Career Planning Basics: How to Find Your Career Path

Career planning is strategizing about the best possible career choices you can make for yourself. The process might include pursuing higher education to clear barriers for entry to higher-paying occupations, entering a trade school, or starting a new job search when you become unhappy with your current situation.

Career planning can take all sorts of different forms, but there are certain things you’ll always have to do regardless. Follow these four key action steps in your initial career exploration and planning endeavors:

• Evaluate your interests. Before you even start to make a career action plan, take a step back and allow yourself time for some self-exploration. To find a fulfilling job and career path, you need to know yourself. Ideally, your career will be where your own interests and the world’s needs meet. The more you learn about what interests you, the easier the decision-making process will be when it comes to turning those interests into monetizable pursuits.
• Explore different careers. After completing a self-assessment of your interests and passions, seek out job descriptions you think will fit well with who you are and what your aspirations are. If you attend a college or graduate school, get in touch with their career center to see if they can help you in this process. Otherwise, talk to trusted friends and explore resources online to learn more about all the different careers available to you.
• Learn what you need to know. Once you know which careers you’re most interested in, find out the level of education you need to break into the relevant industries. Some employers might only require a high school education, while others might ask for an advanced degree. You might need to attend a more pragmatic trade school for still other potential pathways. Alongside this formal education, explore further relevant career resources in your spare time as you see fit, too.
• Pursue your career path. As you complete the necessary education for your career, you’ll develop the basic competencies you need to start confidently sending out resumes and cover letters. Begin by seeking internships or part-time work in the field you’re pursuing. Try to balance short- and long-term goal setting as you take advantage of opportunities like these—take jobs in the short term that might help you achieve your ultimate job offer in the long term.

Career planning is hard work in its own right—it can feel daunting to plan out what you want to do for the rest of your life. Keep these five tips in mind as you start to strategize:

1. 1. Consider the labor market’s needs. Try to find a way to match your own interests with in-demand and pragmatic career options. Some things make better hobbies than vocations in terms of how well they can help you pay the bills. You can always pursue your dreams in tandem—learning new skills for a more traditionally lucrative career while also working on turning your passion project into your primary source of income.
2. 2. Create tiered career goals. Stagger out your career objectives—set short-term goals you can achieve in a manageable time frame as stepping stones to an ultimate long-term goal. Suppose you want to become a doctor someday. Along the way, you’ll need to attend medical school, participate in health care internships and residencies, and more. Each smaller goal gradually adds up to the ultimate objective.
3. 3. Feel free to change course. The career planning process is fluid—it’s normal to change directions at times. You might stay in the same job for years and then decide it’s time for a career change. In such a circumstance, remain clear-eyed about the obstacles ahead but optimistic about your ability to surmount them. Make career decisions that serve you and your interests while remaining realistic about what it’ll take to get there.
4. 4. Find trusted mentors. Try to start building your professional network before you even start working in a given field. Talk with a qualified career counselor or ask an interesting company’s human resources department if they might allow you to come in for a day of job shadowing. Trusted mentors and advisors can also help prepare you for likely job interview questions and give you hands-on information about what it takes to succeed in their own career path.
5. 5. Stay true to yourself. Throughout your career development and planning, try to pursue jobs in line with your own interests and desires. Strive for work-life balance. Seek out work environments you find healthy and inspiring. When you plan for a career well, it can prove much easier to find a job you’ll consider fulfilling and uplifting.

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