Businessman with binoculars under road sign. Business concept

The economy and marketplace can often be unpredictable, and many good employees/workers find themselves having to deal with an unexpected bump in their career and no plan to fall back on. There are many hiccups that can take place within an individual’s career, whether this exists as a bad day in the office, a missed progression opportunity, or worst case scenario, being dismissed/made redundant. These factors should not be the kick-start of career planning as ideally this plan should be put in place prior to these events happening, even if your career currently seems to be plain-sailing. In order to be successful it is important that we take responsibility for our own career paths.

Career planning for some can appear fairly simple. If you study your qualifications and previous experience you should vision a pathway that leads you to greater levels of responsibility, for the majority, however, it is not so easy. If you asked any individual who was coming to the end of their career whether the journey they took was the one they had initially planned, most would respond with ‘no’ – and this could have been down to personal choice or simply unexpected changes.

The endpoint of our career is not always clear to us, and for some, this point is still many years away, so it is important that you create plans for both the short-term and long-term.

Short-term Plans

A short-term plan concentrates on the next one or two years of your working life, subject to your position. The idea is to develop feasible goals that can be achieved within a set time frame. Focus on any current career barriers that exist – Do you find it hard to get motivated? Are your expectations too high or low?

Long-term Plans

When looking at a long-term plan you are focussing on a time-frame of approximately five years. Long-term plans are usually harder to design or define, due to the ever-changing industries and workplaces of today. The key skills that you currently possess or propose to gain may not be relevant or in demand in five years’ time. In order to prepare for this your plan should include recognising and/or growing transferable, essential skills that will continuously be valued by employers. For example, see how you can improve the following skills:

  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Working with Others
  • Project Management

It is near impossible to know how many times your career will change in a life time as opportunities and the state of industries are unpredictable, though if you’re like most individuals, your career will change several times. Exactly how positive these changes are and how smoothly the transition goes can be somewhat credited to the amount of career planning you have previously undertaken.

It is important that you reflect on your career to date and constantly re-appraise/create plans for your future. If you feel you are ready to move on to the next opportunity, but you struggle to see where your current skill-set and work experience can take you, then get in touch with one of our expert Consultants. With direct experience of your industry and in many cases your role, we are in a unique position to offer career advice, an overview of your potential next career moves and we always work on your behalf to source you the best and most appropriate career opportunities that will meet with your expectations and exceed your aspirations.