23 Jul 24
The best person to proactively plan and manage your career is you.
Companies will always put the interests of the business first. This may not align with what is happening in other areas of your life. No-one is an island!
By creating a live Career Plan on a Page, you will be able to have a detailed, holistic overview to help facilitate a controlled career progression.
Having clearly defined career goals allows you to plan effectively, receiving the training you need at the time you need it.
This will set you up for ultimate success in the future as you continue to drive your career forward on your terms.
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#21 - Proactive Career Planning!
What?
I'll be honest, when I started out in the workplace at the age of 17, I didn't have a defined plan. I just knew that I wanted to join the Royal Navy and 'do something' within the Engineering field. I also knew that I wanted to travel and experience adventure. The Navy was a mechanism for me to achieve this.
Thankfully the Navy had other ideas and provided me with a defined career structure that I blindly followed for the first 5 years.
As the Navy had a requirement to man ships and submarines, I was a key part of their masterplan.
In year 6 it suddenly dawned on me that the Navy's obligation to train me was coming to an end and that if I wanted further promotion, I needed to take charge of my own destiny.
But in the Commercial world, it isn't like this at all. You really are left to your own devices from day one.
Therefore, proactive career planning becomes even more important in the civilian workplace.
Why?
Companies do invest in people, but they are not purely bottom-fed organisations as the military are. It is in the interests of the military to retain people, since they have invested a lot of money I train g them to fulfil niche roles.
Conversely, in the commercial space, people enter and leave at the top, bottom and middle all the time.
Opportunities come and go. The trick is to recognise one as such and go for it.
In the civilian world, you are recruited for a role. What you make of that role, and how you perform is down to you.
You won't have a dedicated Career Manager as the Armed Forces do. These are people who ensure that the military have the right people in the right place to ensure Defence Capability is maintained; at all costs!
Job changes every two years were the norm. Attendance at leadership courses ensured that the right skills were provided to the person exactly when they needed them.
But trying to balance your personal life with military requirements was not always easy.
The priority for selecting a person for a role would be:
- Navy requirement first,
- Career growth second,
- Personal considerations last.
Sometimes you were lucky and you were able to cover all three. Mostly, one of those areas took a hit; most often the personal considerations.
But in the civilian world, you decide. You are your own Career Manager...or at least you should be!
Because the one person who has the most interest in your career...is you.
Some are lucky and work for a Company who grow their personnel professionally. The majority are not because the business will not go out of their way to move you if you are good at what you do.
So, you need to take charge of your career and drive it to where you want to go. If you do this, you have a much better chance of balancing your professional aspirations, personal considerations and capabilities.
How?
I found that the best way to proactively plan a career is to create a plan on a page.
Creating this as a live document will enable you to see at a glance, everything that is happening in your life.
What do I mean by that?
Well, no-one is an island. We all have loved ones and they have lives to lead as well. Having an overview of who is doing what and when will allow you to make better choices. It will allow you to reduce friction and plan for success.
The sort of things that should be included in a Career Plan on a Page are:
- Your current role, especially the time you have spent in it,
- Your aspirations for the types of roles you would like to perform after your current role, and for how long,
- What training courses you wish to complete to develop additional skills, and when you are aiming to complete them,
- Repeat steps 1 through 3 for your spouse/partner. They also have career aspirations and it may be wise to avoid both changing roles simultaneously to ensure stability,
- If you have children, include their ages and the key milestones within their education. For example, you may not wish to move into a new role in another part of the country just as your eldest child is about to sit important exams,
- You could also input key financial milestones into your plan. Perhaps you want to move into a bigger house, as your family increases.
Figure 1 shows a simple example of such a plan.
By having a plan such as this, and keeping it updated, the decisions you make will be of a better quality. This is because they will be much better informed and taking everything and everyone into consideration.
Conduct proactive career planning, and always be on the front foot!
In Summary
I hope that you enjoyed reading this newsletter and that it has given you food for thought.
Take charge of your career. No-one else will. Decide where you want to be and when. Then put the steps in place to achieve it.
Having a live career plan on a page allows you to look holistically across your entire life. It take into consideration what your spouse/partner is doing, also what the impact is likely to be on your children's education as well.
Create the plan, then work the plan to maximise success and minimise impact in all areas!
Have a great week!
Whenever you're ready, here's how I can help you:
- Resources - Reading is an essential component to developing your own authentic leadership style. Check out my resources page for really inspiring books which I have found invaluable within my own leadership journey,
- Coach Station - Singular issue 60 minute coaching sessions,
- Coach Journey - Bespoke coaching packages of 6 or 12 sessions for transformative change,
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