Charting your career path

We spend more time planning our next holiday than our careers, and we simply let ourselves drift in the flow of our lives and react along the way - why don’t we plan our own careers? Sometimes it is the case whereby you may know what you want but you don’t know how to get there. The difficulty in career planning can also stem from the fact that there are so many paths to reach a career goal, and you would need to gather and process varying pieces of information, as well as identify and compare numerous options. Hence it is normal to feel confused and overwhelmed at any point in the endeavour of trying to achieve the career goal. Let's also not forget that as our needs change, the career planning process might need to shift gears. With that being said, every step you have taken along the way should have led you to a better understanding of yourself which would enable you to make better career goals and plans.

It is good to keep in mind that the journey is a lifelong process for most people. Effective career planning requires you to know yourself well, and these are some questions you might want to ponder:

What is important to you in a career? Is it money, status, growth and development, etc.?
Why are those things important to you? Understanding the reason behind the motivation of your career pursuit is likely to be your biggest pillar of support when faced with challenges and be the driving force of determination
What might be your current career goal?

Using From/To statements that identifies your current career state to your desired career state. For example:
1. From an individual contributor who adds value through domain expertise and takes direction from others, to a leader who creates and executes a clear strategy and demonstrates genuine care for a small team.
Make a list of five people you can speak to who can provide insight into the journey to your destination. These people can be your peers, seniors, manager, senior leaders, corporate alumni or even mentors outside the organisation.

Charting your career path

Create your own career experience map by:

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