How clear is your career path? Do you need goals to have a successful career?
How did your last appraisal go? Did it motivate you, uplift you? Did you get clarity on the pay rise or bonus that you think you deserve this year or the promise of great training to help you enhance your skills? Can you see what the next year will be like for your career, or the next five?
If not, it’s perhaps time to think about what you really want to achieve and how to create a plan to make that happen. If you take time to think about what you want from your career now and in the future to be fulfilled, then the steps you take to develop and advance are more likely to be logical, satisfying and successful.
Take this simple quiz to get a sense of how you are navigating your career path currently. Select ONE of the options that best fits you.
1. What was the main reason you chose your current role?
a. For the pay and benefits
b. To work for this company
c. To do this role
d. I didn’t chose it, I was moved into it
2. What do you want to achieve from your career most of all?
a. Money
b. Status and recognition
c. Satisfaction
d. To remain employed at all times
3. What do you know about the career options that you could pursue in the next 5 years?
a. I have an idea of what I want to be earning
b. I know about the promotions and level I want to reach
c. I have an idea of the type of work that I want to do
d. I’m not really sure
4. Which of the following are you doing most to develop your career (other than training offered by your current company)?
a. Networking outside of my current company
b. Networking within my current company
c. Independent training and skills development
d. Very little if at all
Mostly As: Your main motivation is financial, and your place of work and role are secondary considerations. Your ambition is fine but carries a risk that you may reach a point when further financial reward is not available and you have to make hard choices about where to go next, but without having thought about matters such as what roles or environments best fit your skills. It could be a hard landing at that point. Taking time with a coach to understand your skills and how you want to develop them could enable you to balance your financial motivation with a long term fulfilling career plan.
Mostly Bs: You are motivated mostly by the company that you keep. You know what type of company you want to work for – be it large and corporate, small and boutique, agency or client side, and that matters most of all. True job satisfaction really is a secondary consideration. The risk that this carries is that you are not consciously thinking about developing your career to fulfil your personal skillset and goals. One day you may wake up to this and wish for change. If you have prioritised status over skills for too long, it may be too late to have real freedom to choose a new role that truly fits you. Taking time with a coach to understand your skills and how you want to develop them could enable you to balance where you work with a long term fulfilling career plan.
Mostly Cs: You are motivated mostly by deep interest in the work that you do and take developing your skills very seriously. You care about satisfaction in your role and are less bothered than others about your employer or what you are being paid. While it is excellent that you are so happy with the role you have the risk is that others may take advantage of this. By being so focused and dutiful, you may find that you are being overlooked for pay rises and promotions and are actually being rewarded far less than you deserve. And by being so committed you may be less inclined to plan your next career moves and advance at the pace you should too. Taking time with a coach to understand your long term aims could enable you to develop a fulfilling career plan.
Mostly Ds: You are finding it hard to be motivated by your career. It appears that your career path is being run for you rather than the other way around, and you may well be doing a role that you didn’t actively seek. It’s likely that you feel there never seems to be enough time to think about whether this is a good or bad thing and you mostly just focus on keeping your head down and getting on with it. The issue here is that you aren’t giving yourself the time to evaluate whether you are actually happy or not, or what you really want to spend your career time doing. Taking time with a coach to understand your motivations and long term aims could enable you to develop a fulfilling career plan.
Interested to find out more about how I can help with your career planning?
For a free chat please get in touch.