EFFICIENT CAREER PLANNING The First Step towards the Workplace Success!

Planning and managing a career is one of the most difficult tasks today. With so many institutes, so many options and so many opportunities, it has never been so good for the students before. But there is a catch. Lots of possibilities also bring in their share of confusion in the minds of students on the career paths to be chosen. Planning a career can be tough in todays everchanging job market. ts not just the job itself that needs to be considered, but also the salary, !orking hours, !ork environment, training and further gro!th opportunities as !ell. "oreover, there has been a distinct shift in !orking styles and scenarios. #arlier, people looked more for job stability and !ere more loyal. n fact, staying in one organi$ation till retirement !as common. But no! situation has completely changed !ith job hopping, pink slips, lay offs becoming ever so routine. %he organi$ations are also looking for employees !ho are multi-skilled and !ho can !ork on different assignments at one time. %he comple&ity does not stop here. %he information revolution has shrunk the global !orld and people

no! !ork for an organi$ation at the other end of the !orld sitting at their homes, through nternet. "any organi$ations also prefer hiring people !orking on short and fi&ed term contracts, instead of full-time, permanent ones. 'till others !ork on a freelance basis, meaning that they !ork for themselves, but take on short-term contracts for companies. %he !orkforce is no! more skilled and (ualified and there is lots of speciali$ation. "oreover, due to the current economic recession, employers have become choosy and have a larger group of candidates to choose from. %hus, getting a job can be really tough if you cant sho! that you have some (ualifications or skills. %his is !here planning for your career early in your life makes lots of sense. n ndian conte&t, a large majority of students still depend on their parents to make a choice for them. )ight from the time they reach tenth standard, parents start coa&ing and forcing their !ards to training institutes for competitive e&amination tuitions. *nd most of the times, the students themselves have no choice in this regard. +o !onder, students e&ert themselves to e&cel and clear these competitive e&ams at any cost. 'ome of them even drop a year or t!o to get into these career paths chosen by their !ell meaning parents.

%his is not meant to say that parents are doing something !rong or it is improper for them to e&ert pressure on their !ards to do !ell. ,o!ever, in search of e&cellence, !hat most parents tend to forget is that their children may actually not be interested in the career paths chosen for them. -f course, situation has improved in recent times but it has sadly moved from "edical or #ngineering career to "B* career. +o!-a-days, people are hankering after a "B* degree. -f course, it is a good choice provided the person has an aptitude for it. *lthough many people !ould call this trend more of an economic or better career opportunity in terms of salary and position or gro!th for that matter, in reality it also means that the person did not really like !hat he.she !as doing earlier. t is also a fact that most of us go through our early career phase in a da$ed manner, either getting into !hatever !e can get our hands on to or being guided by somebody elses goals and objectives. By the time !e reali$e, !hat !e like best, !e are already half-!ay through our careers and too deeply entrenched in our lives to start afresh on !hat !e actually !ant to do. "oreover, there are financial and family considerations !hich do not allo! us to make the career s!itch that easily.

'o, !hat is the solution/ * good and efficient career planning right from your school days is !hat is needed. t is very important to kno! !hat you !ant in life. %o think of it, career-related decisions are one of the most important decisions of our life !hich can shape our future0and !e leave it in the hands of destiny, parents, peers and friends. *s an educator, have met so many students pursuing a particular degree simply because their friends joined it or their parents asked them to. +o !onder, they are unable to do justice to the education0end up as mediocre students and eventually lose out in the job market also0thereby defeating the very purpose for !hich they joined a particular course of study. *lthough career planning is not a routine or logical step by step procedure, nevertheless, there are many things !hich should be done to get a better handle on your career. %hese include, but are not limited to, gathering information about our o!n selves0strengths and !eaknesses, about various options and career paths, estimating the universities and colleges offering those courses, and finally, choosing alternatives that they find attractive and feasible. But it has been pointed out by many

e&perts that students are not very efficient career planners. %hey are very easily influenced by e&ternal factors, their friends, parents etc. +obody can foresee !hat the future holds for any of us. But still, every!here in the !orld, people plan for their future. gnorance about ones career is not bliss, it is better to have planned and then lost rather than not kno!ing at all and then blaming fate for it. *lthough there is no sure !ay to make career plans !ork out, there are things that you can do no! to shape your career possibilities. 1oal 'etting "ake '"*)% 1oals %his is the most commonly used acronym used in connection !ith goal setting in business environments. But the fact is that it makes sense in personal sphere as !ell. Let us look at them one by one. 'pecific2 #ach and every goal you set should be specific. * general statement such as 3 !ant to be successful4 is not a goal. "easurable2 %hough this comes straight from business environment, it is important for any goal to be measurable5 other!ise you !ill not be able to identify its success or failure properly.

