Are you a student trying to decide which career you want to pursue? Are you stagnant in your current job and want to pursue a new career? Are you returning to the workforce but not sure which career path is right for you?
Selecting the right career can feel daunting, especially when you do not know where to start. I have experienced this feeling, and will share with you 4 easy steps that will help you plan your career path.
Before we begin, remember that there is no such thing as the perfect career. Everyone is different; something that you find interesting may be boring for another person. You may get motivated with one thing that may not be motivating for someone else. Based on your personality, interests and motivating factors, you are the only one who can decide what your “perfect” career is and how to develop it.
This is why it is essential for you to create a plan which you will use to design your career path. No matter which career path you want to pursue, a plan helps you identify the milestones you want to achieve and the tasks you have to complete to reach your goals for your perfect career.
Step 1: Choose Your Career Path
The first thing you need to do is determine which career field you are interested in. Try to be as specific as possible, and narrow it down as much as you can. At this point, it is also important to identify which areas of your career field you do NOT want to pursue. For example, if you are interested in a career in healthcare, do you want to be a doctor? A nurse? A therapist? Or are you more interested in the administration and management aspect of healthcare? If you find it hard to pick one specific path, you can pick a few, and develop career plans for each. As you go through the steps, you will eventually pick the path that interests and excites you the most.
Tip: If you need help identifying your passions and strengths, check out my post on how to Identify Your Professional Strengths in 3 Steps
Step 2: Set Realistic Goals
Begin with your end goal in mind. Where do you see yourself in 3, 5, or 10 years? Write down your end goal, and work backwards. Identify your milestones that you want to achieve at various intervals in your career path. For example, if you need to obtain a degree or certification for the job you want, you need to make it a milestone. Some jobs require more education and experience than others, so be realistic and allow yourself the right amount of time to reach your milestones. If you have selected more than one career path in step 1, repeat step 2 for all the career paths you picked. At this point, you may end up eliminating a path or two.
Step 3: Create an Action Plan
Now that you have identified your goals and milestones, you need to develop action items to reach your goals. You may get overwhelmed just by looking at your end goal, which is why it is important to break down each goal into smaller action items. For example, if you need to do a course to obtain certification, write down “sign up for course at XYZ Institute”. The more detailed your action plan is, the easier it will be for you to execute it. Remember to do this for all the career paths you have selected. After detailing the action items for each path, you may end up deciding on your “perfect” career path at this stage.
Step 4: Execute Your Action Plan
Great job! You have selected your career path, set your goals and action items. Now it is time to execute your action items. After all, everything can look good on paper, but success happens when you take action and execute your plan. Remember to celebrate your accomplishments and milestones. Celebrations play a big role in keeping you motivated to continue pursuing your career path.
Building a career plan is a journey; sometimes the ride will be smooth, other times it will be bumpy. You may face challenges and obstacles along the way, and this is where your written plan will be the key to bring you back on track.
Have you experienced challenges in planning your career? What steps did you take? Share your experiences in the comments below, you may just inspire someone!
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