September 14, 2014
Benefits of career planning
Career planning is an ongoing process which can assist an individual to manage both learning and development. Career planning involves planning for the future. Hence, it is not something which one can decide at once but it is a continuous process. The main benefits of career planning includes:
- Identifying Interests
- Exploring Life
- Fine Tuning of Work Plans
- Learning/Creating New Plans In Life
The following are some of the steps which need to be identified and researched before you can have some success with your career planning.
Step 1: Know Yourself
The initial step is to think about the situation where you are at the moment, what you want to become and ways of getting there. After thinking about the above process, the next think to do is to know your interests and values. The following are some of the questions which you need to ask yourself:
- What are my strengths?
- Where am I at the moment?
- What is so important to me?
- What do I like to do?
At the end of the above step, you will receive a clear idea of the learning objectives or idea of work as well as an individual preference.
Step 2: Find Out
This is a step which involves exploring the learning areas and occupation which can interests you. When you have the idea of the occupational preference, you need to research on the specific skills and qualifications which are needed for those occupations. Under this section, the following questions will guide you:
- What are the skills I require?
- How do I gain these skills to qualify for these occupations?
At the end of this step, you will have acquired a list of preferred occupations or the learning options.
Step 3: Make Decisions
This is the penultimate step of career planning. The process includes comparing options, thinking about what best suits you at that instance and narrowing down your choices. The following are some of the questions which you can ask yourself in this third step:
- What are my best training options or best work?
- How do I fit the current labor market?
- What will assist or hinder me?
- What are the benefits and weakness of every option?
- How do I match with my skills?
After the 3rd step, you will have narrowed down the options and have an idea of what you are required to do so that you can achieve your goals.
Step 4: Take Action
This is the last step which requires you to plan you actions. You need to use what you have learned about your interests, skills and values together and the information you have gathered about the world of work so as to create the plan. In this step, find answers to the following problems:
- What are the steps or actions which will assist me?
- Where can I get assistance?
- Where can I get support?
By the end of the this step you will have obtained a plan which can assist you to explore your option and achieve your career objective. The above steps are a few ways in which you can go about with your career planning. Feel free to consult me about planning your career. I’d love to hear from you!