*chievable2 6o not set a goal !hich is impossible to attain. 7ou !ill never even try to achieve it because you kno! you cannot do it. )elevant2 %his is important because goals !hich are against your core values or !ishes are irrelevant. %his attribute also makes sense !hen !e talk about having smaller goals !hich take us to the ultimate goal. %ime-based2 %he goals should be time bound. 7ou cannot set a goal and hope you !ill achieve it one day. %here has to be a specific time period in !hich you must attain it other!ise it may lose its significance. "ake them prominent 6isplay these goals at all possible places !ithin your home so that you can see them easily. %hey should serve you as constant reminders of !hat you are supposed to do in your life. )evie! last, revie! your goals very often. 8heck out the progress you are making. 'et smaller sub-goals to reach your final goal. +ot only these sub-goals motivate you further on achievement, they also let you monitor the progress you have made till that point.

Be 9le&ible 'ometimes !e seem to hit a rock barrier and it seems like !e cannot go any further. n such cases, be open to modify your goals to suit the current scenario. -r it may also happen that the situation changes dramatically and the goals you set are no longer as relevant as they !ere then. *gain, be fle&ible enough to revise them rather than leave them altogether. But this fle&ibility should not be used to cover up the deficiency or underachievement of goals. %he 9irst 'tep %he first step to decide on !hat career you !ould like to pursue is to find out about your o!n self. -f course, this is not easy. But it is really important to kno! about your likes, dislikes, your strengths and !eaknesses. %his is the key to career planning. :nderstanding !hat you are like, !hat you value, and !hat you !ant to become is the foundation for all career planning. %his !ill enable you to match yourself !ith different career paths and see !hat may best fit your personality, interests, abilities, and goals. t is important to integrate your information regarding self and occupations. 7our values, interests and skills, !hen combined !ith certain personality traits, !ill enable you to be successful in certain types of vocations and careers and maybe not so successful in certain other types.

%hus, it is (uite useful to undergo some personality tests or self-assessment tests to fully analy$e and kno! your o!n abilities and inherent talents. -f course, no such tests can guarantee ;<<= accuracy but some tests if done properly give a fairly good idea about your personal preferences. %here are many such tests available freely on internet. 7ou can also opt for career counselors !ho are ready to administer these tests for a small fee. 'ome of these tests check your value system i.e. the values that you give preference to, such as security, high salary, prestige, position, fle&i>timings, autonomy etc. %hen there are some tests !hich analy$e your tastes and interests. %his is based on the theory that people !ho share similar interests !ill also enjoy same type of !ork. %he most common tests are the personality tests that look and tend to analy$e the test givers individual traits and attitudes. * common e&ample !hich is also used by some organi$ations to test the personality of ne! joiners is "B% or the "yersBriggs %ype ndicator. 'imilarly, the skills assessment test helps to figure out the various skills you have and ho! proficient you are in them. %hese results can be used to kno!

and then plan for ac(uiring the skills you need for a particular career. *nother !ay of doing this self-analysis is through very famous management techni(ue of 'W-% analysis. 'W-% stands for 'trengths, Weaknesses, -pportunities and %hreats. 1enerally in management jargon, this techni(ue is used to analy$e an organi$ation or products position vis-?-vis another organi$ation or product. But it can also be applied e(ually !ell on ourselves to check our o!n strengths and !eaknesses. %he opportunities are the possible areas of gro!th for us or the possible avenues !e can e&plore in our career plan5 threats can be visuali$ed as competition in terms of vacancies in a college, job market etc and also related to our !eak areas !hich can lead us to!ards rejection. 'W-% is basically the techni(ue used to understand the efficiency of a strategy. -ne of its important characteristics is that it sho!s our position compared to the possibility of success or defeat. n this method, !e are able to identify the elements that are necessary to gain a competitive advantage. But again, it is important to remember that !e should do this analysis !ith absolute honesty. -ther!ise, if you do not identify your strengths and !eaknesses properly, you !ill

not be able to utili$e them for your further gro!th. f you are unsure of any of these, you can al!ays take the help of your friends and parents. +o! let us look at them in some more detail. %he strengths are the areas !here you e&cel, they are the positive or plus points of your personality !hich can give the possible competitive advantage for a particular career. %hey could be your !ork e&perience, degrees and diplomas, soft skills such as communication, interpersonal relations etc. or a degree from reputed college or an institute. 9or e&ample, someone trying to have a career in academics should have strong fundamentals as !ell as good communication and delivery. 'o, if you have good communication skills and a flair for research, you can choose it as a career avenue. %he !eaknesses are the areas !here you lag or are not (uite adept. %hese could be lack of a good academic record, no previous !ork e&perience, average soft skills or lack of computer skills. %he idea is to identify such areas !here you are not good at and improve upon them. -f course, not all of your skills need to be at e&pert level, but in todays !orking scenarios some things are very basic, such as basic use of computers, basic #nglish speaking and !riting skills etc. *gain,

