You hold the key to your career; here is guidance to finding out what that is. Career planning is a lifelong process, which includes choosing an occupation, getting a job, growing in your job, possibly changing careers, and eventually retiring. The question that might arise is whether we have the tools / information to make the right career decisions. This article is aimed at helping you answer this question and prepare yourself for the choice you make. The career planning process is comprised of four steps: Self awareness Source for opportunities / alternatives Proper match – square pegs to square holes Action planning 1. Self Awareness As with any product in the market, one needs to understand and know its features / profile in detail to be able to fully explore what it has to offer. The same applies to you as an individual in planning your career. Self assessment is the process of gathering information about you in order to make an informed career decision. Take some time and perform an honest analysis of yourself. You could also use online self assessment guides to figure out what your interests are, what are your values – these are your guiding principles – what are your skills and competencies, what is your preferred environment or organisational culture, what are your developmental needs [perform a SWOT analysis on yourself] and what is the reality on the ground. Do you have what it takes? Are you in the right place – is the organisational culture and environment right for you? This will form a sound foundation in planning your career as your choices and decisions will be based on your self assessment. At the end of the day, you want to have a career that is in line with your value system, your interests with an organisational culture that you can live with. 2. Source for opportunities / alternatives Your SWOT analysis has helped identify your strengths and opportunities and it has equally highlighted what your weaknesses and threats are. It is now time to come up with a road map on how to use your strengths, capitalise on the opportunities while working on your weaknesses and threats. As you reflect on your scenario, what options does it present to you in terms of career choices and decisions? Explore the opportunities that are in line with your value system and interest – the reason being when you are working with what you like, the output will be higher, with less effort and a happier person in general than when you are just surviving. Take the time to research the available opportunities and find out where you can put your strengths to better use – e.g. – supposing you are a receptionist and are really good at handling customers especially the difficult ones, seek for ways to get this ability to be noticed by the decision makers in the organisation – supervisor or management. You could equally seek from the human resources office if there are any opportunities say in sales or customer relations – i.e – let the organisation know that you have potential to handle more challenges. Sell yourself to the right people [decision makers] in the organisation, you will know this if you have done your research and know who the decision makers or colleagues who have influence are. At times, things do not work out as we envision, there might be no opening at that particular moment. If this happens, you should not give up and let go of the talent you possess. Rather, keep working at it as you explore other avenues, be it within the organization or elsewhere. But remember, do not sell yourself short, while at the same time, do not hold grudges if things do not go as planned – that is how life is! Supposing you have identified quite a number of opportunities that are available to you, then you need to prioritise the same and come up with possible activities to help you sharpen you skills in those areas if not securing a job in the identified option. Some of the activities you can use are: Job shadowing - Helps by letting you observe professionals at work in a field that interests you. Through job shadowing you can begin to answer some important questions: Is the field as interesting as I thought? Would it hold my interest? Do I like the work environment? How do people interact in this work setting? Can I see myself doing this job? To get the most of your job shadowing experience, come prepared with a list of questions. Identify the 3 or 4 questions that are most important to you, and look for opportunities to ask them during your job shadowing time. When your job shadow is over, think about the most important things you learned. Were there any surprises, anything you didn't expect? Volunteer opportunities – This will not only give you an opportunity to impact other peoples’ lives positively but will also enhance some of your skills and competencies especially interpersonal, communication, team building and some of your technical skills too! Look out for volunteer opportunities and be the change you want. At the workplace, you might not have the opportunity to exhibit all your skills and competencies, take advantage of such volunteer activities, especially if organised by the company. Once, a colleague was promoted based on what was observed by the management team during an employee volunteerism activity! Write articles – You might not be in a position to physically move around [tight work / life schedule] but have strong understanding of aspects in your professional life. You could take up the opportunity and become a contributor to magazines, newspapers, blogs – create you own blog and invite your friends to visit and give feedback, and discussion forums. By so doing, you not only research and get to know more about your area of expertise, but you get to learn from others too – from the questions they ask or in a discussion forum, what other members contribute. This will sharpen your understanding of the profession and with time, sell you as an expert in the chosen area. Conduct informational interviews - The purpose of an informational interview is to get information about a field of work from someone who has some firsthand knowledge. DO NOT ASK FOR A JOB. This is not to say that an informational interview cannot lead to a job. In addition to helping you learn about a particular career, the informational interview is a way to start building a network. The person who is the subject of your informational interview today may be the first person in your network many tomorrows from now. 3. Ensure proper fit You are about ready to plan your career accordingly. You have performed a self analysis, you have come up with possible options, you now need to identify which of the many possibilities suits you and why. From the information gathered either through job shadowing, informational interviews or writing articles, identify the possible occupations that fit your skills and competencies. Evaluate the same and explore alternatives within your organisation or in other organisations. Establish what your long term option will be and what your short term option is so you can generate an action plan to achieve the set target. 4. Action planning You have finally realised what your professional / career short term goals and long term goals are. It is now time to come up with a detailed step by step formula on how to achieve both your short term and your long term goals. For each of the goals, identify sources for additional training or education if needed, develop a job search strategy, formulate information packages on the companies you would wish to work for, compose tailored cover letters and prepare for job interviews. You do hold the key to your career – I hope you choose to open the door and find out what is in store for you! As Carl Sandburg put it ‘the single clenched fist lifted and ready OR the open hand held out waiting, CHOOSE – for we meet by one or the other.’ You owe it to yourself and to your country to choose wisely. Source: SmartbizAfrica

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