Simple Ways To Map Out Your Career Ambitions

By Lisa Osiako
Having a clear career ambition is something that many times, can confuse you. Just like traveling, it requires a lot of planning prior to it. If you do not know how to get to your destination, it will take you much longer. It is therefore important to create a career plan that will guide you through your professional life.
Personal career planning strongly increases both your immediate prospects and your longer-term potential.
How do you, therefore, ensure that you develop a shorter and surer way towards the success of your career ambitions?
Grow yourself
Roughly 70% of your professional growth will come from the work experiences you have, 20% will come from your interactions with others, and 10% will come from formal education.
In order to grow yourself, determine where you are coming from and where you want to be, and then get the experiences you require.
You can think of ideas in line with the example, ‘from a business strategist who can appear dismissive of those with less intellectual horsepower, to a general manager who aligns and inspires her region through personal connections and demonstrates genuine care for people.’
Know your value
What makes you marketable to an employer that is different from those seeking the same position? Here, it is more than the work experience earned, especially if you are just starting out in your career.
Strong transferrable “soft” skills such as critical thinking, communication and interpersonal relations, as well as extracurricular activities, volunteer work, and nonprofessional jobs, should all be considered part of your value proposition.
Employers want interesting, well-rounded people who have a history of being active and showing that they can manage their time well.
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Identify your strengths and weaknesses
Listing your strengths and weaknesses in your career plan will enable you to clarify your career goals in line with these.
If you are unsure with where you see your career heading, you can decide to explore different avenues at this point.
Set your goals and timeline
To help you monitor your progress, you can write down a few guidelines.
If you want to move up your chosen field within the next two to five years, you can write this down.
You can also break down your plan into more digestible steps and action items you can work towards on a monthly or quarterly basis so that the process becomes easier. In addition, have a deadline to see if your plan is worthy of the efforts you are putting in.
Once you have a path in place, you need to commit to following it, even if that path changes over time. It is important to trust your own instincts about your career. This means you need to be willing to change direction if something feels off.
In the end, ensure you stick to the plan you have set out for yourself and follow it. There will definitely be obstacles on the way as things do not always go according to plan. However, if you want to achieve your goals, you cannot afford to give up when you feel discouraged.
Every obstacle is an opportunity to overcome a challenge that will have an effect throughout your life. You need perseverance, determination, tenacity, and a focus on your goal. If you do the necessary work, take the risks, face your fears and make the sacrifices you need to, you will get there.