you should be as impersonal and objective as you can be to ackno!ledge your deficiencies. :nless you are able to identify such areas of improvement you !ill not be able to make progress. 'imilarly, opportunities are the e&ternal factors !hich though are not in your control, but can be used advantageously by you. %hese could be some ne! courses, ne! organi$ations coming in your chosen area of !ork, offering better gro!th possibilities. -r, may be, a sudden change in markets and !ay of doing things !hich put your particular skill sets in demand. %he idea is to keep your eyes and ears open for such opportunities so as to not miss them !hen they arise. *nd finally, threats are the opposite of opportunities 0that is the e&ternal factors !hich are not in your control and could affect your job market adversely. %hese could be in form of your competitors, adverse market conditions, pull out of or closure of certain big organi$ations from your chosen field etc. %hus, by doing this kind of self-analysis, you !ill kno! e&actly !here you stand. *nd then is the time to clearly establish !here you !ant to be after five or ten years. %he 'econd 'tep %o travel, you must kno! your destination0other!ise you !ill end up losing

yourself amidst the rubble. 'o, the ne&t important step is to set a goal !hich is really important to you and not !hich others tell you are good for you. * specific goal is an important !ay to keep you on the right path. Writing do!n your goals is also important. %he advantage is that you are able to clearly define !hat you !ant. 7ou !ill not !rite anything unless you are absolutely clear about it. 'o, it basically helps to clear those cob!ebs and allo! you to see e&actly !hat is !anted. *nd it !ill help you in not getting sidetracked by other mundane issues. Writing them do!n forces you to crystalli$e your thinking and to recogni$e unclear and half-formed ideas. t may lead to ne! insights into your possibilities and may help you to see ne! relationships, patterns, and trends, or to identify gaps in your thinking about your career development. %he %hird 'tep -nce you have done this, you are ready for your ne&t move. *nd this is !here the hard !ork begins. 1ather all the information regarding your career choice. 9ind out all !hat you can about your career choice, from the (ualifications needed, the institutes offering those courses and degrees, the placement opportunities, the career gro!th after

five years, ten years, t!enty years. Plan for the long time hori$on. *lso research on the organi$ations !here you !ould find your job, !hat e&tra do they need besides the usual degree (ualifications. %his is important. %here are number of !ays that can be used to gather information about different careers. 7ou should try any one of these or a combination of these methods. %hese are2 nternet )esearch2 nternet has emerged as one of the primary sources of information about career paths. %here are so many job and career-related sites that give information regarding the different fields, the re(uirements, the vacancies, the salary structure etc. #mployment #&changes and -ffices2 %hese offices not only register candidates seeking jobs but also provide information regarding various possible career avenues. n ndia, all 'tates have opened up their o!n employment e&changes. %hese have information regarding government jobs. )ojgar 'ahay @endras give employment market information as !ell as vocational guidance to the jobseekers. 9riends and *c(uaintances2 "any a times, initial information can be gathered through informal

discussions !ith friends and relatives in those professions. 'tudents also discuss amongst themselves and update their kno!ledge regarding various options. Aob and 8areer 9airs2 +o!-a- days, many job consultants hold job fairs regularly at different places. n such fairs, people can find out about different careers by talking to those !ho do that type of !ork. #vents such as career fairs give people a chance to gather information about a large number of occupations in the same place. 'ummer trainings.summer jobs2 6uring summer breaks, it is important to utili$e your time properly. %ry doing a summer job at places !here you !ould like to !ork. #ven if you are not able to get a summer job in those organi$ations, at least !orking in a similar organi$ation in the same industry !ill give you a real feel of !ork that is done. * first hand e&perience can go a long !ay in helping you to make a decision about your long- term goals in career path. t has been seen that most of the students only plan till admission in an institute and do not go beyond it. With the changing economic conditions, the job market has become volatile. 'o study the market

conditions before jumping into the band!agon. What may be hot today may not remain so by the time you finish your college degree. *nother thing to remember is to revie! your plans and progress periodically !ith another person. "ake sure to periodically see !here you are going, ho! much progress has been made, !hether the steps you have taken have gotten you the information you needed or you need to do something different. %his can help you cope !ith the changes that you undergo and the changes that take place in the labour market. %he 9inal 'tep %he ne&t step after the research is to actually plan and undertake all these activities. %here is a very useful P68* cycle in Buality management techni(ues. t basically stands for PL*+0 6-08,#8@0*8%. "eaning for every initiative to be successful the plan has to be follo!ed by doing it, checking on its progress and then acting on any problems encountered so as to bring the job back on track. *lthough most of us kno! the importance of planning our career paths, it is also a fact that most of us do not do it. We spend our entire careers trying to earn ever bigger salary che(ues rather than !orking to build up our sense of satisfaction and

fulfillment at !ork. %o avoid regretting later, it is important to start your preparation early. *naly$e your self, set your goals, gather information and then actually act on your plans to fructify them. 9ollo! your plan and help yourself to a good re!arding and enjoyable !ork life.