How to Create a Winning Career Plan

The new year is a time for self-reflection and fresh starts. If you’re not happy with the current state of your career, you owe it to yourself to make some changes. After all, you spend at least 40 hours per week at work, so you should be doing something you enjoy.

Design your pathway to success in 2016 by creating a career plan detailing where you’re headed and how you’re going to get there.

1. Define Your Career Objective. Career moves should never be made in haste, so think long and hard about where you want to be. Take both your skill set and your personal interests into consideration, as you want to choose a promising career path that makes you happy. Your career objective can be anything you desire, such as transitioning into an entirely new profession or advancing into a senior-level position in your current field. When you have this in place, you can start charting your course to success.
2. Create S.M.A.R.T. Goals. Hold yourself accountable for getting the job you deserve by creating S.M.A.R.T. — Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely — goals. General goals are set with the best of intentions, but they’re too vague to make the kind of impact you need. Conversely, S.M.A.R.T. goals are extremely specific and designed to make change happen. For example, a regular goal might be to start networking more, but a S.M.A.R.T. goal would be to attend one networking event each week until you find a new job.
3. Take Inventory of Your Transferrable Skills. If you’re not happy in your current field, don’t feel like you’re stuck with your job title. Make a list of all of your skills and highlight those that are transferrable. Use this to find other applicable career possibilities that make you truly excited. You’re already an accomplished professional, so you don’t have to completely start over to embark on a new career path.
4. Seek Additional Learning Opportunities. You might need to pursue new training opportunities that will help you become more competitive in your job search. This could involve obtaining a new certification or even an advanced degree. Explore programs offered by your company, local colleges and online learning programs to find the best fit for your needs. Many of these initiatives may require a significant time commitment, but the payoff will be well worth your efforts.

Ready to find your dream job in Michiana? Contact Wood Staffing. We’re committed to helping job seekers — like you — in Southwestern Michigan and Northern Indiana find rewarding career opportunities with some of the area’s leading employers.