Career Roadmap - Step 3

Next, you must plan!  Mapping out your career should be your choice so they can align with your life choices.

Step Three: Make a Plan

Take time to prepare a game plan for how you will reach your goal. But don’t use planning as an excuse to procrastinate. You want to get to Step Four as quickly as possible, because actions create momentum.

Take each of your goals and write down the list of steps under each of them that you will need to take to make the goal happen. The more individual steps you can map out, the easier it will be for you to reach your goals. The steps should be practical tasks that will lead you to achieve the goal.

For example, with our goal of making a career change from accounting to marketing, here are some sample steps:

• Research job postings for entry-level marketing jobs. What are the skills, education, and experience required?
• Join the American Marketing Association and attend one virtual event or in-person boot camp in the next 90-120 days.
• Enroll in semester-long online marketing course focusing on marketing principles.
• Identify a volunteer opportunity to put marketing skills into practice — either in current job or with a community organization.
• Assess transferable skills from accounting that would be useful in marketing role (project management, analysis, financial management, client relations).
• Work with a professional résumé writer to create a targeted marketing résumé.
• Join three marketing-related groups on LinkedIn, and follow 5-6 Fortune 1000 companies in the area that have company profiles on LinkedIn.
• Assemble people in network to act as references for marketing interview.
• Connect with 2-3 contacts at Fortune 1000 companies in the area.
• Identify possible employers and submit résumés.

Give yourself milestones so you can measure your progress. How will you know when you’re on the right track? Include specific dates and numbers in your milestones.

Download this worksheet as you go through each step developing your Career Roadmap.

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