Career Planning Guide - Introduction

Why is it important to plan my career?

The changing world of today and uncertainties of tomorrow leave you with one thing you can count on. And that's you! It's important to know what you want, what you have to offer and what the world needs. By actively managing your work life and career development, you'll stay afloat in the waves of change.

Career planning is a process of identifying where you are now and where you want to be. You start with a map that says, "You are here," a profile of information about you and your assets. You also pinpoint what's meaningful to you and what you want in the future. Self-exploration gives you a foundation on which to build your career goals. It leads to specific ideas and can help you evaluate those ideas.

Your next career planning step is to move from exploring yourself to investigating the external world, the world of work. How do your ideas play out in reality? When you read about careers and talk to the people who work in them, you can identify the options that fit best. You're now free to move on to making decisions that will shape your future path.

Why explore yourself first? There are thousands of occupations with formal titles and even more informal niche jobs that people have created. If you begin to explore careers without first examining yourself and your needs, you'll become overwhelmed and confused. Or you may grab at something you later see as a mistake. The woman who chose a career in accounting for its job opportunities now says, "But it wasn't right for me. And I wasn't right for it!"

Paul Simon's mother wanted him to become a lawyer. She thought this occupation would be better for her son than that of a struggling musician. Instead he followed his heart and his talents, became wildly successful and benefited music lovers around the world.

But not everyone has such a clear calling. And that's the reason for career planning. Career planning gives you a compass to plot your course through the world of work. As you go through life, you'll likely have many opportunities to evaluate where you are and where you want to be. You'll be glad you know how to use career planning strategies and resources to guide your way.