Career Planning And Employment Guidance
Technology / 8, May 2020

Career Planning And Employment Guidance

The fact can’t be denied that career planning is designed for students and professionals to help them in finding and becoming successful in a career that they love and fulfills their personal requirements. Some students also enter a major in the career exploration stage. At that particular stage, they are required to develop learning regarding different careers and also figure out the career they will pursue. Others are required to enter the major that they have committed to a specific career.  This will allow them to focus on the development of certain skills and knowledge they would require for that specific career. However, in reality, students usually move back and forth between commitment and exploration. To solve the issue related to selecting a career, this article will provide students and aspiring professionals a few tips for career planning and employment guidance.

Understanding job availability

Students often express their career aspirations by means of statements that illustrate substantive interests. Within the context, substantive interests are what allow students to pursue a meaningful career. Having a particular interest could be great. However, for selecting a specific career path, students are required to think about their skills. That’s where employment guidance actually comes into play. Read Also: The 10 Best Jobs Working From Home For 2020 From a literal perspective, careers are organized around skills. For example, teaching can be termed as a skill. Teachers not only work with young children but they also work with victims of abuse, adult learners and juvenile delinquents. Another skilled profession is psychology. From a professional perspective, psychologists work with alcoholics, couples experiencing marital trouble, children with mental disorders and troubled families. Management and administration are also essential skills.

Building transferable skills

Whether you are still planning or are directly committed to a specific career, you should select your time as a student to create your skills and knowledge. The fact can’t be denied that successful careers are comprised of two levels of knowledge and skills. Developing an understanding of every specific career requires an extensive knowledge base as well as a set of strong transferable skills. From a literal perspective, transferable skills could be termed as interpersonal skills. They comprise of effective written and verbal communication skills, data management, budgeting and time management. Such skills are also termed as transferable skills. However, they could also be transferred from a specific occupation to another. On top of the transferable skills, each and every career comprises of occupation-specific skills and knowledge.

Considering other important factors

It is essential to consider certain factors that are beyond personal preferences. As a future professional, one should ask regarding the current demand for the specific field. If the demand is low or entry is difficult, are they comfortable with risk. Students should also analyze or evaluate the specific qualifications that are required for entering the field. Students should discuss whether their future career will require additional education or training. They should also collect advice from friends, colleagues and family members. It is also essential to consider potential results and barriers for all of the final options.

Making a career choice

It is essential to select the career path that is the most suitable for you. The career path you select will mainly depend on the employment guidance you have received. If you have been smart in your planning, then identification of multiple options could be optimum. You require several paths for increasing various business opportunities. On the contrary, narrowing to multiple options could help you to better focus on your job search or graduate school applications.

Setting up SMART Goals

Now that you have been able to identify your career options, it is essential to develop an action plan for implementing a decision regarding your career. It is essential to identify specific, time-bound goals and steps to attain your plan. When it comes to SMART goals, it is essential to set short-term goals and long-term goals. They can be explained in detail as follows:
  • Specific -- Identify your goal clearly and specifically.
  • Measureable -- Include clear criteria to determine progress and accomplishment.
  • Attainable -- The goal should have a 50 percent or greater chance of success.
  • Relevant -- The goal is important and relevant to you.
  • Time bound -- Commit to a specific timeframe.

Creating your career action plan

It is essential to be realistic regarding specific expectations and timelines. Students or future professionals should write down particular action steps to attain their goals and help themselves to stay organized. Students can also check them off when they complete them. However, they should also feel free to amend their career action plan as and when required. The goals and priorities could change and that's perfectly okay.

Explore new education or training opportunities

It is essential to note that you should never miss a chance to learn and grow more as an employee and individual. A significant component of career planning focuses on finding out courses, training opportunities or workshops that can help you to further improve your career. If you are working for a specific organization and you are being provided professional development opportunities than you should take advantage of those opportunities.

Leverage and learn from others

An essential part of your career planning is your relationships with industry leaders. It is essential that you build strong relationships with leaders within and outside of your company, attend job-related conferences and explore other events. The better you are able to network, the more opportunities you will have to learn from other industry professionals who’ve enjoyed success. They can be helpful regarding employment guidance. To find out more regarding the possible career options, you may focus on conducting informational meetings with your colleagues or managers.

Step out of your comfort zone

One of the best ways to become successful in your career is to identify and solve an organizational challenge your company is experiencing. This is an essential component for your career planning. This will not only help to increase your visibility in the organization but also expand your skills in the process.

Conclusion

It is evident that career planning is not something that an individual does once and then forgets. When students are able to find a broad occupation, they tend to explore more careers to see which specialization they can pursue. Succeeding in a constantly changing workplace requires a career management plan. Employers always want to attract, hire, and retain employees who provide the best value. As a result, career planning and employment guidance are integrated areas that should be carefully explored by students and professionals.