According to the Wall Street Journal, having a plan is hands-down the best way to find fulfilment and happiness in your professional life. For a quick walk through the three essential building blocks for designing the career path you want and deserve, please read on.
1. Identify your core values and job skills. Write a list of what is most important to your lifestyle, such as income, work/life balance, security and environmental issues. Consider your personality traits. Do you prefer to work as a team or independently? What are your skills and areas of expertise? Are you a whizz at IT, or a star at mobilising teams to achieve their goals?
2. Seek advice from people you admire. Sometimes, when analysing our own strengths, we can’t see the wood for the trees. So talk to your boss, mentor, friends or family and ask them where they think your professional and personal strengths lie. Look out for common denominators in their responses. Ask them about their career paths by way of inspiration. Can they recommend useful mentoring programmes or career-development training? Would taking on specific challenges and responsibilities help your career development?
3. Determine which skills and expertise you need to develop to progress your career. A skill you acquired in one industry (or outside work) can be applied in another. For example, employers value flexibility and adaptability, while being a hard worker or being kind will serve you in any role.
The world is changing at a dizzying pace so the insights you gain when going through these steps may change over time. So check in with your core values regularly to see if your career path is still aligned with them. Listen to the opinions and advice of your friends, colleagues and family members on an ongoing basis. While only you can be the judge of the best career path for you, taking mental note of when others value something you’ve done or said helps to build a true picture of where all your strengths lie.
ABL, your trusted recruitment partner, wishes you well in building a career path that fulfils all your needs and aspirations. If you’d like some expert advice on the subject or are actively looking for your next career move, please get in contact. With over 30 years’ experience in the field and close working relationships with 400+ companies worldwide, we are in the strongest of positions to help. Please get in touch on +44 (0)20 7092 3911 or at info@ablrecruitment.com to find out more.
