20 Oct 09 Formulating A Career Action Plan
Creating a career action plan is important for everyone. No matter the career, your planning will be better served with a CAP. This will give you a comprehensive guideline that you intend to follow. By having this path set before you, you can be better aware of your goals. Making the path allows for you to keep sight of what you want out of your career, and the ways to accomplish those goals. So it only makes sense to sit down and write one out.
The career action plan is exactly what it sounds like. A well laid plan on how to get your career from point A to point B, and beyond. You should have a well researched path that you intend to follow. One that works for your skill set, and commitment. You’ll have to take into account the workload you’re willing to accommodate, and how you intend to achieve your intended ends.
Following the typical CAP format you should start out by mapping your objectives. Write down what you hope to achieve, from pay scale, to promotions, to education. Figure out what you want to put in, as well as what you want to get out of your career.
From there, in the next section detail all of your previous experience, and the skill set that you’ve developed. Whether through work history, or education, write down what has set you up for your career.
Now you calculate your weaknesses, and honesty counts here. Nobody is going to be looking at this play besides you, so be honest. Failing to record a truthful account of your weaknesses leads to a plan that might not work for you. So figure out your shortcomings so that you may learn to work around them. That’s all part of your plan, and you’ll be better set by knowing where you may fall short, so that you can prevent that, or work around them.
Finally you plot out your goals. Take the information you have already written, and maneuver how it fits into the goals you want to achieve. In this step you can map out exactly how to go about making your goals come to fruition. Through careful planning here, you’ll have a good idea of what you need to do, and a decent time table of when you can expect to accomplish some of those goals.
Tags: Cap, Career Action Plan, Career Plan, Career Planning, Education, Honesty, Leads, Maneuver, Path, Promotions, Section Detail, Shortcomings, Skill Set, Sounds, Work History, Workload
14 Oct 09 Developing A Career In Sales
When your career involves sales, you are directly in control of your own destiny. If your income is driven by how much you can sell a service or product, you get back exactly the effort that you exert. Which means, as long as you are a hard worker, your career will be a success. So if sales is a target career for you, instead of waiting for the skills to be taught to you, take the initiative to better yourself as soon as possible. The better you get at making yourself money, the more money you’ll have faster.
Look around you for starters. Try to find helpful books at your local bookstore. Even look to the colleges in the area and see if anybody teaches a course related to your field. Anything that helps you become a better seller is a plus. This career is dependant upon your ability, so it only makes sense that you would strive to have all the education that you can muster.
Of course a path such as college or career coaching will require an investment of money and time on your part, but having the info is much better than the alternative. An education is never a bad thing. The accolades might not guarantee a good job, but the knowledge will. You’ll still have to work hard at what you do, but you’ll know where to put your efforts. That information is invaluable.
Finally, try to find an entry level job that affords you the chance to work with a real industry professional. Whether the job doesn’t pay well, or even just an unpaid internship, take advantage of either. As long as there’s room for advancement, or a good training manager, either will be beneficial. Remember, it’s okay to give a job a shot, if you aren’t offered the salary you want. Take advantage of the quick experience, the knowledge you can gain, and the opportunity for advancement. As long as you work hard to sell, you are guaranteed to be successful.
Tags: Bookstore, Career Coaching, Colleges, Control, Education, Entry Level Job, Good Job, Guarantee, Helpful Books, Initiative, Money, Own Destiny, Path, Salary, Sales Career, Starters, Success, Target
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