The 4 step process to career planning

Career planning has always been a crucial stage in any individual’s life. It must be done with much precision and planning. Career planning totally depends on kind of interest, skill, values and preference an individual has. This becomes the basis of their career choice. External factors apart from individual skills and preferences affecting ones career planning are exploring life, working and learning options accessible to them.

Outlined below is the simple 4 step process to career planning:

• The very first, deals with knowing one’s own self. An individual’s desire what to become and how to become mainly matters. One needs to understand what they are now and what their capabilities to become are. One has to work on their pre-existing skills, interest and values. One can get an answer to these questions by questioning themselves what they are, what they want to be, what job they want, what skills they want to use in their job, what are their strengths and what is important to them. While getting all the answers questioned to them, they have a clear idea of their learning goal which leads them to their work preference.

• Following this is exploring their options. It is not always possible what an individual dreams becomes true. One has to keep many options as backup for them. Analyzed skill and interest helps an individual in initiating their research for every possible position suited to them. Background information of every position should be with the individual, which can be availed from the library and online surfing. Doing market research by conducting interviews of the people of the same profile as yours in the job you aspired for can be a way to get a sense of what difficulties and profits are in that field. This will also help individuals to figure out whether they are fit for the job or not.

• Third most important step is decision making. Critically analyze all the profiles determined in step one. Figure out one career most suited to you and start short listing your goals. After narrowing down your options one has a clear idea on how to, which steps to follow to achieve your goals.
• The final step is to take your plan into action. Using all the skills, labor, interests, values and preferences incorporating with the information assembled together to start working on a laid out plan. What action can lead them to their goal and what are the possible sources from where they can seek help in their further planning and working.

As the end result of all 4 steps one has a way to explore future plans and further options. These systematic working out on oneself surely results in better future options.