Creating a career plan and securing a job you'll love

Where we work and the type of work that we do is an incredibly powerful part of our happiness and general life satisfaction.

All too often we find ourselves speaking to people that are either in the wrong role, culture, working environment or just don't have clarity as to whether the position they are working in is the right long term fit for them.

Over time we've worked on a few key areas in the initial job search phase that help provide people with their own career plan and know that they are choosing the right role for them.

Step 1: Imagine Your Ideal Career Destination

• Visualize where you want to be in five years- write this down and get really granular and clear about that. Size of company? Type of work? Level of role?
• Define the industry, location, and role that resonate with your aspirations. Knowing the industry you want to be in long term is key here in case you need to make a sideway step.
• Outline the key responsibilities and top three benefits you seek in a position. This will help you understand what is going to be important with your next employer and "hint" it isn't just salary. Is it career development and structured training? Flexibility? A growth trajectory that aligns with the type of work you want to do long term? Get really clear here about the top 3 career motivators for you and this will help you determine the right position and employer.

Step 2: Identify the Ideal Role Requirements

• Determine the necessary skills and qualifications for your ideal role. Do your research here with job descriptions, SEEK and talking to people in the position.

Step 3: Establish Your Current Skills and Qualifications Level

• Assess your current transferrable skills and qualifications. Highlight and write out what those are and how they may apply to the next role you are going to. It's OK not to have everything you need for the next role but you need to know what your skills gaps are and how you plan to address them.

Step 4: Identify the Gap

• List the top three skills and qualifications you need to develop and set yourself a timeline to be addressing them in your current role or the one you are going into.

Step 5: Identify Your Ideal Employer

• Compile a list of the top five companies you aspire to work with. Do your research based on the initial 3 career motivators you listed for your next role. If you find a company that ticks the boxes on all three this one should sit on top of your list.
• Then when it comes time to assessing offers it's much easier to evaluate each company based on the benefits aligning with your career goals.

So often we find ourselves in careers where the industry finds us and we end up on a pathway into positions without taking stock and considering what our overall goals will be.

Ultimately, you want to be choosing roles and employers where you can be retained and progress within the organisation because it's a fit for you and offers you want you need to be engaged in a position.

Your career journey starts with a clear vision and a solid plan to make sure the role and company choose take you closer to your long term goals

.PS?- Whenever you're ready, here are a couple of ways we can help you with your business:

1. If you want inspiration to overcome adversity, create opportunity, and accelerate your career, listen to the?Building Doors podcast.

2. If you want to hire the right people and grow your business with confidence,?work with me and our team?at Karan & Co.

3. If you want to plan your next career move,?work with me and our team?at Karan & Co and let's make it happen!

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