What are career planning and career development? The tips you have never heard before!
The career development plan is your plan to acquire long-term and short-term career advancements and skills. It outlines the goals you need to achieve in your career with a detailed timeline. You need to break down your career development plan into smaller milestones.
In addition, the plan needs to include the skills and qualifications you need to have at a certain time in the future so that you can earn promotions. It is crucial to create a well-organized plan so that you can revisit and reassess it from time to time.
What is career planning & development the definition?
Career planning is a crucial method for helping employees understand who they are and the way they want to spend their working years. By establishing a career planning and development process, you can determine your goals and the actions required to achieve them.
Much like a business plan, a career plan is your guide to ensure constant development. You might have many questions regarding how to start and what is the best way to create a plan. We will discuss the steps to determine your plan and how to master it.
What are the career situations that will define your career development steps?
Each career development plan sample shares common steps that you need to fill. These common steps will define how you should start.
- Current Career Situation: Your current career status.
- Career Goal: The main goal you need to achieve through the plan.
- The obstacles: These are the challenges that you need to bypass to achieve your goal.
- The method: How you are planning to overcome the obstacles.
What are the career development plan steps?
Once you follow these steps, you are ready to start. It is essential to remember best practices regarding your career plan to avoid any common mistakes and have your plan ready in the best possible way.
1- Set and Revisit Your Goals
A career plan will not be useful without goals. Goals will be the motive to achieve the career level you aim for. Your goals should be divided into short-term and long-term goals. The short-term goals will contribute to achieving the higher goals in the long run.
Moreover, make sure to follow the SMART criteria regarding your career goals. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. In that way, you guarantee to achieve various milestones to keep motivated. If you have set a goal that lacks one of these features, try to break it down into small goals.
It is important to keep revisiting these goals to ensure they are up-to-date with your current career status. Don’t hesitate to do so if you feel some goals should be altered or removed completely. This makes sure you are reassessing your career and enhancing your plan.
2- Ask for Support from your Employer
When you are considering a job offer, you need to negotiate a career development program to be part of your benefits package. It shows that you care for your career and that you are eager to learn to be qualified for promotions.
Many companies welcome providing their employees with the latest technologies and skills through learning programs and courses. When you receive hands-on industry knowledge, you will be able to deploy this knowledge in your daily work and see its impact right away.
Employers will notice your enthusiasm and passion for your work, they will in turn appreciate your work by providing opportunities for promotions. So you benefit from learning opportunities and guarantee to advance in your career.
3- Determine the Right Career for you
Whether you are searching for a new job or you have a career, it is important to decide if it is the right career for you. A career development plan will help you achieve higher results in your current career, so you need to make sure you don’t want to shift careers shortly.
It is better to develop a plan for the right career you need to pursue. One of the ways to ensure it is the right career for you is by listing career skills and qualifications. Then, you need to divide these skills into current skills and skills that you need to acquire.
The new skills should align with SMART criteria so that you guarantee you will achieve these skills in a specific period. If they are not aligning, you need to assess your career choice before starting with the plan.
4- Leverage your Network
Your professional network can be valuable in your career development plan. You can learn new skills and qualifications by discussing and asking for support. Try to attend webinars and workshops that revolve around your career.
Furthermore, they can be a guide for your career development roadmap. By monitoring your colleagues and network, you learn what is needed to advance in your career. You can find a mentor that will push you towards success.
Your professional network will be proof of your skills as well. You will always be involved with them in different organizations and that will boost your chances of being recognized.
5- Keep up to date with New Professional Trends
It is crucial to be aware of new trends and technologies in the market. Almost all industries are witnessing rapid shifts and changes due to the pace of new technologies. For example, AI (artificial intelligence) is becoming a trend in many industries nowadays.
In conclusion:
You need to search through new jobs and analyze their requirements to understand what new skills are needed and emerging. In that way, you guarantee to stay ahead and achieve faster and better career goals.
To get the best out of a career development plan, you need to seek career counselling so that you better understand your skills and your qualifications. Career coaches will help you create the best career plan to achieve your goals.
