Forward planning
Work towards your career wishes
After taking stock of where you are now and what you have achieved you can think about how you want to move forward.
Ways to move forward
Wish list
Take 15-20 minutes to produce a wish list (RTF, 17KB) (see an example) of what you would like to achieve in the long term and the short term. This will help you to identify what’s possible and to prioritise your goals. When you have done this move on to:
SWOT analysis
Look at your goals in terms of a SWOT analysis. This analysis can help you to focus on the main issues you need to consider and aim for a specific goal that is achievable.
- Strengths - What do you do well? What do other people see as your strengths? Analyse your skills, values and interests
- Weaknesses - What areas need development? What careers should you avoid?
- Opportunities - What possibilities are open to you? What resources do you have? Who can help you?
- Threats - What might cause you difficulties? What responsibilities do you have? What might restrict you?
Take 15-20 minutes to complete this. Be honest about your weaknesses - you can take steps to develop those areas.
Keep the responses simple and use the SWOT analysis grid (RTF, 13KB) (see an example) to organise your thoughts.
Once you’ve identified what is feasible, you can start to prioritise and decide what you want to achieve first.
I tried to be absolutely honest about all my aspirations. Once I'd written them down it was easier to see the connections and realise that some were dependent on each other.
OU student
Need to make a change?
If you are in a situation you feel you need to change then you should work for change. First try to improve the situation you are in. Where this is not successful you have three options.
- Change yourself. Examine your own attitudes, behaviour, ambitions, skills and life style, and consider how, if you changed any of these, your situation might improve.
- Live with it. Devise a strategy to minimise the aspects of the situation you don’t like and maximise those you do.
- Leave. Find a constructive way to move away from the situation that causes you difficulties.
Once you have made your initial plans, set a date to review your development to keep yourself on track.
If you haven't already done so, continue with the career planning activities by moving on to Produce an action plan.
Contact a careers adviser if you'd like some help making use of these activities.