“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” —Abraham Lincoln
Our education system expects the youth to make decisions about their career very early in life. Therefore, career planning and development are of paramount importance and require careful thought and consideration. The need of the hour is to understand that early planning is the foundation of a successful career and thus the child without wasting any time should start preparing and planning for their career, preferably in the formative years.
Professional Career Development is a series of activities in an ongoing/lifelong career development process that involves regularly defining new goals and acquiring the skills to achieve them. Career development usually refers to managing a career in an intra- or inter-organizational scenario. This may include learning new skills, moving to a higher professional responsibility, changing careers within the same organization, moving to another organization, or starting your own business.
Self-evaluation:
This stage takes place during the developmental years of youngsters. In this stage, we are required to introspect a bit and become more self-aware. To make career decisions, an individual needs to be mindful of one’s strengths, weaknesses and interests.
Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple,once said, “The only way to do great work is to love your work.”
Thus, payingmoreattentiontoyourinterestsandskillsandcreatinga nicheforyourselfcan help you choose a field you can comfortably work in for most of your life.
Career awareness:
Individuals need to explore various career options, especially those that alignwith their interests and niche. This requires youngsters to be well-informed about various careers, their pathways and the skills required by those careers. Taking professional guidance is a good idea as you can explore all career opportunities along with unbiased advice from experts.
Building your skillset:
Polishing the skills required by the career field that interests you can be beneficial for you to have a better understanding of yourself as well as that career field. It can help one to narrow down various career options one assessed to align with their niche and interests. Skill training can be done through self-training or joining a structured training program online or offline.
Pursuing opportunities Of professional career development :
Once you have acquired the appropriate skillset don’t wait for opportunities to knock at your door, start looking for them. Start searching for job opportunities or internships in your interested field. Participating in an internship in your field of interest, whether paid or unpaid, is the best way to gain a wealth of experience and insight, and therefore an internship is a very important part of your career planning.
Below are some ways to find the right job/ internship opportunities for you:
You can reach out to recruiters or meet people in your hiring network
Social media platforms like Instagram andFacebook are huge, and the companies you follow might be hiring.
The Internet makes everything easy in the 21st century, one should just know how to use it to their best advantage. There are various sites on the internet that provide you with information on companies that are hiring. All you are required to do is sign up and mention your field of interest.
We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” – Oprah Winfrey
Even when you have reached the position of your desire, never stop striving for growth. Build a new skill set, ask your manager for a promotion, look for a mentor that inspires you and try to embrace any kind of leadership opportunities that comes your way.
Your future is determined by the choices you make today, not tomorrow. It’s never too early to plan and take your career in the right direction.
The Changes is an Organization Development Consulting firm that helps corporates, campuses and individuals to achieve business, functional and personal goals.
We assist professionals and students by designing and delivering learning programs to equip them with the skills that are vital for success in the New World.
Sonia is an internationally certified L&D specialist & soft skills coach. She has been leading behavioural transformations through designing and delivering learning programs.
Our education system expects the youth to make decisions about their career very early in life.
Our mind is our biggest asset, but also our biggest obstacle.
Skill development is no more a matter of choice, it is the core of survival.
