Tips for an Career Plan

Creating Your Career Plan Presented by Sugarcrest Development Group, Inc. Creating Your Career Plan • 2 The Five-Step Planning Process The following five-step planning process is a simple, proven approach for discovering where you are, where you want to go and how you are going to get there. Step 1: Situational Analysis A. Identifying Values Use the following map to brainstorm and capture eight values that are important to you.

There are no right answers. Enter each value into one of the boxes below, in order of importance.

Then, rate yourself on a scale of 1 –10 in the achievement of “peak performance” in that aspect of your life. 1 = poor performance; 10 = peak performance). Finally, connect the dots.

? 2002 Sugarcrest Development Group, Inc. www. sugarcrest. com Creating Your Career Plan • 3 Step 1 (continued): B. Personal Strengths and Weaknesses Identifying and capitalizing on your strengths is the key to career success. While many people focus on improving their weaknesses, those who are truly successful know what they are good at and do as much of it as they can.

To identify your strengths, ask yourself: 1. What are the things you do that come easily to you, as if you’ve always known how to do them? 2.

What are the skills you have that improve as you do them more often? 3. What do you know that you do well? 4. What do others recognize as your unique skills? What do others think you’re good at? 5. What is it that you do that gives you pride and satisfaction? Key to capitalizing on your strengths is managing, or minimizing the impact, of your weaknesses.

Weaknesses are sometimes hard to see. To identify yours, ask yourself: 1. What are the things that, no matter how hard you try, you cannot master? 2. Which tasks do you find yourself procrastinating? 3. What are the things you do only because you “should” do them? .

About which work-related tasks do you find yourself becoming defensive? ? 2002 Sugarcrest Development Group, Inc. www. sugarcrest. com Creating Your Career Plan • 4 Step 1 (continued): C. Current situation How does your current position match up with your values, strengths and weaknesses? Write below a summary of your assessment of your current situation.

? 2002 Sugarcrest Development Group, Inc. www. sugarcrest. com Creating Your Career Plan • 5 Step 2: Personal Mission Statement Like a corporate mission statement, your personal mission statement defines the basic direction of your career.

It helps you focus your planning efforts on what matters most to you.

Before you begin drafting your mission statement, review your notes and your answers to questions posed in the situational analysis. In drafting your mission statement, write quickly. Don’t think too hard about it. The goal is to get your thoughts on paper and edit them later. Ask yourself: Why do you do what you do? What is it that you do that makes a difference to other people? Personal Mission Statement: .

? 2002 Sugarcrest Development Group, Inc. www. sugarcrest. com Creating Your Career Plan • 6 Step 3: Create Your Team No man is an island.

All of us need other people to help us achieve our mission. Research shows that companies perform better and people do better in environments in which they are supported and encouraged.

The stronger your relationships, the greater your strengths will be. Draw a large oval in the space below: Imagine that the oval represents the table in your career’s board of directors’ room. Put yourself at the head of the table as write the names of those people would be sitting around that table. They should come to mind fairly quickly. Do the people on your board of directors know they are members? Would the people you work with put you on their board?

Who isn’t on your board who should be? What makes these relationships successful? ? 2002 Sugarcrest Development Group, Inc. www.

sugarcrest. com Creating Your Career Plan • 7 Step 4: Develop a Plan Now you can begin developing your career plan by plotting the steps between your current situation and your destination as described in your mission statement. Focus on your strengths and set goals for yourself that play to your strengths. To set goals, you must create the image of the person you want to be and the career you want to have. Questions to ask yourself include: • • • • • • • • • How do I want to be perceived by others?

Who exemplifies the kind of career I want to have? How good do I need to be? How much money do I need to make? What, if any, title do I need to have? What does my vision of my family look like? With whom do I need to associate? What do I need to do to feel that I am making a significant contribution? How do I get from where I am now to where I want to be? Now, you can begin to plot the steps between who you are now and who you want to be. As you plot the route you will take, set deadlines by which you will accomplish or revise your goals.

Use the Sample Goals Chart below as a starting point.

Sample Goals Chart Goal Strategies Deadlines ? 2002 Sugarcrest Development Group, Inc. www. sugarcrest. com Creating Your Career Plan • 8 Step 5: Implement and Refine Your Plan Now it is time to shift gears and move from big picture thinking and long-term planning to daily action.

As you begin to implement your plan, there are a few things to remember: 1. Keep your mission in the forefront of your mind. 2. Procrastination is your biggest enemy. 3. Enlist allies.

4. Reward yourself and seek recognition. 5. If it’s broke, fix it. ? 2002 Sugarcrest Development Group, Inc.

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