How to Make a career plan

How to Make a career plan by Amber Rolfe Don’t know where your career is going? You need a plan…  Although we often hope that things will automatically go the way we want, coincidences (and/or luck) isn’t always on our side â€" especially when it comes to career goals. That’s why it’s important to effectively plan for the future, whether you’re still studying or have been working for a while.We’ve already covered everything you need to know about personal development planning, but here’s our comprehensive guide on how to make a career plan:What is a career plan? A career plan is a practical strategy that allows you to determine your skills and interests, set career goals, and put actions in place that will help you reach them.It’s a continuous process, and it includes an overview of:Your current skills and experienceYour career goalsYour interestsYour prioritiesYour intended actionsWhy is career planning important? Career planning is a great way to ensure your career is going in the right direction.Not only does it help you realise your passion, it also facilitates your career goals with tangible actions and aims. At the very least, it’ll help you to answer career goal questions at your next interview.By assessing your situation, you’ll additionally be able to determine and fill any gaps in your knowledge or experience that might be holding you back from your dream job.  Who should make a career plan? Everyone can benefit from creating a career plan.Whether you’re still studying, you’ve just graduated, you want to change careers, or you’re itching for a promotion â€" a career plan will ensure your actions are in line with your goals.And it’s not just big changes that a career plan helps implement. You can also use it to learn new skills and widen your knowledge in a particular area.How to make a career planAssess your options. First things first, you need to figure out what career is right for you. Prioritise your choice based on your interests and strengths, and consider the importance of factors like salary, company culture, working hours, and commute time.How to choose a careerWhat job would suit me?List your current skills. Listing your current skills, abilities, and experience will not only help you to understand what career path suits you, it’ll also help you figure out if you’re qualified enough to take your preferred route. Areas where you lack in knowledge will inform the actions you plan to take in terms of training and development.What are transferable skills?Hard skills vs. soft skillsSet goals and actions. Once you’ve decided on your ideal career path, it’s time to set some goals â€" which will help you decide what actions you need to take. These could both be short-term and long-term, and big or small.Give yourself timeframes. Setting deadlines for each of your goals will motivate you to get things done. Whether you work towards exact dates, or pick a broader timescale (e.g. a particular month) â€" addin g this into your career plan will give your goals some realistic context, not to mention keep you motivated to keep going.Keep checking back. A career plan isn’t a one-stop-solution. To make sure your goals are up-to-date, it’s important to keep checking back on your career planner. Not only will it allow you to track your progress, it’ll also mean you can make alterations if your circumstances change.Five tips to guarantee career progression  How should I structure my career plan? Career plans can be laid out in many ways, depending on how specific you want to be with your goals â€" and what you want to place precedence on achieving.However, your career planner should always follow a clear and easy-to-read format.To point you in the right direction, here’s our career plan example:  Career PlanPersonal overview   Include a brief outline of who you are and what you’re looking for. Include your strongest attributes and interests, as well as where you’re at in your current situation.  Education Provide an overview of your educational qualifications.  Employment history Write a short summary of your employment history.  Goals Short term: E.g. secure job with progression opportunities (in 6 months).Mid-term: E.g. get a promotion (in 2-5 years).Long term: E.g. become head of department (in 5+ years).  Current skills, knowledge, and experience Sum up your key skills and competencies â€" whether they’re gained from work, study, or hobbies.  Training and development requirements Use this section to assess what training and development is needed to achieve your goals.  Action plan Give yourself a clear, step-by-step guide of the actions needed to reach your goals â€" including timescales against each action.You can include as many actions as you want, but it might be most useful to limit yourself to a smaller number â€" so you can add new ones as you progress.How do I stick to my career plan?So you’ve created the perfect career plan, but now what?Althoug h forming a plan is the first step â€" it won’t work without continuous effort. That means using your career planner to inform your day-to-day, whilst making ongoing changes throughout.This involves tracking your progress, ticking off finished goals, altering/adding steps, or even changing your direction after realising it wasn’t quite right for you.Keep doing these things, and your career planner is far less likely to fall to the back of your mind. And, if you’re struggling to stay motivated, consider giving yourself rewards for each goal you meet.But remember: your career is a marathon, not a sprint. Trying to get too many things done within a short space of time is only going to set you up to fail in the long run.Still searching for your perfect position? View all available jobs nowFind a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and cond itions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Career Development

