Depending on where you are in your career your goals will be different, there is no doubt in that. The trick is also knowing how you are going to get much like a business needs a business plan to figure out which steps to take first.
So what’s your plan to get your career where you want it?
Now obviously your present job title and experience will effect a lot going forward but your plan probably won’t be a whole lot different because we all want to move up the career ladder. Let’s look at a few areas that will vary the most first.
- Your education level – if you just finished bachelor’s degree then you are usually starting in an entry-level position which means that you have a lot to still learn let alone experience, that said you had better be ready to continue the learning process to foster career growth – the more you know and can apply to your job the better.
Experience will be a driving factor for those who have been in the industry for a while but that doesn’t mean you know it all. Many jobs that once didn’t require internet savvy now do – you must embrace this to avoid being passed over for promotions by those who get it. Thankfully you can find seminars galore to help learn things like social media and the multitude of web applications now being used on a regular basis by companies. An example would be those who aren’t Mac users who now are learning how to use and iPad along with other Apple-based products or services.
Both ends of the education & experience spectrum will have to work together to stay current on what’s new and hot. With that in mind, it’s never a bad idea to go back to school or take a class at the local college, in fact having your master’s degree will most likely be a minimum just to get hired or be promoted in the near future so your career really depends on it!
- What career options are available to you – Since your field may have a finite amount of opportunity many people should consider where else they can apply their skills and experience to reach their career goals. Just because you want to work in a job you love doesn’t necessarily mean you should stay in that field because we are reward seeking beings, we want to succeed.
Many people also crave a challenging work environment in the creative sense while others just want to avoid boredom so they like a job that keeps them busy – both want to be compensated well for their efforts. That is why many people find themselves not working in the industry they went to school for because those needs are not being met. Whatever combination of career rewards you seek out be willing to consider where else you could attain that fulfillment.
- How motivated and driven are you? If your career goals are definite and important to you it is a lot easier to realize them, you have to want it. Now this is something that many people say they want to be super successful in their career but don’t seem to want to put in the effort to get there which is sad – they have a tendency to be complacent. If they remembered having a career is a marathon and not a sprint they probably would integrate small milestones that will lead them to the success they desire – however impatience overrides clarity of goals because they want overnight career success. To put it bluntly, people get lazy.
Once you have decided it’s time for a change you need to figure out what that change is going to look like – does that means getting more education, looking for other areas in your present industry that offer more opportunity or if it’s just a matter of motivating yourself enough to get out of the rut you’re in, only you can decide that which offers the most bang for your buck.
So the basic idea is to figure out what little things you can do to enhance the value of what you have to offer an employer along with making some concrete career goals that you can reach in easily attainable chunks, this will typically change your life dramatically making you wish you had done it sooner.
Since many people have a hard time understanding where else they could use their current skills and experience outside of their chosen field we offer help in that area by exploring what career options seem interesting to you. Retooling your resume is normally required for those changing industries because your skills and experience will need to be presented differently to get attention from employers – we do that too.
We hope this helps you get focused or back on track with your career goals.