Thinking Career
Closing the Gap on Your Career Goals
If you still picture a steady progression up the ladder when you think of career planning, it’s time to shift your thinking. For most people, climbing the career ladder is no longer an option. The working world has changed so dramatically that linear career paths rarely exist, except as historical symbols.
But, without those trusty rungs to show the way, how do you figure out the next step in your career? How do you determine if you need to go to business school or graduate school? How do you identify your next job?
You could employ the dartboard method. Or, instead of struggling to find the next rung on that mythical ladder, you could identify your long-term career goals, and then focus on closing the gap between today and your future goals. By focusing on the long-term, and the skills and experiences you need to gain, you will increase your options and give yourself flexibility to operate in today’s chaotic working world.
To determine your career plan, first do a Career Gap Analysis, by following these four steps:
Step One
Divide a blank sheet of paper into three columns. At the top of the
left column, write: “Current Skills and Experiences.” At the top of
the middle column, write: “The Gap.” Finally, at the top of the
column on the right, write “Future Needs.”
Step Two
In the right column, Future Needs, list the skills, education,
abilities, and experiences you may need to be successful in the
future you envisioned when determining your long-term goals. For
example, if your future goal is to start your own business, you may
need some or all of the following: knowledge of how to write a
business plan, basic accounting or financial analysis knowledge, the
ability to manage a group of people, experience in writing new
business proposals, and marketing skills.
Step Three
In the first column, Current Skills and Experiences, list all of the
skills, education, abilities, and experiences you currently have to
offer. Make sure your list is comprehensive, and includes what you
learned through volunteer experiences, hobbies, seminars, and even
those part-time jobs you had while you were in school.
Step Four
In the middle column, The Gap, list the education, skills, or
experiences you need to close the gap between where you are now and
where you plan to be in the future.
Now that you have identified your long-term goals and the elements in the gap, instead of focusing on the title or hierarchy of your next job, focus on the skills and experiences you will gain that will allow you to close that gap. For example, if you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you may look for a job that will strengthen your planning skills. You may consider an opportunity to work more closely with the marketing or sales department. Or, you may look for a specific kind of supervisory experience in your next job.
Don’t overlook opportunities within your current organization to fill that gap. If your goal is to strengthen your skills, instead of to climb that mythical ladder, you may find a lot more options internally than in an outside organization. As a known quantity, your current organization is more likely to risk letting you experiment with a new field of expertise. So, a lateral move in your organization could give you the opportunity to try out something new and different.
To close the gap, you can also look for experiences outside of your job. To build your entrepreneurial skills, you could take a workshop on writing a business plan through your local Small Business Development Center. You could volunteer to manage the financials for a small non-profit organization. Or, you could decide it is to time to earn an MBA.
By using a Career Gap Analysis, you can create your own unique, flexible career plan and banish the career ladder to the pages of history, where it belongs.
Shannon Bradford
is a writer and coach, helping people learn how to master their
brains to succeed in their careers and businesses. She is the author
of Brain Power (Wiley, 2002).
Get more on career planning at
www.DreamCareerU.com
© 2004 Shannon Bradford
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