Action Plans for Your Career

WHAT IS ACTION PLANNING?

Action planning is a process which will help you to focus your ideas and to decide what steps you need to take to achieve particular goals that you may have.

 

It is a statement on paper of what you want to achieve over a given period of time.

 

Preparing an action plan is a good way to help you to reach your objectives in life.

An effective action plan should give you a concrete timetable and set of clearly defined steps to help you to reach your objective, rather than aimlessly wondering what to do next. It helps you to focus your ideas and provides you with an answer to the question ‘‘What do I do to achieve my objective?’’.

It’s OK to have several objectives, but you will need to make a separate action plan for each, otherwise things get confusing.

Although here we shall be applying the techniques to careers, it can be used effectively to help you to reach your goals in many aspects of your life, for example: to pass your driving test.

The following are all valid goals for an action plan:

§ To get more involved in an organization or group to get to know more people.

§ To decide what skills I need to improve and how I will improve them.

§ To investigate the different tools available to help me to choose a career, such as computer-aided careers guidance.

When action planning in a careers sense there are likely to be three main areas in which you want to develop action plans. These are:

§ Choosing the career you wish to enter.

§ Working out a strategy to help you enter this career e.g. application and interviews.

§ Developing skills or determining the transferable skills that you need to acquire to allow you to enter the career of your choice and to be successful in it.

ACTION PLANNING MODEL

There are many different models of action planning, but a good starting point is the one shown below.

 

As you can see, action planning is a cyclical process, and once you have been through one cycle, you can start again at the beginning. Of course, in real life it’s not quite as simple as this. The process is more organic and stages will sometimes overlap, or you may change your goals as you progress, and you must be prepared to revise your plan as circumstances dictate. In more detail, the stages are as follows:

§ WHERE AM I NOW? This is where you review your achievements and progress, and undertake self-assessment.

§ WHERE DO I WANT TO BE? This is where you decide your goals.

§ HOW DO I GET THERE? This is where you define the strategy you will use to achieve your goals, and to break down your goal into the smaller steps you will need to take to achieve your target.

§ TAKING ACTION. This is the "nitty gritty" where you implement your plan!

§ WHERE AM I NOW?

The cycle begins again with a redefinition of your goals........

 

The main steps in preparing an action plan are as follows:

§ Have a clear objective. (‘‘Where do I want to be?’’)

§ Start with what you will do NOW. There is no point in having an action plan that will start in six months time.

§ Define clearly the steps you will take. ("How do I get there?’’) Think of all the possible things you could do to take you closer to achieving your goal, no matter how small. Break down any large steps into smaller components, so it doesn’t seem so difficult to achieve.

§ Arrange the steps in a logical, chronological order and put a date by which you will start each step. Try to set yourself weekly goals: what research you will do into jobs, what skills you will concentrate on learning etc. It’s also a good idea to get into the habit of planning a timetable each evening listing your tasks for the next day or two.

 

Decide when you will review your progress. Keep a diary or logbook of your daily activities and record in it your progress as things happen.

A good time to start your review is about two weeks after you have begun. Review how far you have got towards your objective, identify any mistakes you made and what you can learn from them, look at any new ideas or opportunities that may have presented themselves and then revise your plan to incorporate these.

To your successful job search and development of your Action Plan.

Fran Watson

P.S.  Need some help getting started?  Drop me a line or post a comment below.



P.P.S.  Check out this article

What Do Employers Want?

In today’s competitive life, employers are looking for people who can contribute to the growth of the company and boost its productivity.

Therefore, for people who are seeking employment and that dream job, it is important to know the most sought after job skills on the list of most employers.

1. The ability to research

Job seekers should possess the ability to research not because they wanted to land a job in a research company but in order to do simple searches on the data needed by a particular activity.

2. Logical thinking

Most employers need people who are able to produce effective solutions and to make sensible solutions regarding a proposal or a probable activity.

3. Technologically literate

With the advent of information technology, most job openings require people who are computer literate or know how to operate different machines and office equipments.

Most employers do not necessarily need people who are technological graduates. The simple fact that job seekers know the basic principles of technology is already enough.

4. Communication skills

People who are able to land a good job are mostly those who are adept in speaking and writing. Employers hire people who are able to express their thoughts efficiently through verbal and written communication.

5. Organizational skills

Organization is extremely important in maintaining a harmonious working relationship in the company. Hence, most employers look for people who know how to maintain order.

6. Interpersonal skills

Because the working environment involves working with people of various personalities, it is necessary to acquire the skills necessary to communicate with people from different walks of life.

7. Professional Growth

Employers hire people who are able to create a plan that will generate personal career growth. This means that the person is willing to improve him or herself professionally by learning new things he or she still does not know.

These are just some of the most wanted job skills by most employers. Hence, it is important for the job seekers to take note of these assets in order to be successful in every endeavor they make.

To your job search success

Fran Watson

New Year's Resolutions

Well, it's that time of the year when people think about changing their lives in some way. Some people opt for making a big list of things they are going to do and then find themselves so far behind by day 2 or 3 that they give up on everything.

Some people pick one or two small things to change and work at them for a few days, but then their old lives take over and they forget about their resolutions.

Others make one or two general resolutions that they can stick by the whole year such as; "doing things that make me feel better", so if they go for a walk, or have dinner with a friend, or watch a favourite show, they are successful.

The important thing is to have a goal, something to reach towards.

For job seekers, it is also important to have a goal. You need to know exactly what you are looking for in order to obtain it.

For instance; "I'm looking for a job." is just too vague. "I'm looking for a job as a mechanic." is much clearer and lets people know exactly what you are looking for. They are then more able to help you identify a particular employer who might be looking for a mechanic, or someone with mechanical skills.

If you are currently employed and thinking of leaving your job, you too need a clear cut goal. You need to identify what skills you want to use in your new job, the type of work you want to be doing and the type of employer you want to work for. Once you have done that, you can select two or three employers and then target your resume for them. You may need to send your resume more than once and follow up on a regular basis, but it will be worth it to get the job you want.

I challenge you to set a specific goal for the month of January and share it with me by making a comment below. Then follow up and let me know whether or not you achieved your goal. Then do the same thing for February. Set a goal, let someone know what it is and then follow up with them to let them know how you did. You don't have to face the whole year at once. Take it in bite sized chunks and you will be more successful.

To your success.

Fran