No one wants to be stuck in the same job forever. Fortunately, most of us don’t have to be. With solid career planning and a little patience, we can grow into better jobs and reach our career goals.
But how can you plan for a career that’s constantly evolving? By breaking it into smaller pieces that keep you moving in the right direction, focused and motivated.
Here’s how.
Identify your main career goal
How do you start a career plan? Assess the now. Look at where you stand and ask yourself where you want to go.
Do you want to be the CEO? Do you want to retire young with enough cash saved up to travel?
You can achieve whatever you want with your career if you manage your expectations and plan well.
Consider the five-year career plan
We recommend breaking your career plan into five-year increments, to help you stay focused and motivated as you work toward reasonable short-term goals.
At the end of each five years, you’ll have a firm idea of which direction to move in next, keeping you more on track in the long run.
Prioritize short-term goals
To plan reasonable goals, you must assess the probability of reaching them. Short-term goals are easy to plan for because the future becomes more uncertain the further down the road you try to look.
Simply put, you don’t know where your career is going to be in a few years, so why plan beyond that? And remember that a solid career plan is a focused one — to stay focused and motivated, you’ll want to hit as many bull’s-eyes as you can.
Be consistent
Consistency is important when setting goals and working toward them. Make a plan and stick to it, working through it one goal at a time. You’ll find success only through consistent growth. Also, your colleagues and leaders will more likely notice your work if you consistently hit the mark.
The bottom line
To start your five-year career plan, identify your main goal, and then come up with a series of plans to carry you to it.
Prioritize setting reasonable short-term goals over long-term ones to help you stay focused and motivated. Consistently work through the steps, and you’ll complete the journey.
