Career decisions determine the way one is going to spend the rest of one’s life. A career is not just about earning a living but also living an enriching life by doing what you are truly passionate about. Earning is important but isn’t it amazing to be able to find a job based on your true passion. As a kid you may have wanted to be a wildlife photographer but somehow ended up doing something else. If you follow certain steps for making the right career choices, you may end up with a job, which is your true calling. Let us thus explore some of the important steps in a career planning process:
Avoid Hasty Decisions
Due to technology, there is today no dearth to the availability of information on any subject we seek to research. Therefore, when it comes to selecting a career, it is not just the career choices available but also the information available with regards to it. It is thus of importance to weigh all the options, research well the information available, analyse what best suits your career interests, and then make a decision. You would not want your career to be based on peer pressure, fad, or a hasty research.
Know your strengths
A little self-reflection is always a fruitful exercise. You will become aware and know about your strengths and weaknesses. It is always a constructive activity to work on your weaknesses. At the same time, being aware of your strengths is important for career choices.
Prepare an Action Plan
Stating your future goals. Preparing an action plan is an important part of career planning process. It requires self-assessment of interests, aptitude, and values; career research including researching available career opportunities; and finally, a calculation of pros and cons in terms of future prospects of the job, educational qualifications, and costs. Once the above analysis is complete, you can set both short-term and long-term goals required to reach your career goals. It is a continuous process and should be done diligently.
Positive Self Affirmation
Mistakes are very much a part of the learning process but it important to failure in our stride, learn from our errors, and never lose faith in ourselves. So every time you fail, praise yourself for giving it a try and tell yourself to work harder the next time.