When assignments, exams, work, family and friends are all competing for your time, it’s easy to view your career plan as something you can put off until later. But the truth is, your degree and your career don’t exist in isolation; they both need some consideration while you’re studying.
If you develop a career plan early, it will help you explore, and prepare for the things you want from your working life. Later on, it can mean the difference between choosing the right job to apply for, and ‘falling into’ a job you’ll hate.
You can view the steps for creating a career plan on the Careers & Employment Centre’s website, and if you need some tools to get you started, check out the links below:
How to make a career plan that actually works
Once you have your career plan – it’s important not to file it away and forget about it. These simple steps will help you keep it current and relevant:
- Keep an eye on emerging trends in your industry, or the industry you’d like to break into;
- Add new skills as you acquire them; and,
- Review your goals regularly.
Aim to build flexibility into your career plan – your circumstances can change – so can what you want out of life! You might have experienced this at uni. Maybe you started a unit and discovered you hated it, or you weren’t very good at something you thought you’d smash.
Sometimes major disruptions come along, like an accident, an unexpected job offer or even a new relationship.
Events like these, whether negative or positive, can present new challenges, or choices that require you to change your plans.
Having a flexible career plan that you can revise, without compromising your objectives, will help you stay focused and optimistic while you adjust to your new situation – whatever it may be!
