• Carry out a personality test to find out what industry or job roles suit your personality type; “putting a square peg in a square hole”. It might seem like most people these days just want to work and get paid but the true career seeker knows they have to love what they do to make plans to excel in it.
• Make a list of your aspirations and goals for your target industry and note the likely skills and responsibilities required to achieve these goals and take on the responsibilities for the various roles in the industry.

2. Get relevant information about the job market

• It will be futile to launch into the job market without foreknowledge of the current market scenarios and job demands. You should do an analysis of your desired industry and positions you want to take up.
• Learn the required skill levels for the various job roles that are available in the industry. This is where the Self Evaluation you did in the earlier step comes to play. Having an understanding of the market will help you map your current skill set to the required skill levels.
• It will also be useful to know the obtainable pay grade for each level and role you take on as you climb the career ladder to your ultimate career peak. You can do a research and ask questions that will inform you about the pay grade relating to the profession and industry you choose.

3. Evaluate your current experience and skill level

• You might have been working for some time and gained some experience and hopefully learnt some skills in your current industry. You need to make a detailed list of your job description for the roles held and the things you learnt in those positions.
• For fresh career seekers you need to make a chart of where you would like to start and the relevant skills required. Do a research and find out the entry levels for these roles and their related job descriptions. To get some experience, you can start out on internship role or volunteer free service to help you gain practical knowledge of your newly acquired skills.

4. Figure out what works best for you

• After doing a self-evaluation, getting relevant information about the job market and mapping your current experience and skill level, you need to find out what is best for you with regards to your mindset, tolerance and even proximity to the place of work.
• Take these entire factors to note as they add up to your psychology towards performing the tasks ahead of you and how quickly you can achieve them.   

5. Execute your plan

• Make a detailed checklist of steps, certifications, skills to acquire and even actual companies you want to approach or are on your watch list and check them of as you progress
• Build new connections that relate to your desired industry and ask questions that will aid you as you follow each step.
• Be diligent and focused on your plan and don’t be afraid to seek professional advice as you might need to adjust your plan due to challenges you might face along the way.

Conclusion

Making a plan is not just about putting pen on paper but takes calculated and a detailed research about the areas of interest and above all focus and dedication to follow through on your plan to achieve your desired success.

If you need help with any of the steps or need guidance on how to make a successful career plan, feel free to contact Platinum Careers and we’ll be glad to help.