Many people start their career planning earlier in life, but there are few who get confused about it and face difficulties ahead in life.
Career planning is an essential aspect of everyone’s career growth and development. This is because it helps to set goals that would eventually lead to a successful career.
Where you see your career in a few years’ time, the achieved short and long-term career goals are all dependent on career planning.
As you read on, you will discover the benefits that abound in career planning and how it plays essential roles in shaping your future.
Table of Contents
What is a Career?
It is a sequence of jobs performed by individuals for a living. A career is also an individual’s professional journey for a long time through learning and experiences.
However, achieving a social status in one’s career requires effective career planning.
What is Career Planning?
Career Planning is a process whereby an individual focuses on where he/she wants to be in his life and it is also called self-evaluation.
According to Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn, “Career planning is a process of systematically matching career goals and individual capabilities with opportunities for their fulfillment.”
Benefits of Career Planning
Career planning is a systematic process of setting goals and objectives that help you analyze your successful career. It can be a short or long-term process that follows a series of steps.
It has many benefits, organized, and is set on the individual’s strengths and weaknesses, the following are the benefits;
- To be aware of career opportunities and priorities
- To choose a career preferable for their durability and lifestyle
- Helps the organization identify the individual’s strength
- Increased job satisfaction
- To schedule your goals
- Achieving your career
- To plan your retirement
When Should You Start Career Planning?
Career planning can start at any stage of one’s career. It’s never too late or early to start working on your professional and career goals.
Here are a few great times to begin:
- Before launching a job search
- After being fired or laid off from a job
- Before a performance review at work
- During a global crisis that could impact your industry
- Leading up to college graduation
- Prior to investing in higher education
- Before launching a business
What is Career Planning Process
The career planning process is a series of steps that will help you to recognize your long-term and short-term goals. It is time-consuming, and you’ll have to understand your career goals and how to accomplish them. At some point, you’ll have to analyze your steps to see your progress.
The Career planning process follows specific steps:
- Conduct a self-assessment
- Research potential career
- Decide on one or more career paths
- Set concrete goals.
These are some steps that an individual needs to take when making their career plans:
- Self Assessment: this is the first step of career planning, done by an individual to understand his or her skills or areas of interest.
- Research on careers: in this step, you need to understand the career options, the companies available, and the available growth options.
- Setting career objectives: in this step of career planning, short-term as well as long-term goals are set for oneself, and to have a clear career path to move forward in your professional life.
- Learning and improving skills: this step in the career planning process involves acquiring new skills and relevant knowledge to align with career objectives and industry requirements.
- Preparing a CV: this is the step where you have to prepare your career planning in terms of a CV, cover letter, recommendations, etc
- Job Search: this step includes shortlisting the companies for which a person wants to seek a job and start applying to it.
- Revising career goals: this is the last step in the career planning process, where an individual has to continuously evaluate the career goals and once again do a self-assessment to build a strong career path.
What are the Tips for Successful Career Planning
Career planning can be a long-term or a short-term process that involves a series of steps. To have a successful career plan, here are some tips to follow;
- Take a look at your hobbies and interests
- Have a note of your accomplishments
- Plan according to your interests and accomplishments
- Set a time to achieve
- Plan your career annually
- Research for future job opportunities
How Career Planning Works
Each time you face a major decision, you’ll need to:
- Think about your values, needs, and preferences.
- Explore your learning, work, and life options.
- Ensure your decision reflects your personal priorities.
- Adjust your plans to manage the realities of the world.
- Break your plan down into manageable, ordered steps.
It’s a good idea to read more about planning for your future if:
- You’re wondering what to do and need to focus your thoughts.
- You know and like the direction you’re headed in, but you need some help taking steps to get there.
- You’re not sure where to start.
Bottom Line
The route to a dream career is never a smooth one, but with effective career planning, one’s career can be assured of a smooth passage that will bring career growth and fulfilment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Lack of objectivity
Lack of awareness
External intercession
Difficulty in measuring success
Effective career planning is one that encourages people to investigate and accumulate data, which empowers them to synthesize, gain capabilities, decide, set objectives, and take action.
Career planning is the process of knowing how your skills, talents, values, and interests translate into possible jobs or careers. Matching your skills, etc. to existing jobs or careers. Matching your career goals to your financial needs. Matching your career goals to your educational needs.
Career planning identifies gaps you need to fill and the actions you need to take; career planning helps you identify where you might have a little more learning to do. This might mean taking additional courses, becoming certified in a new skill, or even going to graduate school.
Career paves the way to economic security. An occupation’s earning potential is a major consideration for most people when deciding on a suitable career. Choosing the right profession means that you will be able to have economic security — a factor that plays a key role in our overall well-being
Common Career Goals are;
1. Advancing to a leadership position.
2. Becoming a thought leader.
3. Working toward professional development.
4. Shifting into a new career path.
5. Experiencing career stability.
6. Creating a career goal.
Having a career plan will help you stay motivated during all the twists and turns your career path throws at you. And, most importantly, it will guide you during times when you are considering a career or industry changes by helping you figure out whether your choice truly fits the plan.
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