Career Planning: Meaning and Importance
Career Planning: Meaning and Importance
So many people wonder, what is career planning? What are the benefits of career planning and how to go about it? Many still say that it is a waste of time!
How can one possibly know what is the best thing when we are still in the learning stage of our careers? How can we know what is the right career when we dont even know what the future is like? If you think that answering these questions is impossible, you may want to reconsider it.
Meaning of career planning –
Career planning is the act of making plans regarding what you will do with your life, what is the aim, how you will accomplish it, and most importantly who you will become in the end.
It is not just a one-time, one-day activity, it should always be an ongoing process because you and society continue to evolve. The main aim of career planning is to establish a clear path for what you wish to achieve in life.
How to go about it?
Your plans should focus on what educational qualifications you will pursue, what field of work will you apply for, what jobs you intend to apply for, what awards and recognition you plan to get, what long term goals you intend to reach, and finally what it will be like to completely live your life according to your chosen career.
All of these steps are geared towards leading you towards a fulfilling career in which you can meet all of your career goals and aspirations. In the end, you will no longer face a blank canvas.
Self-evaluation is a must –
If you are confused about career planning, then you should consider using a self-evaluation. When you are at the initial stages of your career, you are trying to establish yourself as a part-time employee, a full-time employee, or whatever position suits you best at the time.
And as you go through this process you will learn all of the different companies you can work for and all of the different positions you can apply for. This will give you a greater understanding of how much you love what you are doing and what it is like to make a difference in people’s lives.
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The next step –
At this point, you have probably already determined what career planning involves and you know what you want to get out of it. The next step is to start applying. This first step is one of the most crucial steps. Many people who are unsure about what they want do not take the time to start career planning. They just leap right in and soon find that they are way over their head.
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Research work –
Before you take any further action, you must understand what career research involves. There are two aspects to it and they are personal and occupational. Your aspect refers to your personality, skills, interests, knowledge, and personal attributes. Your occupational aspect deals with the particular work environment in which you will be working and what you will be doing there.
There are several different kinds of career paths to choose from, including part-time, full-time, contract, executive, specialty, management, and marketing. Once you understand the two elements of planning, it is easy to decide which part-time or full-time schedule is best for you. If you have a job that only lasts part-time, you might want to think about choosing a part-time schedule. However, if you have a job that will stay full-time throughout the year, you might want to consider choosing a full-time schedule for planning purposes.
Assessments and tests –
To make sure that you are on the right track with your career planning, it is important to use the self-evaluation or self-assessment tests that are available online. The first step in your career planning process is taking the test that pertains to you. You will have several different sections to complete in each section of the test, and these include a summary of your career goals and objectives, characteristics of your personality, your communication skills, characteristics of your career interest, what motivates you, the skills that you need to learn and acquire to succeed at your chosen profession, and other information that will help you in making an informed and well-researched decision.
After completing these sections, you will have another set of questions that will compare your personality to the characteristics listed in the various areas. When you have finished one important step in your career plan, you will know if you are on course with making the right choices for your future career path.
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Re-evaluation –
The next step in the career planning process is the completion of the self-evaluation tests that pertain to your current job, and your strengths, as well as your weaknesses. If you do not have all of the information that you need to properly evaluate yourself, you will find that it will be much more difficult for you to figure out where you need to change to improve. This is why it is so important that you have completed every step in this process. Once you have completed the steps in this section of your evaluation, you will need to take a test that will gauge your progress towards your goals.
If you still find yourself confused, you can talk to the best career counselor sitting in the comfort of your home, now!