12 Smart Tips to Develop a Personalised Career Plan

A well-built career plan is a powerful tool that can drive you towards professional success and enable you to take proactive steps.

Reviewed by Melina Theodorou

Personalized Career Plan concept

Taking the time to work on your personal career plan is an excellent way to establish your professional goals.

Mapping out the steps to success will help you create a framework that you can refer to throughout your career as you develop and make professional advancements. If you're looking for some solid tips and examples of career-building strategies to inform your career plan, read on!

1. Set goals and actions

To determine your career direction, you need to know what you’re aiming for. Start by establishing a SMART goal:

  • Specific: What do you want to achieve and why? Where? Get specific so that you can visualise your goal.
  • Measurable: Ensure that your goal is measurable so that you can track your progress. 
  • Achievable: Ask yourself if your goal is realistic - you should aim high and set a goal with open eyes.
  • Relevant: Make sure that your goal is relevant to you or other goals you have. Ask yourself if this is right for you or if you could be doing something else instead.
  • Time-bound: Set a time frame to achieve your goal and stick to it.

2. Identify your career options

Many people tend to hop from one job to another without much thought about their long-term career aspirations. To determine what career you’d like to pursue, consider your career interests and research career options within that field. Once you have a good idea, take the time to explore the entry requirements, salary rates and predicted career trajectory. Researching your desired career will help you build a professional development plan that will guide you there.

3. Assess your industry experience

After you’ve done your research, consider your current experience and how it aligns with your goals. For example, are you moving into an entirely new industry or just into a different discipline? What transferable experience do you have?

By comparing the skills and expertise you already have with what is required to accomplish your goals, you can begin to incorporate micro-goals within your career plan. For instance, if you want to become a professor, you will first need to attain certain qualifications – this is a micro goal that should be listed under your main goal. 

4. List your current skills

Employers across all industries look for soft and hard skills. So, as with your experience, you should also assess your current skillset. Soft skills tend to be more universal – are you interpersonal, organised or an effective communicator? Meanwhile, hard skills are practical and often job-specific - do you have a firm understanding of network security, programming languages or cloud architecture? 

Assess what you already have and what is critical for your career plan. If you are unsure about the skills you’ll need, read through different job descriptions of your desired role and use that information to determine what skills you’ll need. In addition, there are several online skill assessments available, including our very own CareerHunter test.

5. Think about your weaknesses

Once you know what you have, you’ll also know what you’re missing. Take the time to self-reflect and understand what you need to do to achieve your goals. Consider your weaknesses as opportunities for growth – perhaps you need to build upon your skills, or you need to work towards a new qualification, or you need experience within a relevant industry. Identify these gaps and then plan accordingly. And if you need some guidance, check out the relevant experience needed for a role that is a level above your current position and then a level above that to start building a picture.

6. Assess the market

When you examine the job descriptions of desirable roles, you’re assessing the market – and it can be a critical tool for success. Your career goals need to be specific and relevant. To mitigate a delayed timeline in the future, you need to know exactly how to upskill to cross the finish line. Sign up to platforms like LinkedIn and follow the company you want to work for or several companies within your desired industry to get relevant updates.

Additionally, look for recruiters and agencies that hire talent within your field and note the roles they advertise and their requirements. All of this information will help you assess the industry demand and the hiring trends within the market.

7. Consider your personal values

If you haven’t identified a company that you would like to work for in the future, you should first try to identify the type of organisation that would be a good fit for you. If you have experience, consider what you liked about previous employers’ company culture and management style.

In the same way that companies have their outlined values and policies, pinpoint what you value in a workplace: is it a healthy work-life balance, growth opportunities or a fun and playful work environment? Building a career plan that aligns with your personal values will ensure that you make the right career moves and thrive professionally.

8. Pinpoint your next moves

With your end goal in mind, you should plan the steps needed to get you there. A lot of this may be personal growth and upskilling – but you also need to consider the type of roles that you need to fill along the way. Not everyone’s career is a straight line of promotions leading to the top of the corporate ladder. Some people may need to make strategic and lateral career moves to either specialise in an area or gain broader experience. Plan ahead, so that you know the moves you make will be the right ones for you and your career.

9. Give yourself timeframes

Achieving your goals can take time, though the amount can vary wildly depending on the goal. If you’ve set a SMART goal, you’ll know it must be achievable and time-bound. Giving yourself a timeframe that is challenging yet achievable is key to success.

For example, underestimating the time you have to achieve a goal can lead to frustration if you do not progress as much as you wanted to, yet overestimating could lead to complacency. Instead, you need to be realistic by aiming for achievable career goals and set a fitting deadline – if you’ve done your research, you’ll know what that is.

10. Meet with a career advisor

There are many benefits to career counselling. Building a career plan, or even identifying what you want to do in life, can be challenging - career advisors can assist you with pinpointing your talents and interests, determine your SMART goals, and create a plan of action.

What’s more, you can visit a career advisor at any point in your career! If you feel like you’re no longer making progress or not enjoying the work you’re doing, career advisors can assist with readdressing your goals and tailoring a better way forward.

11. Create a general career map

So, you know what you want to include in your career plan, but how do you structure it? This document could be with you for many years, so the information must be clear and specific. Gather your personal and market research and split your plan into sections. These could include a personal overview, education, experience, individual goals, current skills and knowledge, training and development requirements, and actionable steps.

And remember, this is a working document, so feel free to make edits and changes along the way.

12. Keep checking back

You need to hold yourself accountable to the goals and timeframes you have set. Just as you would have regular performance reviews with your employer, take the time to check in with your plan and see if you are on track. If you’re not where you need to be, you can refine your goals accordingly – and if you’re ahead, you’ll be motivated to keep going!

Watch the video for more career planning tips:

Final thoughts

By following these 12 steps, you will be able to create a successful and thorough career plan. Remember - it’s important to take the time to reflect on your professional objectives and consider where you would like your career to take you. Once you have identified your goals and established your plan, you will be ready to take actionable steps that will help you advance as a professional.

Additional reading:

What goals would you like to achieve with your career plan? Share them with us in the comments section below!

This article is an updated version of an earlier article published on 17 April 2017.