What's Next? A Guide to Successful Career Planning

In twenty one years of experience as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, I often counseled clients on how to make a decision regarding a vocational or career change. Often, the individual would be astonished to learn that there is indeed a planned and orderly sequence one can follow to determine a vocational or employment interest. Whether one desires to change careers, obtain new employment or pursue a course of study, it is essential that you consider your past interests, work and school experiences and values to develop a realistic vocational plan that is appropriate for your needs. We will outline four helpful topics to consider when developing your career plan.

Perhaps you are a high school student, college freshman or an older adult considering a career change but you are unsure of what is the next step. With all the information about occupations that we have at our disposal, it is sometimes a daunting task to negotiate the maze of resources that are available to help in career planning. I advised my clients to think of this uncertain phase in their life as a journey with twists and turns but with an eventual end. The goal is always to find the career that is satisfying and gratifying to you based upon some thoughtful research and consideration. Career planning requires effort and commitment and we often spend more time choosing our wardrobe for the day than we spend deliberately and carefully planning our career path. Choosing a career does not mean that one abandons himself to arbitrary whims but it does require insightful and purposeful introspection to discover what is appealing to you as a possible career. It is rare to find individuals who started and finished their employment in the same career. It has been stated that we change careers four to five times during our time of employment. There is an orderly sequence we can implement to assist in successful career planning.

Who am I?
To effectively determine a career objective, the first step is to know who you are. That is, what interests did you have in junior high and high school? What part time jobs did you have? What is your learning style? Do you respond better to "hands on' experience with new concepts or reading about or seeing new concepts demonstrated? Do you enjoy working alone or with others? Do you have the motivation, time and resources to commit to long term or short term training? Another important question is to determine your work values. What is important to you in your work setting? Prestige, salary, opportunities for advancement, working indoors or outdoors? Such questions will help direct your thoughts to viable career options. Self interest surveys and career inventories such as the Career Decision Making Survey are helpful in identifying interests and values. These surveys and interest questionnaires are often administered in career counseling centers, vocational counseling centers, schools and other such institutions that target career planning objectives. Vocational and career counselors can assist you in determining your particular preferences to help you to find a match with your interests and abilities. Local Departments of Labor offer career workshops at no charge and can be valuable in helping you to determine your career interests.

Career Exploration
After determining your career interests, work values and innate abilities, you now need to further explore your possible career options. Career exploration
will involve active research into your areas of interest. In deciding upon a career choice, you will further explore the skills, training and job prospects of your potential career. You must actively find out what training is required, how long is the training, and whether it is affordable. Can you commit to the time required to complete the training? Do you have a full understanding of what the career involves and does the career match your abilities, interests and work values? To more thoroughly find out more about your career of interest, speak with individual currently employed in your field of interest. Arranging an informational interview helps you to become more knowledgeable about the advantages and disadvantages in that career. You receive firsthand information to supplement the reading and research you have done concerning your prospective career. Looking through want ads is a helpful exercise that I recommend to help stimulate ideas about possible career choices that may be of interest. You may not know what career you prefer, but often you are able to determine what you would not like which is very important in career planning. Career planning requires research and gathering up to date relevant career information. Printed publications such as the Occupational Outlook Handbook, Guide to Occupational Exploration and the Dictionary of Occupational Titles contain extensive career descriptions and definitions. These resources are available in your local university career center, local library and career counseling offices.

Career Decision Making
After careful career exploration and research, you are now ready to make a decision based upon your hard work in the career exploration stage of your career planning. Based upon your hard work, you may have several areas of interest. The task is to narrow your choices so that you can begin planning your educational training. Once you have thoroughly explored your career interest, it is time to consider what educational facility offers the needed training. Will I be attending a 2 year school, will it be a vocational school or will it be a degree program? Do I have the time, money and commitment to undergo training for my career? Is my career choice realistic? As much as you may want to be a lawyer, if you have childcare issues, you may have to put those plans on hold until certain issues are resolved. The dream is not destroyed, it is just deferred until a more opportune time. During this phase of career planning, it may be necessary to go back to career exploration or the "who am I" stage if you discover that your career interest is not realistic or you cannot or do not wish to commit time to preparing for that particular career. You may have to again explore other more feasible career interests. In other words, career planning does not always follow an unbroken continuum of events. The process is fluid and you may have to return to and from these steps before you actually implement your career plan. Do not become discouraged. It is all part of the process of finding the suitable match for your interests, abilities and work values. When you feel certain that you have chosen your field of interest, then you are ready to put your plan into action.

Implementing your Plan of Action
The implementation of your career plan is the culmination of your perseverance, diligent research and efforts up to this point in your career planning. You are now ready to implement your career plan. You have determined your interests, matched your abilities to your prospective career interest, and after thoroughly exploring your career through informational interviews, job shadowing someone in your career of interest and making that important decision about your career choice, you now want to develop a plan of action. This step is vulnerable to the "cold feet" reaction. You may find yourself doubting your career choice, you may feel that you cannot complete the required study, or you may lack confidence in your abilities and question whether or not you have chosen a field that is totally unrealistic and unattainable. If you allow yourself to believe these thoughts, all your hard work and effort will have been in vain. It is understandable that you may become anxious and sometimes intimidated as you finalize your career plans. These plans may include applying for school admission, taking admission tests, completing a myriad of forms and other such tasks. It may seem overwhelming at first, but making a checklist of things to do will help to alleviate the tension and stress associated with implementing and following through with your plans. Remember: You started the Career Planning process because you wanted to find a career that would closely match your interests, abilities and work values. You started the journey to complete it. Others have done it and so can you. As you continue putting your plan into action, it may be helpful to you to involve yourself with the Office of Student Affairs or similar type office in your school. The staff will be of invaluable help to you in your transition to the academic setting. You will find that your feelings are shared by most of the students!

To review, effective career planning is a thoughtful and deliberate series of steps that help you to attain a satisfying and meaningful career. Self assessment, career exploration, career decision making and implementing a plan of action are vital components to ensure that you make a rational and realistic career choice. Take the journey and be prepared to enjoy the fruits of your labor-a satisfying and fulfilling career!