Developing a Personal Career Pathway (by Samuel Akinlotan)

I am a member of "The Let's Talk About Series" community. I'll be sharing notes from one of the sessions held earlier this year, on Developing a Personal Career Pathway by Samuel Akinlotan.

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Samuel Akinlotan:

Whether you want to run your own company or snag the corner office at your current job, you probably have an end-goal for your career. But do you really know what you need to do to get there?

It's important for people to see the steps that are actually involved in having a successful career in whatever profession and industry they choose. I hear so many graduates and professionals say things like, 'I want to be a financial analyst' or 'I want to be an HR Professional'. The truth is that so many of us are often carried away by the enthusiasm and optimism of some professions which often leave us blind to long term career planning.

Things don't just happen, you make them happen. This leads to our conversation today on Developing a Personal Career Pathway.

Let's say you want to be a financial analyst.
When you become a financial analyst, what next?

I often remember the analogy of three bricklayers being asked what they were doing while on a construction site.

The first: I'm laying the bricks for the walls of this building as directed.

The second: I'm doing my job so I can get paid and live a life I want.

The third: I'm part of the team building the largest cathedral in the city.

If you look at the three responses, you'll realise that they are all different to people.

Personal career planning isn't just about having a job, it's about intentionally building a career – that will not only affect you but also influence businesses and corporations.

Personal career pathway involves activities that will help you achieve your career aspirations by planning your education, training, making important job decisions, career changes, and more.
To develop a personal career pathway is to map out your future, understanding which jobs are best for your skills, interests and talents.

Let's expatiate further.

How does one develop a personal career pathway?

Whether you are making a career choice for the first time, or you are making a career change, the process is similar to developing a personal career pathway. You have to learn about yourself, find out which occupations are a good match for someone with your characteristics, research each of your options and pick the best one, and then make a plan to reach your goals.

This is an overview, let's go in steps. I'll share 8 Steps to developing an effective personal career pathway.

The first step to developing your career interests and subsequent pathway is to conduct a self assessment. Do I know myself? What motivates me? What do I like about work or school? What do I not like about work or school? What have been my major accomplishments? What would others say about me and my work ethic or academic background? What are my strengths and weaknesses? What are my interests, my abilities, my values and how do these relate to my work interests?
Have I taken a career assessment or inventory to help guide my decisions?

The next step in developing your career pathway is to examine your assessment results and identify career options.

What broad career categories I'm I best suited to with my self assessment in consideration? There are 6 career pathways (Arts and Communication, Business Management and Technology, Natural Resources Agriculture, Human Services, Industrial and Engineering Technology, and Health Sciences)

Develop a refined list of career options by examining your interests, skills, and values through self-assessment. Narrow your career options by reviewing career information, researching companies, and talking to professionals in the field. You can further narrow your list when you take part in experiences such as shadowing, volunteering, and internships.

The third step is to look at specific career fields for which you have identified an interest and available training that appears to meet your short term goals and for which you are able to commit to the length of training, cost, and related factors. Now you want to investigate which of these fields meet your requirements for work conditions, values, schedule, family plans, financial goals, and similar factors.

Don't just choose a career because it sounds cool. Find out about careers and how they fit into your life.

If you're one who really values the family life, you have to understand that you can't take a career that will deny you that.

Always have considerations for your personality and how a career exudes your strength.

Also, check wage index for careers. There are careers that don't pay well.

The fourth step is to Prioritize. It's not enough to list options. You have to prioritize.

Now that you've identified career options, what are your top skills? Which interests you the most? What's most important to you? Whether it's intellectually challenging work, family-friendly benefits, the right location or a big paycheck? It helps to know what matters to you – and what's a deal-breaker.

Define the ideal career life for yourself. Which of the career options best fit into this?
At this prioritization phases. There's a lot work to do here.

Compare your most promising career options against your list of prioritized skills, interests and values.
You should consider factors beyond personal preferences. What is the current demand for this field? If the demand is low or entry is difficult, are you comfortable with risk? What qualifications are required to enter the field? Will it require additional education or training? How will selecting this option affect you and others in your life? Gather advice from friends, colleagues, and family members. Consider potential outcomes and barriers for each of your final options.

The fifth step is to Envision Your Career journey. This is seeing the end right from the beginning. We are basically in a  hierarchical environment, where you mostly have to grow through systems. Right from out family where you have to listen and follow instructions from Parents, listen to teachers at school, etcetera.

