This is the 3rd and final installment of the “What’s Your [Career] Plan?”. After a complete assessment described in Part 2, it’s time to develop some short and long term career goals.
For example, what are your goals for the next 12 – 18 months? Could you address any of the gaps found during your assessment? Is there new software that you could learn to become more productive? Do you need to learn how to better prioritize tasks/projects? Identify those most immediate gaps to make yourself more valuable to your organization.
After identifying these gaps/opportunities for growth, create a time line for reaching each goal and remember to create a context for creating and achieving these goals. For example, your overall context for going through this process is to become a valuable part of your team, reduce your chances for being downsized, receive a substantial increase, become promoted, etc.
In my current position, the major focus includes in depth data analyses and continuous improvement. By focusing on my customer requirements and department objectives, I registered for advanced Microsoft Access courses and included a continuous improvement certification in my annual plan to keep myself accountable. Although I was not asked to participate in these additional activities, I felt it was key to make myself more valuable to my team.
I’d like to hear from anyone of you that found this 3-part series useful and look forward to what you’re doing to make yourself more valuable as an employee.
D. Robinson
www.careercougar.com
