When most people begin to think about career planning, the tendency is to focus on promotion and advancement. While moving up is certainly one career option, it is not the only one. You may, in fact, be able to meet your career objectives by moving in a number of different directions.
There are a number of possible career moves you could work towards. All of them present options for career and personal development.
Some possible career moves are: - UP - ACROSS - DOWN - ENRICHING - OUT
- SKILL BUILDING/PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Now consider these in detail:
UP: To a more senior level in the organization
ACROSS: Laterally to acquire new skills; to incease your exposure to other areas of the organization; to obtain your perspective on your career
DOWN: To start a new career; to try something different; to acquire new skills and experiences, which can lead to future career mobility
ENRICHING: Making your job more challenging and stimulating by increasing your involvement in some areas, delegating tasks in others; changing how you perform your job; participating in a task force or committee; taking on a new assignment
OUT: To a more appropriate position in another organization; to set up your own business
SKILL BUILDING/PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: Developing new skills or abilities; acquiring new knowledge by participating in development assignments, a training course, or further education; changing yourself in some way, for example, developing a hobby; changing how you relate to people.
To get yourself out of the UP ONLY trap, list possible career goals for each of the six options:
UP
ACROSS
DOWN
ENRICHING
OUT
SKILL BUILDING/PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
1. Do you have knowledge, skills, abilities, and capabilities you would like to use more fully? List them.
2. Do you think you are capable of a more responsible position? Is your performance outstanding in your present job?
3. Do you want to change jobs and try another kind of work? Do you want to specialize, generalize or do something completely different?
4. Are you dissatisfied with your job or the conditions associated with it? Will things be better in another job?
5. Is there a job that matches your interests and capabilities? Is such a job likely to become available? What are your chances of getting such a job?
6. How will other factors influence your career planning?
Interests
Likes/Dislikes
Strengths/Weaknesses
Skills
Needs
Others
Some ways in which I can improve my present job are:
In my next job, I want:
In my next job, I do not want:
Some possible jobs/assignments which match what I want are:
Setting goals is an opportunity for improving existing skills and developing new ones. Goal setting is considering the possibilities and opening doors. It is deciding what you want from your career and developing a plan to meet those goals. It is a commitment for action, and a plan for action. What do you plan to accomplish? How do you plan to do it? By when?
Setting goals, however, also means a great deal of personal honesty. Goals must be realistic and attainable. You must look critically at your strengths and weaknesses. You must be able to identify what barriers you will have to face, and you will have to acknowledge the gaps that exist between you and your goals.
Committing yourself to action also involves trade-offs in terms of time, money, and effort. You must be able to recognize these trade-offs and make sure you are prepared to make them. And most important, you must ask yourself if reaching that goal will meet your objective after all.
1. Begin by identifying a career direction, rather than a specific job.
2. Describe three positions that you would like to have within two years.
3. Compare your answers in numbers 1 and 2. Will one lead to the other?
4. List three careers you have thought (or day-dreamed) about. Indicate what you find attractive about each of them.
5. What is stopping you from pursuing the above?