How do you update your client's Career Action Plan?

The current situation starts with WHO the client is today. This is the starting point of any revision. Whose eyes are looking at the career plan - is my first question.

Evaluate the progress the client has made since the last update. Identify achievements, milestones, and areas where they might have faced challenges.

The main task at this stage is to understand the needs of the client and his expectations from consultations. Then it will be clear what exactly in his career needs careful research right now.

Encouraging the client to engage in reflective exercises is very helpful. Especially when they add journaling about their reflections. I've also guided clients through career visualizations as well. And they are effective as well with helps clients review goals and visions.

We can also review the client's barriers as those might be the cause of the clients constant foot dragging, delays and lack of accomplishment if goals. Sometimes we may find out that the client has followed all positive methods, yet cannot to reach the set goals. Many have used similar strategies and came out successful. What is holding this client back? The key what is WHAT. Until the barrier is discovered and either eliminated or suppressed, the client will continue to experience a recycle of disappointment or non-performance.

A question that I find can generate some really interesting responses and new insight about one's bigger purpose is to ask the client "what is the world calling you to step up to?" That takes them out of the here and now.

The main thing at this stage is to check if the needs and goals of the client have changed. Some clients may change goals after several consultations. And someone, on the contrary, is even more convinced of the correctness of the already chosen goals.

Ultimately our career is a big part of our life and I think life and career goals are to intertwined to not consider both when building your career action plan. I encourage clients to think about what they would like to achieve personally and how does your career influence that. The same can be said of how ones career can influence personal goals. As an example, seeing the world can be a personal goal, however there are career choices that can help bring that goal to fruition. Striking a balance between the two can be beneficial to overall satisfaction and performance.

The WHO appears here too: what are the client’s needs today? What needs might they define for the future. This is the foundation of any reasessment of vision and goals. Needs are the driver, the motivation. They can seem like goals or dreams, but to become drivers the client has to become aware of the need behind them.

Revising goals from the past often generate ideas for new goals, which is the key to the review. Assessing whether those goals and that vision has a positive or negative effect is important when updating new goals. Educating my client on the SMART goal system (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely). This will help my client not only in their work life but personal life as well.

A lot of job seekers get frustrated because they try the same things over and over again and it doesn't work. Different people have different ways of working and it's important to see what actions are working for us and what aren't. Taking a step back to figure out why things aren't working makes a big difference. Little adjustments can make a big difference.

Self development and growth are the stepping stone here - because whomever the client was and is - will not get them further. No good action plan can overlook that. Actually it has to start there. Which means starting this phase again with the WHO. Who do you have to be(come) to achieve your goals?

As I read this it sounds a little 'left brain' and logical, and if it was that easy everyone would do it. I think what could be added here is how we can use inspiration with our clients. What will inspire or 'pull them' to want to take action and step out of their comfort zone. I use the idea of active experimentation. Create a question for yourself. then just keep that question at the forefront of your mind and watch as you go through your day. Clients can reluctant to take action because they dont want to fail. Active experimentation allows for this. You can't fail, you will just learn.

When helping the client revise and prioritize I prefer the STAR model because of it's simplicity. Researching any new tech that might be available and useful would also be on my list of things to assist the client with. I utilize a worksheet that details out all areas of the client's life and puts them into priority and time increments so that there is a visual for the client to take home and utilize.

In my experience, task trackers work very well. Helping a client choose a task tracker, breaking down goals into tasks and giving them specific deadlines to track progress has always served as a good solution.

Monitor your client's progress by regularly checking in with the client to monitor their progress and make any necessary adjustments to the Career Action Plan.

I advocate for tracking your progress in a simple tool such as Trello, a lightweight Kanban board tool that's free to use for a small number of people.

Celebrating progress is an integral part of the consultations. This is how the client understands that there REALLY is progress

when we 'see our client' and witness them, they remember who they are. It does not always need a ra-ra cheerleader approach.

A Career Action Plan should be a dynamic and flexible document, adapting to the client's changing circumstances and goals. Regular updates and revisions are essential to ensure it remains relevant and effective.

Challenges, blocks - need to be addressed while drafting such a plan. If it is worthwhile then it is ambitious - so the client will encounter roadblocks. Be it internal or external. Planning for the future is not fairytale writing. It must start with the client as human and aknowledge their limits and challenges to be addressed thoroughly along the way.