Module Outline Introduction Why Do I Need a Plan? The Importance of Mentors Building a Network Test Your Understanding Glossary Module Evaluation   Course Outline

Leadership Development Series
Module 5 - Career Planning and Development

Why Do I Need a Plan?

It is common to have several careers in a variety of fields over the course of a lifetime. Changing careers can require acquiring a new set of skills (for example, moving from journalism to medicine) or using your current abilities and knowledge in a different way (for example, shifting from editing to teaching journalism). Of course, there are also people who work in the same field for an entire career. Often these people hold a series of different positions.

Regardless of your goals, if you want to move up the career ladder, you need a plan. There are more people interested in leadership positions than there are positions available, so the competition will be great. If you don't have a plan, you could get left behind.

Furthermore, if you don't have a plan for your own career, those making decisions about promoting you or hiring you for a leadership position will probably be skeptical about how well you can plan and lead others. In order to be in a position to move your company or organization forward, you need to have a plan to move yourself forward.

Developing a career plan does not mean that you must decide immediately what you want to do for the remainder of your career. It does mean that you should think about what you want to be doing in a year, or in five years or more, and how you are going to reach the intermediate steps. Career planning may help you discover possibilities and alternatives that you wouldn't have thought of otherwise.

Setting Goals and Objectives

Setting goals and establishing objectives are both important steps in career planning. Goals are general plans for what you would like to achieve. Objectives are specific, interim steps that you must take in order to reach a larger goal.

After you set a goal - such as becoming news director of a television station in 10 years or moving to the London bureau of your paper in the next year - think about the objectives you need to establish in order to reach your goal.

For example, if your goal is to be a news director, your objectives might include: learning more about the individual departments within television stations and the interaction between them, taking a management course, or identifying a mentor who has the experience you think will be helpful for your career goal.

Gather as much information as you can that is related to your goals and objectives. Ask your friends and colleagues about what it means to be a news director, for recommendations of management classes or for suggestions of journalists who would be good mentors for you.

In reviewing all of the information you collect, you may discover a vital detail that helps you focus your objectives further or maybe even causes you to readjust your plans. For example, you may learn that there are television stations that are widely considered to be excellent training grounds for moving up, leading you to change your objectives to aim for a position in one of these stations.

Whatever your ultimate career goals might be, make sure to ask around for input and information.

Coping With Uncertainty

In thinking about your goals and objectives, it is also important to maintain flexibility. Personal, economic, social or political changes may force you to postpone or alter your plans. To help cope with uncertainty, your career plan should include alternatives, or allow for changes and unexpected opportunities.

When writing down your specific goals and objectives, consider if there are other factors that might come up or alternative paths for reaching a goal. Include those in the plan.

For example, if you want to be an editor, but know that you need to gain further skills, you might set an objective of attending a training seminar to develop your understanding of leadership and management issues.

You could also think about gaining the necessary skills by changing to a position that would allow you to learn on the job. The first-hand knowledge from the job might complement the training or perhaps even eliminate the need for it. Including both of these options in your career plan allows you the flexibility to move forward with different alternatives.

What about opportunities that arise unexpectedly? Perhaps you are offered a wonderful position that will lead you in a different direction than you have developed in your objectives. Having a plan and ultimate goals will also help you deal with those situations.

Personal or professional changes sometimes have negative outcomes. For example, the incoming managing editor of your paper wants to bring in people she knows and has worked with before so you lose your job. Or you discover after six months in a new position that it isn't what you expected.

You couldn't have anticipated these developments, but it is important to maintain a positive attitude. This will help you remain open and see the possible benefits. Perhaps you didn't get the job you really wanted, but maybe another opportunity will come up that turns out to be a better fit with your career goal.

You need to be able to recognize the potential consequences of change and think about strategies that will enable you to make the most of the situation.