How To Create a 5-year Plan for Your Career

Developing a five-year plan for your career may seem like an impossible task. Thinking that far out toward your end goal and the steps you need to get there can be intimidating. Don’t let this be a daunting process. Discover why experts first recommend taking a “life inventory,” reverse engineering your five-year plan, and the importance of keeping your plan fluid.

By Helen Harris

Think about how you stay organized.

You may write in your daily planner, your smartphone or an online app to track your progress and goals for the day, week or month.?

And it feels great to be able to strike something off the list or move a task to completion and know you did something to better yourself that day.?

The same goes for long-term planning with your career goals. Just like your personal planner for day-to-day tasks, you can create a five-year plan to help gauge your progress and professional development, and visually see your success over the years.?

The key is to first identify why you may need a career plan (i.e., what your goals are) and then find a way to hold yourself accountable with a fluid, trackable plan.?

Do You Need a 5-Year Plan for Your Career??

Maybe you’re unsure if you need a full-on five-plan but know you need more direction and a professional development plan of sorts to help guide your career.?

This is a point Kristen Zavo , executive coach and best-selling author of "Job Joy" elaborates on, stating that while you may not need a detailed five-year plan, it’s always wise to be proactive in your career.?

“So having at least a rough idea of your life and career goals is a must,” said Zavo. “In addition to that, reviewing and updating it semi-annually is key to ensuring your plan grows with you and continues to be aligned with your desired lifestyle, corporate achievements, and impact.”?

Zavo further states that you may want to create a more detailed plan when important, major personal life events are anticipated (or unanticipated), such as a move, a career change, a marriage or divorce. Additionally, she mentions you can adjust your professional development plan in advance of, or in response to, changing external circumstances like company acquisitions and industry or economic downturns .

Wendy Tansey, executive and leadership coach at The People Expert, says establishing a five-year plan essentially depends on what your goals are. For instance, if you are comfortable with the position you are in, she states that a development plan might be adequate.?

However, if you have aspirations to be a manager or in an executive position in the years to come, a five-year plan is certainly going to only help you reach your goal.?

Why a 5-Year Plan Is Beneficial?

“Having a career plan is key to taking an active role in one’s career, versus relying on the momentum of corporate life or whims of your manager to steer the course,” said Zavo. “Otherwise, it’s possible a professional will wake up one day, be absolutely disengaged and dissatisfied at work and wonder how they got where they are. This is not a good place to be, and something that a little intention and proactive action can help avoid.”?

Masterclass also cites the following benefits of establishing a five-year plan:?

Clarity. By writing down your five-year plan, you can translate your complex and long-term desires into real-world, achievable goals.

Control. Once you know your goals and have a plan, you’ll feel in control by having a path by which to attain them. There will be less uncertainty knowing you are following a designated path for success.?

Motivation. If you ever feel bogged down and unmotivated to keep going in your career because the end goal seems too unreachable, having a professional development plan helps with this. If you break your goals down into small, achievable milestones, you’ll feel more motivated to stay the course.

Organization. This is a tangible benefit of having a five-year plan: Your time for professional development is already built in. And by looking at your goals regularly, tracking your progress and achieving your milestones, you will be more organized.?

How To Create Your 5-Year Plan?

Tansey states the first step to creating your five-year plan is to reverse-engineer your end goal and develop achievable steps to get there.?

“So, if you want to be in a particular role in the next five years, work backward and see what each step to get there might look like,” said Tansey. “Reverse engineering allows you to identify the steps better than trying and do it from where you are currently.”

From there, Zavo also states that the first step in developing your plan is to do a “life inventory” and think about your season of life, values, priorities, and personal interests and how your career will support these things.?

“If a career change is a goal , looking at interim roles and skills needed to achieve that change are important,” said Zavo. “I also recommend considering upcoming life changes, and how that will impact your needs and desires work-wise.”

She states an example of this could look like you deciding to take on a more demanding but financially rewarding job now to travel and work a little less in the upcoming years.?

Zavo also offers a couple of additional points to help you develop and succeed with your five-year plan:??

• Consider getting support and/or mentorship. By seeking out people who have reached the goals you hope to reach, you can ensure that you’re not missing any key elements specific to your goals.?
• Check your “emotional pulse” regularly.? While each milestone to your goal will certainly be a challenge — it shouldn’t make you miserable. And if it does, you should reevaluate your plan. “The journey to reach our goals doesn’t need to be filled with misery and self-sacrifice,” said Zavo.

And if you reach a point where you become what milestones are needed to reach your goal or are stuck on achieving a particular milestone, Tansey notes that it may be useful to reach out to someone who's in the role you want to be in. This could be via social networking, an email or phone call or in person for coffee. Take that time to ask what steps they put in place to get to where they are, what challenges they faced and any knowledge or advice they’ve accrued along the way.??

While reaching each step on your professional development or five-year plan is important to achieve your long-term goal, Tansey ultimately stresses the importance of making your plan fluid.?

“Life happens, things change and get in the way,” said Tansey. “I'd also recommend that you review your plan every 12 months to see what you’re up to and what has changed. If the last two years have taught us anything, it is that we can’t be so rigid and have to adjust — and the same goes for your development plan.”?

Top Takeaways?

How To Create a 5-year Plan for Your Career

• Just like your personal planner for day-to-day tasks, you can create a five-year plan to help gauge your progress and professional development and visually see your success over the years.?
• “Having a career plan is key to taking an active role in one’s career, versus relying on the momentum of corporate life or whims of your manager to steer the course.”
• You can adjust your professional development plan in advance of, or in response to, changing external circumstances like company acquisitions and industry or economic downturns.
• Take a “life inventory” and think about your season of life, values, priorities, and personal interests and how your career will support these things to develop your five-year plan.
• Make sure to keep your plan fluid and be amenable to change along the way, as life and unexpected events happen.?