Taking Charge Of Your Career

Unless you’ve been living on a deserted island, you know that we are in an economic crises and the job market has been affected.

News Flash! The steps to taking charge of your career haven’t changed.

The first thing that you need to realize is that YOU are responsible for your career. It is all up to you to consider your objective, develop a plan and then follow through. In order to successfully reach your career goals, you have to take charge over them. Start to think of your career as your own private company and see yourself as the boss. As the boss, you make all of the decisions. On the route to building your “company” hopefully you will seek out the advice of people who have knowledge and experience. But, bottom-line, the decision and responsibility towards achieving your career goals is yours alone.

Right about now, you might be asking, “Where do I start?” (Unless my writing has bored you to sleep.) The answer is actually really simple. You start to begin creating a plan.

Take some time to think about your ultimate goal. At this stage, the most important thing that you need to realize is where you want to land. It may seem backwards but you can’t get to where you want to be until you know where that is. What do you want to achieve with your career? The answer to that question becomes your objective.

With your objective, you have now started your long-term plan. Take a pen to paper and write down your objective. Think about strategies towards achieving this goal. Do you need to overhaul your resume? Who do you know that is already established? Will you need to further your education? Incorporate those answers into your strategy. At this point you have your goal and direction towards it. Begin to set the priorities within your plan. As you move towards your goal, set time aside to review your plan. Review it regularly and prioritize your strategies.

Taking charge of your career is a job in itself. You have your plan to keep you on track but that alone isn’t going to get you to your objective. Remain informed of changes in your chosen career; maintain your professional self-presentation and network!

©2009 – 2010 Cultivating Careers