Ask anyone what his ambition is and he will tell you that he wants to be an editor, a marketing director, a human resource manager, or even a CEO! Next, you ask him, how does he plan to get there? His enthusiasm will probably trail off and a puzzled look would take its place.
You press on further and ask: Is there any career planning that he has drafted out to help him get on the path to reach his goals? He would most likely sigh and shrugged his shoulders, lost for words.
How many of us can relate this scenario to our own life? We wish that we hold some big significant career positions in our workplace, yet it stays only as wishful thinking because we have no idea how to get there.
How to Plan Your Career?
Too often we go for jobs because of the money, not realizing that the position can plateau off and we’d be stuck. If you have already worked for a while, ask yourself, do you really enjoy the work you’re doing now, or do you consider it drudgery? If your answer is the latter one, it shows that you are having a job and you are not pursuing your dream career.
Difference between a Job and a Career
There is a big difference between a job and a career. A job is something you have to do; a career is your progress in your chosen field and it ultimately leads you to your dream job, the position in your work where you are happy and brings you great satisfaction.
Map out a Career Plan that Fits You
If you are not happy with your work, your chances of being happy in your life are diminished. For example, Latest news by Morning Picker shows that the key to be happy in your work and your life is to develop and map out a career plan that fits you. Choosing a career can be hard as there are so many choices. Career exploration can also be time-consuming. However, time should be given in these areas to think of the position you want to be in your career.
Being in a good job is vital to kick-start your career path. You can start it off with a great resume that would land you a great start in your chosen career field. If you have difficulties in drafting out your resume, you can always get resume help! Once you landed the career position that you wanted, you must then continually implement your career development plan while making the needed changes as you go along.
Workplace Stress is Unavoidable
However, we can look at it differently. We can turn stressful feelings into motivational drives that make us better. Give yourself a reward when you manage to handle your stress appropriately. There are no problems too big to handle as long as we have the zeal to overcome them.
Few organizations offer help or encourage career planning for fear that employees might become dissatisfied with their present jobs and leave the company. Most individuals resist career planning because it requires great effort. We need to apply critical thinking, self-discipline, set goals, and establish our career direction to taking developmental actions in correcting identified gaps that we encounter in our path to success.
These sound like a lot of work and we resist taking these steps to get to our dream job. Such resistance is hard to understand when you stop to think of the benefits of such a plan. Forming a career plan and following through it will bring us to the point where we work because we get pleasure and financial gain for it. We don’t have to dread getting up early in the morning for work but jump out of bed instead because we are excited about our job!
Be Stick to Formal Career Plans
The two percent of the population who stick to formal career plans are usually the leaders in their chosen fields. These individuals are not only living happy lives, but they are also secure, both psychologically and financially. We find these people-driven and motivating. We don’t see them complaining about what they have to do. We don’t see them being a sour-pot at their workplace. Instead, we see them so filled with zest and energy that they became our role models and we want to one day become like them too!
Hence, we should take charge of our own career planning and set our eyes on what we want to see ourselves in a 5-year-time, in 10-year-time, taking action in getting our dream job, living our dream career life. Our career stands a much better chance of taking charge and planning it rather than leaving it to luck and other management.
Let us do and not just wish. Draw up your own career plan and get your dream job!
Are You Stuck at Your Job?
Ambition inspires people to want more than they have and to strive for more. But some people, fearful of failure, repress their aspirations. Here is a 10-point checklist to see if you are veering off the track of building a successful career:
- You find yourself envious of others’ accomplishments and fantasies being in their shoes.
- You read about your industry in trade periodicals or other relevant publications but don’t take action on the ideas your reading generates.
- You know who the key players in your organization are, as well as in the competition, but you don’t make the time or the effort to get to know them.
- You feel like you’re selling out if you assume a high profile but are disappointed in yourself when you find you are adopting a passive role.
- You frequently second-guess your boss’ decisions and feel resentful about following his or her direction.
- You feel energized listening to those who are senior to you but feel depressed that you aren’t one of them.
- You have given up taking big risks.
- You scorn those who are successfully living out their ambitions.
- You blame the recession, office politics, or fate for your situation.
- You socialize primarily with people who lack ambition.
Points to Ponder
A job is something you have to do; a career is your progress in your chosen field.
We often go for jobs because of the money, not realizing that the position can plateau and we’d be stuck. Tragically, most individuals allow others and circumstances to manage them and need to be supervised to accomplish their work.