4 steps to developing your career plan

Career development isn’t something that happens overnight or on its own. There are 165.54 million people in the U.S. labor market and you need to put in the hard work to stand out from that mass and be able to advance your career.

The good news is that there are some proven steps you can take to help advance your career and, in today’s article, we’ll be looking at four of the most important.

Self-Reflection Is Vital

We can all get dragged along by inertia at times, but sometimes this can end up with you following a career path you’re not even particularly interested in. Spending some time in self-reflection allows you to form a solid basis for your future goals. Research into the matter has also shown that self-reflection increases productivity and performance.

A period of self-reflection can be as simple as thinking about your values, skills, and passions. This helps you to understand yourself and what you want. Once you have those simple factors nailed down, you’ll be able to expand that into a plan for furthering your career goals.

You Need to Set Some SMART Goals

SMART is an acronym that breaks down into specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timebound. Using SMART goals means you have a specific checklist that has a timeframe associated with it, rather than vague ideas about what you want to be in the ‘future’.

Once you have your SMART goals, it’s always a good idea to share them with other people. Multiple studies have shown that those who share their career goals are more likely to act on them. 

Sharing your goals creates a sense of accountability, and writing down your goals cements them in your long-term memory, so they’re always accessible and locked into your subconscious.

Now Develop Your Plan

After a little self-reflection to ascertain what you really want, and setting some SMART goals, you need a roadmap to career success. You should already know your interests and skills, this is the time when you figure out how they translate into the job that you want. 

Maybe you want to get some more experience before you start looking for your perfect career, or maybe it just comes down to a choice between two different careers. Whatever your decision need is, this is the time to make it, so you can fix your career plan in place and embark on your path.

If you’re worried about switching careers, it is worth remembering that, on average, most Americans can expect to change careers five to seven times in their working life.

Get the Right Qualifications 

Education and qualifications can be key to advancing your career and there is never a bad time to start getting qualified for your next role. 

Getting a job in sectors like the legal profession, criminal justice, and healthcare doesn’t mean spending years in medical or law school. 

Here at NCC, we specialize in providing career-focused qualifications. If you’re interested in law, you could train as a paralegal or a legal assistant. If you want to help people with their health, you could train as a medical assistant or dental assistant. 

Best of all, most of these qualifications can be obtained in just 9 months, allowing you to get on with building the career of your dreams.

Committed To Inspiring Excellence

Here at Northwest Career College, we are committed to providing our students with the best possible facilities to allow them to take advantage of the excellent courses we have on offer. 

In addition to our Pearson VUE testing center, we also offer morning, afternoon,  night, online and blended classes to accommodate your Las Vegas work and family schedule.  

And, we have an experienced Career Services team to help you find the best employment opportunity for your new career. Call us today at (702) 403-1592 to find out more about what we can offer you!

Dr. Stephanie Kenny,

Dean of Students