Last week, we presented two career-related-posts. Why a Company Should Hire YOU. And How to Answer Competency-Based Interview Questions. As a complementary post, we offer a simple career-planning process.
From the Indeed Guide: A Simple Career-Planning Process
The Indeed job search site offers a lot of great tips. For today, we examine its advice on career guide.
Career planning is the process of discovering educational, training, and professional opportunities that suit your interests, passions and goals. Before searching for jobs, you should set achievable long-term goals. To identify what you want to be doing along your career path at five, 10, 15, 20 years, and so on. Then, you can set short-term goals between each stage. That ensures you have clear, actionable steps you to take to reach your long-term goals. Career planning allows you to outline your goals and reevaluate them as you progress.
This figure outlines the process. With a description of each step below the figure.
- You first need to understand your needs, strengths, personality, skills, talents and interests to make informed academic and career decisions. You can determine these items on your own by making a series of lists.
- After you determine your qualities and aptitudes, you can decide which types of careers you are interested in with research.
- After you have narrowed down your list of possible careers, find ways to experience each career in person.
- Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of all of your options. You will need to consider many factors, including the possible balances between pay and enjoyment, the pros and cons of relocation, and the work-life balance.
- Gather all the information you have learned and determine an action plan.
- Use your career plan to begin your job search. Identify specific roles and companies you’re interested in applying to, and compare those preferences and requirements to your career plan. See if there are steps you still need to take or if you’re qualified to apply.