Useful Tips for Successful Career Planning

 Career Planning  No Responses »
Aug 052011
 

Tips for Successful Career Planning

Schedule Your Career Planning
Career planning is a serious issue and requires a lot of thinking. Hence, must not be done casually. Fix a time when you will be able to concentrate only on it and nothing else. Make sure there is no disruption around when you sit for planning. Treat your career planning schedule as you would treat a physician’s appointment. It is not a one-time task and must be taken up from time to time, in order to review and revise the plan, if need be.

Take Up a Few Tests
Self assessment helps a person in identifying his strengths and weaknesses. Take up a few self assessment tests to find out the areas you are good in and the ones you need to work on. You can select a career option requiring skills you are good at. Doing so, you will be in a better position to perform the job and this will work in a positive way for your career growth.

Look Out for Interesting Options
A person can give his 100% to a job only if he is interested in it. A job you don’t find interesting at all, will not motivate you to give in your best. This will hamper your career growth and you will tend to move slowly up the ladder of success. That is why, don’t concentrate on one particular field. Widen your horizon and look for other available options. You can always find an interesting field you would love to make your career in.

Think of the Job Requisites
Before choosing a career, it is important to ask a few questions to yourself like, the kind of work culture you would like to work in, the kind of organization that will help you in achieving your goals, the kind of work schedule you would be comfortable with and whether you can commit to traveling or not. Answering these questions will give you a clear picture of what you can do and what you may not.

Research Thoroughly
Try to find out all the information about the career options you have selected for yourself. Proper research gives you the actual picture which will help you in choosing the best option for yourself.

Utilize the Facilities of Career Center
Colleges have career centers that provide guidance to students, for choosing the right career path and help them plan accordingly. Make use of resume development workshops, interview workshops and career development seminars arranged for the students. You can also get in touch with the college alumni to gain information about their fields and scope of career development in it.

Opt for Internships and Voluntary Work
Doing an internship in the industry will help you in gaining knowledge about how things actually work on the job floor. As you are on the job, you can experience it and decide if it is your cup of tea or not. Voluntary jobs help you build your network and display your capabilities to people. It will add on to your resume and may work in a positive way for your placement.

Ask Someone to be Your Mentor
A person having an established career in the field of your choice can help you in a great way. Find someone who can be your mentor and guide you in building a great career. A mentor can motivate you when you feel low and support you at every step.

Build a Network
Networking is one of the important aspects of building a great career. Make people aware that you are ready to enter into the industry. Meet people who are already working in the field you would like to enter. They can give you proper insights of the industry and clear your doubts. Joining professional associations can also help you in getting into the industry.

Study Job Trends
Studying job and career trends will tell you whether the job of your choice is having an uptrend or downtrend and will tell you the market status of the job you want to get in.

Set Career Goals
Once you have decide on your career, take the next step by enlisting your career goals. Set short-term and long-term career goals for yourself, so that, you know when and where to concentrate to reach your set target.

Take the help of these tips for successful career planning. Planning should be done at the right time to reap its benefits. It is not a one-time task. Even after you join an industry, make sure to review your career plan at pre-decided intervals, to check if you are on the right path or have deviated from the goal you had set for yourself. Reviewing your career plan will prepare you to build a successful and satisfying career.

 Posted by at 2:08 am  Tagged with:

Short and Long Term Career Goals

 Career Planning  No Responses »
Jan 252011
 

Examples of Short Term Career Goals

Short term goals are something that you want to keep doing on a regular basis or something you want achieve in the next few weeks, months, or years. Well, it is quite a subjective term as people have their own understanding about short term goals which are subject to the nature of one’s job and career aspirations. But generally, anything that you want to achieve on a regular basis or within two to three years period can be considered as short term goals. Some of the examples of short term goals are as following:

  • Improving one’s current business skills by taking out an hour on a daily basis.
  • Aiming at handling new responsibilities and fulfilling them within speculated time frame.
  • Keeping the work place clean, neat, and tidy everyday.
  • Completing the tasks at least one day before the deadline.
  • Never taking work and office tensions at home.
  • Balancing the work and personal life efficiently.
  • Never to keep work pending for the next day or next week.
  • Taking up training sessions or joining hobby classes after or before office hours.
  • Keeping one self updated with latest information and development in the field of work.
  • Working on skills and educational qualifications required for higher or desired profiles.
  • Enjoying the current job and giving one’s best to the current job.
  • Keeping an eye on new career opportunities and developing the required skills.

These were some of the generic short term goals that one can have depending on the nature of the job. For example, a short term goal for a writer could be, finishing seven articles within a week, or improving language and grammar skills by studying it for half an hour every day, etc. Similarly, a short term goal for a functional consultant could be to meet the clients and work on their problems in a month’s time or take up foreign language classes to deal with clients from other countries, etc. Now let’s take a look at long term career goals.

Examples of Long Term Career Goals

Long term goals are again very subjective to the nature of the work of an individual but they generally involve certain drastic and major changes in the career, such as job change, second career, or starting a business, etc. To achieve long term goals a person needs to be patient and dedicated and also have to work regularly towards achieving the final long term career goals. Many people refer to long term career goals as something that they want to achieve over four to five years span. Given below are some of the examples of long term career goals.

  • Aiming to achieve the highest position in the company. Say becoming a CEO, HOD, dean, or the manager of the company or the institute.
  • Switching to a new job at a higher profile or to a profile that is completely different from the current profile. For example, a writer could aim to become an instructional designer after five years.
  • Converting the hobby into a business or a career. For example, a person interested in baking can plan to start his own cake shop after few years while currently working with a local restaurant or a hotel.
  • Retiring early is also a long term career goal for many. A person may plan a second career or make enough savings with the current job that would allow him to retire early.
  • Having a private business and providing a consultancy to other companies is also one of the good long term career goal examples.

These were some of the examples of long term career goals where an individual has certain plans for the distant future. But, many people do not know what they really want to do as in career wise and that is why they cannot really plan out their career goals. But even then having a temporary and flexible career plan is mandatory in order to find what you are really passionate about. For those who are clueless about their career path and career goals it is suggested to analyze your current job profiles, current lifestyle, likes and dislikes and then choose a career accordingly. So set your career goals right away and taste success whenever you want.

 Posted by at 2:45 am  Tagged with:
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