After a year of so many uncertainties like 2021, in which many professionals lost their jobs, it is essential to take advantage of the beginning of this year to make a career planning.
To conquer new opportunities in a market as competitive as the current one, relying on luck alone is not enough. In addition to having the technical qualifications for a vacancy, it is necessary to have a well-defined plan, this will prevent you from starting a low-paid job with no future.
But how do you do that? It is necessary to know how to make a career planning. Therefore, we have prepared this guide with important tips for you to structure your professional career. In this article, you will find:
- what is career planning ?;
- what is the importance of this planning ?;
- how to create an efficient career plan with 10 useful tips.
Reassessing the strategies used so far and putting together a plan for your professional life will serve as a guide for you to achieve all your goals quickly and assertively. So check out all of our tips, come on?
What is career planning?
Career planning consists of creating a strategic plan with goals and paths so that it is possible to achieve professional success. Planning is a kind of guide, which the person must follow to achieve his goals at work, such as: promotions at work, salary increase, change of department, etc.
Generally, companies offer a career path for their employees. In fact, it is considered a very attractive benefit to attract and retain talent
After all, the success of your career will depend on the path you take. That's why, Career planning and professional success are closely linked.
How important is career planning?
Having career success is a great goal for anyone. Therefore, drawing up a detailed and effective plan can increase the chances of achieving the long-awaited professional achievement and that it will happen more quickly.
By carefully planning your next steps, a career path can help you:
- discover your skills;
- determine the term of your goals;
- reveal the skills that need to be developed;
- save time on ideas that have no future;
- realize your professional dreams.
That way, thanks to career planning, you will know what next steps you should take in your professional career. This will give you greater control over your future so that all of your professional goals are achieved.
That is, by knowing how to develop a career plan, you will have greater clarity as to where you are now, where you want to go, when you will be able to do it and, best of all, what to do to get there.
If in your case, the idea is to change the direction of your career, changing the sector of activity or your function, we suggest the further reading of this article here. A career transition also requires planning.
How to do an efficient career planning?
Now that you've understood the importance of career planning, it's time to learn how to design a career plan in practice.
With that in mind, we have prepared this guide with 10 important tips for you to learn how to do career planning. Check out:
1. Conduct a personal assessment
The first step, of course, will be to conduct a personal assessment to determine what your professional desires are. Do you know what you're getting at? What does it mean for you to have a successful career?
These responses are extremely personal and will vary from one professional to the next. According to a recent study by the University of California, in general, people set goals compatible with their personality traits. Therefore, it is necessary to reflect carefully so as not to be frustrated in the future.
Take time to assess your current situation, determine your strengths and what needs to be improved, as well as your talents and values. All of them are essential for planning to get off the ground.
2. Develop your skills
Now that you know what your strengths and weaknesses are and where you want to go, it's time to develop your skills.
Qualified people are more likely to achieve their goals and survive in the face of adversities in the labor market.
The most important thing is not to treat your weaknesses as obstacles in your path. You will be able to develop them over time to improve them. It is therefore essential to determine which skills should be worked on.
3. Define objectives
Another important point to have a career planning and professional success, is the definition of personal and professional goals. At this point, you must also determine what your real needs are and how you can meet them.
Drawing a timeline, specifying how you plan to be in the next 5, 10, and even 20 years is a good option. This will guide you when deciding which paths to take.
For example, if you know that 5 years from now you would like a promotion or a new position, you can now decide if you need to take a course, specialization, etc. by then.
4. Have commitment
Before going on to elaborate the plan's strategies, another fundamental issue is commitment. As in any aspect of our lives, if we are not dedicated, there is no point in setting goals and deadlines to meet them.
Therefore, the commitment to your goals should not be underestimated. To do this, it is necessary to be realistic and determine what effort will be put into your planning. Only then will it be possible to fulfill all the objectives.
5. Set deadlines
To make a successful career planning, it is necessary to set deadlines for all the goals set. It is best to separate your goals in the short, medium and long term.
That way you will have faster goals to complete and longer ones that will only end after years. All of them will be fundamental for your professional career to be successful.
6. Develop strategies
After determining your objectives, deadlines and degree of commitment to them, it is time to define the strategies that will be put into practice. They are the key to achieving goals on time.
At this point, you will answer questions such as: “What can I do today to get closer to my long-term goals?”, “What is missing to complete a goal that I have set for the coming months?”
The definition of all these strategies is indispensable for planning. To achieve career success, techniques cannot be left in the background.
Therefore, invest in skills and training of your area, how to take new courses, specializations, study a new language, in short, important points to expand your knowledge.
It is important that you seek to stand out from other professionals in your area. Go after news and innovations in your industry. This will help you get ahead when it comes to winning promotions and new positions.
7. Have inspirations for success
Having professionals who inspire you as an example to be followed will help you stay focused on your career planning. Stay informed about their trajectories and the successes and failures that these people had along the way.
This will encourage you to pursue your goals and also not to be discouraged when a goal is missed or something goes out of plan.
Good examples can also inspire you to overcome the difficult moments in your trajectory and can even give you ideas on how to turn things around.
8. Evaluate and make changes when necessary
When you do career planning, you usually set some long-term goals, which can take up to 10 or 20 years to accomplish.
However, a career path is not something fixed, it does not determine what will happen in your future.
Your career, like everyone else's, will deviate over the years. In fact, what you have wished for the next 15 years now, may not be what you are aiming for 3 years from now.
Therefore, it is necessary to carry out reassessments to determine whether your goals remain consistent with your reality and desires. It is impossible to predict what will happen to your professional journey. And, precisely for that reason, your career plan cannot be something fixed.
9. Make self-assessments
It is not enough to understand how to make a career planning, it is necessary to know how to evaluate it to determine if everything is going well. To do this, you must make self-assessments of your goals and achievements.
Knowing how to evaluate yourself is an indispensable step in your career plan. Being able to look at you clearly will help you follow the right path to achieve your goals.
10. Remove the plane from the paper
After listing all the points above, it is time for you to put all the actions into practice. Start specializations and other activities that will enhance your technical skills to achieve your purposes.
You can create an achievement schedule to keep track of all tasks and deadlines. Thus, you will be able to have total control of the objectives that are being accomplished.
Conclusion
Knowing how to do a career planning is a fundamental step to achieve professionally. Through it, you will know exactly how to act, what goals you need to achieve and what skills you need to develop for that. In this way, it will be easier to stand out in the market and conquer that position so desired in the professional area.
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