Career Path Guide: How to Map Out Your Career Path

A career path is a series of jobs a person works through as they move toward career goals. A career plan can help provide a roadmap for personal and professional development to shape your career path. For example, a career progression in the editorial industry might follow these roles: editorial assistant, assistant editor, associate editor, senior editor, editorial director, editor-in-chief. A salesperson might move up to assistant manager, department manager, store manager, and eventually a regional manager in retail.

There are a variety of factors to consider when career planning:

• Goals: Think about your dream job and what you’d like to be doing in five or 10 years. By mapping out career goals, both short-term and long-term, you can chart a career path toward them.
• Skillset: Identify your technical skills and soft skills to help determine the kinds of jobs that can best use your skills. Read job descriptions, see how your skills align and think about skills you might want to gain—this will help you envision your plans, especially if you’re going to move to a specific job.
• Core values: Determine what you are passionate about and assess your core values in your personal and professional life to find fulfilling work. Perhaps you need to find a work opportunity that offers flexibility, a job with high earning potential, or maybe you are most passionate about a position that does social good.
• Personality: Evaluate your personality and identify jobs that suit your traits. Personality tests like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator can point you toward potential careers for different personality types.
• Compensation: Assess your salary needs and financial goals to help determine which jobs to pursue and decline.
• Lifestyle: If you plan to have a family, you might want to find a job that offers a flexible schedule, parental leave, and reasonable weekly hours. Think about your future lifestyle to identify jobs that you might want to take down the line.

Career development is more than climbing a career ladder. Advancing toward your goals might mean that you’re moving laterally, vertically, or in a new direction with a different industry.

1. 1. Lateral: A lateral move is when you move to a different industry with a similar job title as your previous role, also known as a sideways move.
2. 2. Vertical: This is when you move up the career ladder, from an entry-level to a management position in a chosen field or industry.
3. 3. Backward: If you switch your career or lifestyle, such as moving from a full-time to a part-time job after having children, you might move backward in career status or salary.

Whether you are working toward a promotion at your company or seeking a new job, here are some ways to advance your career and climb the ladder:

• Take on more responsibilities. Taking on additional responsibilities at your present job often leads to a promotion to a higher-level position. This experience can help you advance to the next level in your career.
• Continue to learn new skills. Assess the next potential job in your career path and the required skills for that position. For hard skills, take online courses or complete research. If you need to work on soft skills, take on more complex projects in your current job to help build competencies.
• Network with peers and higher-ups. It is essential to connect with people at a similar level to you and people at the level you want to reach. Be sure to network with professionals in your industry and related fields to learn about new career opportunities and new directions.

A career path can take many forms, and you can change direction at any time, particularly if you are unsatisfied with your job. Once you decide on a career change, follow these steps to set it in motion:

1. 1. Meet with a career coach. These individuals can help you map out your skills and experience and help you find a way to your new career path.
2. 2. Look for freelance work. If you are not ready to leave your present job, take on freelance work in the industry you’d like to enter. Freelance work can help you gain experience and new skills and prepare you to switch careers.
3. 3. Network with industry professionals. Meet people within the industry you want to enter and request informational interviews with individuals at companies that interest you.

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