A successful career usually begins with careful career planning. It is your responsibility to give it the seriousness it deserves. A career plan helps you chronicle both your long and short-term career goals and allows you measure, success, career moves, trainings and choices to make in the bid to attain your planned-out career footprint. This will ultimately steer you on a path with measurable goals.
Jobberman recently hosted Kehinde Ayanleye, the Co-founder of one of Africa’s largest internship platforms, Stutern to a Facebook Live. During the enlightening session, he shared valuable tips on career planning.
1. Self Audit and Identifying Career Path
Carrying out a self-audit is important to recognising and developing your skills regardless of your career level. In planning your career, it’s key to recognise what your present skills-set are, where you can develop and where you stand compared to the industry skills needed. This will help you identify what career path you’re presently on and how you can continuously improve your knowledge and skills to get to the next level.
A key thing to do either while doing a self-audit is to write it down and assess yourself from intermediate to professional level based on all industry required skills.
2. Career Plan Research
After identifying the career path that captures your interest, you need to carry out a self-audit and dedicate time to research your career plan. Research jobs related to your career path, write a winning CV . and cover letter to suit the industry and make adequate preparation for the next stage with tips on interview preparation.
3. Finding an Industry Mentor
Find a mentor in your industry to help guide you through. Whether you’re beginner or experienced level candidate seeking out a new career path, you need a mentor. It is important to find an industry mentor. He/she would be important in mitigating a lot of career errors you would have made without one.
4. Execute, Review and Repeat
It is supremely important that you remain consistent in planning and executing your career plans. You should review them, repeat what works and get rid of things that don’t yield results. When planning, ensure your goals are SMART; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely.
Planning your career with the technique above will help you clarify career ideas and focus your effort, time and resources on driving your career forward.
Kehinde Ayanleye quoted Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War;’ saying, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