There are guidelines to succeeding in such environment.  One of such is foreseeing the nearest future while growing the hierarchical system.

If you want to the HR Director for top multinational. You need to know the career step or ladders involved.

We can say an example is;

1. HR Intern
2. HR Assistant
3. HR Officer
4. Asst. HR Manager
5. HR Manager/Head of a HR Function
6. Deputy HR Director
7. HR Director

This is just an example, however it might not follow most people or profession.

You need to understand your career option and you will grow through it.

Know where you want to go.

You can't start mapping your route if you don't know the destination. You should create a detailed personal vision statement of where you would like to be at various points in the coming years.

You are ultimately responsible for your own career — not your boss, not the mentors, or your employer. Before you can chase that dream job, you need to articulate what success means to you, including the aspects of your life outside of the job. Only once you have a clear vision of where you want to be in the next one, five and twenty years can you construct a roadmap to get there.

To the sixth step – Tools you need

Now, I believe you have some clarity on what you want to do with your career. What are the resources required?
You may already have a list of companies you want to work for and/or titles you want to have during your career.

However, these aspirations will only be good if you know what skills you'll need, and how to build them.

When developing your personal career pathway, rather than focusing on companies and positions, think about the skills and expertise necessary to pursue your dream career.

The future of work will demand a lot of social skills from us, and while you cannot control what will still change and whether you will be hired at a specific organization, by equipping yourself with relevant skills and knowledge, you will be poised to be a top candidate when exciting jobs become available.

Attend conferences, network with industry leaders and be a student of your career industry.

Set "SMART" Goals and create an action plan. Now that you’ve identified your career options and how far you can go, you need to develop an action plan to implement this decision.

Identify specific, time-bound goals and steps to accomplish your plan. Set short-term goals (to be achieved in one year or less) and long-term goals (to be achieved in one to five years).

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.

It’s important to be realistic about expectations and timelines. Write down specific action steps to take to achieve your goals and help yourself stay organized.

Check them off as you complete them, but feel free to amend your career action plan as needed. Your goals and priorities may change, and that's perfectly okay.

However, as long as you're sure you're on the right, keep adjusting your career plans to fit your career pathway and to develop yourself.

You might have more than one career option in mind and might want to keep your options open. In this case, specify your goals, but bear in mind that it is unlikely you will realise all of them, so plan accordingly. You can begin to prepare yourself for all your options, and over time you will probably find yourself gradually become clearer about what you want to do, and the goals you are capable of fulfilling.

To the last step in developung a personal career pathway; Implement, review and adjust your career pathways strategy - your goals

Now you have decided on your goals, you can develop an action plan to help you put your career plan into action. Remember, planning will increase the likelihood of success, but it's important to remain flexible and open-minded. You might have a couple of choices that interest you so take opportunities to prepare for both.

Career pathway development is a way of making the best use of your current situation and foreseeable opportunities. Given that unpredictable events and changes can occur over time, view your plan as a guide and allow space for adjustments and changes to your approach.

Draw on your experiences at work to help you achieve your goals. You will generally find it helpful to revisit your plan each year. Remember, the career plan you put in place at one stage of your life may not be relevant once you have achieved certain goals and experienced other job and life events.

Revisiting your plan will help to reinforce and clarify your thinking, and can help you decide if you need to change your career strategy, seek help or advice or put more effort into achieving your goals.

Lastly, keep an ongoing journal or record of your achievements and the training and development activities you have done. Include any work experience you gain and outline what you learned from the experience. Retain any letters or other communications that provide feedback about your work or other matters, and refer to them when you apply for new positions. Reflection and documentation provide assistance with ongoing career pathway development.

On a final note, developing a personal career pathway can have multiple benefits, from goal-setting to career change, to a more successful life. Once you begin regularly reviewing and planning your career using the tips provided, you’ll find yourself better prepared for whatever lies ahead in your career — and in your life.

Thank You.

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The Let's Talk About Series is a personal and career development discussion platform that discuss diverse topics to help boost people's productivity and build personal confidence. They are passionate about self discovery, and believe the strife for personal development helps in adding value to one's life; creating opportunities and setting priorities for the areas that make them most effective.

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Samuel Akinlotan