create your action plan
4 simple steps to achieve your career goal
This is the final step in your journey of finding a career that makes you happy - actually making it happen!
After a fair amount of inward exploration and thinking about your drivers, your strengths, your personality and your blockers, we are now going to wrap it all together by creating an action plan in 4 simple steps.
#1 - Write down your goal
Let’s start at the beginning: writing down your career goal. Being as detailed as possible is what’s going to make your goal come true.
To create a very clear career goal, you need to think about all these aspects:
specific
measurable
achievable
realistic
time-bound
exciting
relevant
positive
ecology
commitment
ownership
On this free downloadable worksheet, each aspect is covered by a simple question for you to answer. After this thorough line of questioning, your goal will be very clear, and much easier to achieve.
#2 - Do a reality check
Now let’s have a look at where you are now in relation to your goal.
These questions - available on the worksheet too - will help you understand your current situation, and what’s been stopping you in achieving it so far.
What have you done so far to achieve your goal?
What have you NOT done? and what’s the reason for not doing it?
What / who can help you achieve your goal?
What strengths can support you in achieving your goal?
What can be an obstacle to achieving your goal?
#3 - Open up your options
Now I want you to free your mind of all the constraints and barriers that we usually set ourselves (money, time, skills, fear…) and to brainstorm ALL the different options that you have to achieve your goal.
It could be companies to work for, or courses to take to develop your skills, or people to contact, or countries to move to…
It might be a good time to get friends or family members involved so that they can share their own ideas. They might have ideas that you haven’t even considered (remember those barriers that we set ourselves?). Don’t forget that this is your goal, so listen to others’ suggestions, but you don’t have to do what they tell you!
On the worksheet you’ll find a blank page with a cloud in the middle. That’s your mind map. Just fill it up with all the ideas that you come up with to achieve your career goal.
#4 - Go forward!
The final step is put all of this thinking together and commit to 5 actions that will get you closer to your goal. Make them small and easily achievable, because we tend to procrastinate actions or tasks that seem too big and daunting.
For each task, ask yourself how committed you are on a scale of 1 to 10, and if you’re less than a 7, rewrite the task or think about what can increase your commitment.
And with this action plan, you’re ready to take on the world and find this new career that will make you happy!
I’ll leave you with Confucius’ wise words:
The Chinese character for Scholar is linked to Confucianism and represents the importance of knowledge and self-awareness.
Choose a job you love, and you will never to work a day in your life.
OVER TO YOU!
Download and print the worksheet, grab a pen and free-up at least 30 minutes to work on your goal and your plan.
Once you’re finished, discuss your ideas and thoughts with a supportive friend or family member. Find someone that will fully listen to you, challenge you and add value to your thinking.
You could also start the conversation with a career coach. A coach will ask you the right questions to make you think about what you truly want to do, and help figure out the next steps in your career change journey.
If you’re ready to invest in your career change, I've designed a 6-module online course packed with self-reflection exercises that will increase your self-knowledge and self-confidence. You do it from the comfort of your home and at your own pace.