Contracting The Fundamental Guide

Contracting The Fundamental Guide Becoming self-employed is the goal of many but there is so much to take into consideration. The term ‘contracting’ is often used these days to describe those who are self-employed and hire their skills out to others on a short-term basis; it is also used to describe those working in the building trade. However, a person can be considered to be a contractor if they offer other freelance skills such as administration, translation or IT services. Why become a contractor?  It is important to do some marketing in order to find clients and this must be an ongoing process.   Some contractors will be lucky enough to find a number of clients that need their services on a regular basis but this will not apply to all. Marketing does not have to cost a great deal and as social media is readily available getting the word out about a contractor is very easy. Pages on social networking sites such as Facebook are a must and an email marketing campaign is also easy to arrange. However, traditional methods of marketing such as advertising in the local newspaper and leafleting can also work very well. Financial management for contractors  There are a number of options for those who want to stay in full control of their finances. The first is to enlist the services of an accountant to ensure that the books are always kept in order. The second is to sign up with an umbrella company. For those who are just starting out this is a way of becoming self-employed without the need to register for self-assessment. The contractor becomes an ‘employee’ of the umbrella company for the purposes of National Insurance and income tax. Even though the contractor is self-employed, PAYE is an option and it can take the pressure off while the business is being established. Getting tax right is essential as this can lead to other problems down the line so the best course of action is to place this issue in the hands of professionals. So if you want to start a side hustle without the big set up burdens, try being a contractor. A large number of businesses are being set up by women as they look for a solution to the work/life balance. With so many resources available it is easy to ensure that the right amount of focus can be applied to the daily work of the new company without getting caught up in the administrative tasks that can be overwhelming for a new business owner. Are you a contractor? What  other key aspects of contracting should be considered by women who are interested in becoming self employed? Share your advice below or tweet us @mscareergirl!  

How to Increase Your Happiness While Running a Business - Classy Career Girl

How to Increase Your Happiness While Running a Business I wanted to quickly share with you a commitment that we have at CCG.   Our commitment is to serve women stuck in their jobs by giving them crystal-clear content that makes taking action and finding career fulfillment easy. Our mission is Career fulfillment for all women. So if you are listening, that is our goal and on that note. I want to make this podcast super useful for you. I want it to be crystal clear and helps you take action and find carer fulfillment. So on the note of fulfillment and happiness, today’s podcast is all about fulfillment as a business owner. Now if you aren’t a business owner, this podcast will still be helpful for you no matter what career you are in. So let’s dive in and learn How to Increase Your Happiness While Running a Business. Subscribe  on  your favorite platform below: iTunes Google Play Music Stitcher Radio TuneIn iHeartRadio Sound Cloud How to Increase Your Happiness While Running a Business There are a lot of unhappy entrepreneurs in the world. To me, someone who is happy and doing what they love is a real success. So, we are going to talk about looking inside and making sure you are doing more of the stuff you are designed to do in your business.   You might feel like a change is needed in your business. Maybe it’s not making you very happy or you aren’t doing the things you thought you would be doing when you started. To get started, ask yourself these questions: 1) What do you enjoy most about the current work you do or the work you have done in the past? 2) What could you do for hours and hours and not get bored? 3) What tasks drain you and what tasks give you more energy? Related Post: How to Outsource Work You Hate in Under a Week 3 Things That Lead to Career Satisfaction (and Increase Your Happiness!)   Interests: What were the things you could do for hours and hours and not get bored when you were a kid Motivations: What are your values, what are your goals? Are you looking for freedom, to make an impact, spend more times with your kids? These may change over time, and that is okay!   Favorite Skills: What are you good at and what do you actually enjoy doing?   I am great at accounting, but I hated it. Today, I do more teaching and it is what I really love.   Career Tip   Do what you WANT to do instead of what you feel like you should do. It’s so easy to just go along that path with what you should do. You can save yourself so much time and trouble if you just start with what you want to do! Are you doing what you want to do or what you should do? Share Your Feedback About Classy Career Girls Podcast Before we go, thank you so much for sharing that you are listening and sharing our podcast with your friends. I truly appreciate it and thank you also for the reviews. I love love love reading them and I really want you to leave a review if you havent yet. It would mean so much to me and to our entire CCG community.   If you have any feedback about the Classy Career Podcast, please DM me on Instagram. Do you want shorter episodes? Longer episodes? More content on a specific topic? Less content on a specific topic? I really want this to be useful content that helps you take concrete steps to find more career fulfillment. Thanks so much for listening, and I look forward to hearing from you!