Step 1: Self-Assessment The first and foremost step in career planning is to know and assess yourself. You need to collect information about yourself while deciding about a particular career option. You must analyse your interests, abilities, aptitudes, desired lifestyle, and personal traits and then study the relationship between the career opted for and self.
Step 2: Goal Setting Set your goals according to your academic qualification, work experience, priorities and expectations in life. Once your goal is identified, then you determine the feasible ways and objectives how to realize it.
Step 3: Academic/Career Options Narrow your general occupational direction to a particular one by an informatory decision making process. Analyse the career option by keeping in mind your present educational qualification and what more academic degrees you need to acquire for it.
Step 4: Plan of Action Recognize those industries and particular companies where you want to get into. Make the plan a detailed one so that you can determine for how many years you are going to work in a company in order to achieve maximum success, and then switch to another. Decide where you would like to see yourself after five years and in which position.
Step 5: Catch Hold of Opportunities Opportunity comes but once. So, whenever you get any opportunity to prove yourself and get into your desired career, try to convert it in every way for suiting your purpose. Remember, a successful professional is also quite opportunistic in his moves, examining every opening to turn to his favour.
Advice on Career Planning
Try not to waste much time and wait too long between career planning sessions.
Don’t ever judge and analyse yourself, like your likes and dislikes, abilities, etc. by listening to what people around you say. Be your best judge.
Be open to constructive criticisms.
Career planning is a very important step that needs to be considered in totality. If need be, you should not be hesitant to take the help of professional guidance and find out the best career planning for yourself.
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