How to Create a Career Development Plan That Actually Works

whether you are a fresh graduate looking to set up a career goal, you are considering a career switch or aiming for optmized success in your present career, this post is for ypu.

Success in every goal don’t just happen. it is a result of careful plans and meticulous follow up.

in this post , I will walk you through a step by step giudes in setting up a working career plan.

Why do you need a career development plan?

The saying that if one fails to plan, he/she has planned to fail holds true in almost all areas of human endeavour. on the contrary, if you make solid plans, your goal is half-achieved.

below are some of the reasons why career development plans are very neccesary:

1. clarity of purpose: a carefully defined career plans clearly defines what one wants and hence, helps in getting it done.
2. smart decision making: if a plan is well defined, it is alwys easier to mark good decision. therby answering the questions: what, where. why and how.
3. it is a source of motivation: i remeber writing on our family wall that i wanted to be the best student in our ckass. i wold wake up each morning and behold the ariteup staring at me, there was no room for complacency.

Ask yourself questions about your current situation

it is assumed that you are starting anew, and I would like you to access your current situation. Ask youself questions concerning what you currently have, know, or achieved or what you are lacking. this will help you decide where and how to start.

Remember the decision crack code known as SWOT. Ask yourself these few questions.

• what is your strenght? what advantage do you have?
• what are your weaknesses; where do you need improvements?
• what are the posing opportunites you wish to harness?
• what threat do you face? what are your fears

Answering the above questions brings you closer to kickstarting the career goal.

2. Set SMART Career Goals

George T. in 1981 coined the word SMART which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevance, and Time’

A good career goal must satify the above conditions. if you are planning to launch into a new career, business plan or personal goal, check out these few tips below.

• Specific: tell yourself exactly what you want. is it a new business, a new academic profession, a fresh career? do you want to become the latest comedian in town? what exactly is that your goial?
• Measurable: Your goal must be something you will be able to determine if it is achieved or not and at what degree.
• Achievable: Your career goal must be something realistic and within your reach. ask youself questionable if it is something possible, consut a career coach
• Relevant: Relevance is the first thing to be considered before establishing a thought or idea as a career goal.
• Time-bound: When you set up a goal, you must set up a time boundary beyond which a goal must be achived. it could be in few days, weeks, moths or years. decide if it is a short-term goal (0-2 years), or long term goal (5 years+).

Step 3: Identify Skill Gaps and Development Needs

Ask yourself if you posses the reqiured skills for your vhosen career goal. ask youself the simple questions below:

• What skills, experience, or credentials do I need?
• Do I need to learn anything new, what is it that i need to learn?
• Who can I learn from?

Step 4: Build a Practical Action Plan

Break your goals into a practical and workable action plan. consider if you are setting a new business plan, your road map should look like something below:

Any goal at all, can be broken down into actionable simpler forms.

Step 5: Monitor your progress and adjust when neccessary

Things may not go well as planned, there may be unforseen circumstances. it is recommened that you revisit your plans regularly and check if things still go as planned. if mot, stay agile and adjust immediately. i use to tell most of my mentees to write down their plans and read it back tio themsleves either weekly or monthly, tick off he ones tht have been complted.

step 6: track progress and celebrate wins

Going through the entire plans is also another important step that should not be neglected. Go through your diary and tick off the goals that have been complted. celebrate your success with like minds and make tentative comparison between where you started and where you are; write down some experiences and reiview yiur level of new skilss and crtifications obtained .

step 7: Get a mentor

The secret of high achievers in any field of life is that there is no and there will never be any man who makes it high without a mentor. Get an older friend, role model, teacher or a professional in ypur field and allow him/her to mentor you. walk up to his office and openly request that you would love to submit yourself to his/her mentorship. this has been the secret of the Igbo tribe in Nigeria where apprecticeship is widely practiced. The boss adopts the apprenctice and trains him adquately in artisan or trades.

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