The U.S. Military has an unofficial motto that’s been widely adopted in many aspects of American life, including business: Prior planning prevents poor performance. There are less-than-polite variations of that adage, but the essence of them all remains the same. If you want to succeed in anything, you have to plan for success — and that includes your career.
Approaching your career with a plan can help maximize your potential for financial success, job security and professional satisfaction. What’s more, planning is essential throughout every phase of your career, from your first job out of college to the weeks when you’re between jobs and looking for a new position, and even the years when you’re looking ahead to retirement.
Planning alone isn’t enough, however. You need to test your plan throughout your career to ensure it’s still moving you in the direction you want to go. Sometimes, you may need to make and test more than one plan. For example, if you’re unsatisfied in your job, you could develop three plans, one that addresses what you want to happen if you stay in your current position, a second extrapolating what might happen if you look for another job in your current field, and a third predicated on changing careers entirely.
Necessary Steps for Creating a Plan
- Define your goals
Any plan you make should start with introspection to better define what you truly want for your career, assess how well your current skills and talents position you to achieve what you want, and what are willing to do to achieve your goals. Realize that as you progress through your career, your goals may change and your plan may need to adjust accordingly.
- Write it down
Approach your career plan as meticulously as you would if you were being paid to develop a business plan for someone else. Writing down your plan makes it real and compelling. Whenever you reach a crossroads in your career, you can refer back to your written plan to help you make decisions.
- Set target dates
Your plan will likely feature a series of accomplishments you need to achieve to move you toward your long-term goal. Be specific and set target dates for the aspects of your plan within your control. For example, if your ultimate goal is to be earning your living as a fiction author by the time you’re 55, set a target date for when you intend to finish your first book; that’s completely within your control. Setting a deadline for when you want to get published would be less realistic, because you have less control over how publishers might respond to your book.
- Develop your plan in stages
Weight-loss experts often advise breaking down a weight-loss program into smaller, more achievable segments. For example, if you want to lose 50 pounds, instead of focusing on the big number, you would resolve to lose 5 pounds by eliminating sugars from your diet or 10 pounds by increasing the duration of your workout. Follow the same strategy for your career plan and break it into manageable stages.
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- Give it time
Your plan is going to stretch decades over your entire career, so don’t think you have to accomplish everything in a few years. On the other hand, don’t behave as if you have all the time in the world, either. It’s important to invest a certain number of hours per week to assess your plan, refine your strategies and ensure you’re still moving toward your goals.
Circling back to that military motto, let’s add some qualifiers to that slogan: Prior planning, passion and persistence prevent poor performance … and put you on track toward the career you want.
