Effective Career Planning Strategy
Career Planning Strategy 1: Discover yourself
Your job hunting campaign should have a strategy and that strategy is called Career Planning Strategy. This strategy is your
game plan in your search for the right job. Your plan needs to be comprehensive and flexible and you need to identify the
type of industry, the designation and the companies that want what you have.
The first strategy involved knowing yourself- your strengths, your ability, your skills and your qualifications. You can
also ask the people around you such as your friends, family and mentor to get their opinion on your skills and the qualities
they see in you. You can structure up a survey and just ask them. Sometimes, seeing what other people see in you can help you
discover yourself a little bit more, and identify where your interests and values lie.
Strategy 2: Explore Your Options
After discovering the abilities and skills that you possess, write them down in a list. The next to do is your career
exploration. The career market is vast and diving in without any clear direction can get you lost. You need to identify your
career choices and options based on your interests and skills. The best way to do this is via job and career fairs, career
centers and various other seminars or conventions specially organised for job seekers. You can also visit several job and
employment websites that provide vacancies based on location, position level and specialisation.
By visiting job fairs, you can ask common questions to the people manning booths concerning the job vacancy available such
as the basic foundations needed in starting that specific career, the education qualifications and the starting salaries.
By attending these job fairs and asking these questions, you can assess for yourself whether you are willing, capable and
interested in joining these kind of jobs.
Strategy 3: Searching For the Right Job
After knowing the necessary information and qualifications that you need, you have now come to the point where you would need
to decide on a career path. Job searching skills include knowing how to write and prepare a good resume and cover letter.
You would also need to know where to look for job openings and how to fill in an application appropriately. Knowing what to
say and how to react in an interview should also be part of the essential skills.
Career planning is an ongoing process that starts as soon as you completed high school. High school prepares you for a wholesome
education whereas college and university prepare you for a niche education- a specific line of study to shape and culture
you to enter a specific line of work such as engineering, medicine, design, web development and human resource.
Apart from going through a known process, you can also explore your options and learn about several different industries
while you are still at school or institutions of higher learning by participating in internships and part time jobs during
school holidays and summer break. At the end of your college year, you can already decide what industry you would like to
be in and have the necessary job experience needed to help you get there.
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