How to take responsibility for your career development

Own Your Career Path

⏱️ Estimated Reading Time: 6.5 Mins
Last Updated: May 2022

in this article:
You are responsible for designing your work life

Are you in control of your career path development?  Do you know where you want to be in 1,2-5 years from now? Are you on track?  Are you even trying?  Read on if you want:

• 5 ways you can own your future career development
• To get a free 1 pager downloadable template to map your future & get started right away with these principles.
• To know how to choose the right career for you. 

If you are serious about taking control of your life, you need to own your life path.  For the purposes of this post we are going to be discussing owning your career path. 

Have you been mapping out your future career path with intention, revisiting it, tweaking it as necessary?  Do you know where you want to be in 1 year, 2 years, 5 years and beyond? If you were to audit your current career status as it relates to your goals, are you making the progress you had hoped, and are you happy with where you are in your career?  If you couldn't answer definitively these questions then read on. If you could answer them but have not recently re-evaluated your plan, purpose or happiness level, (sometimes we get to where we wanted to go only to find we don't like it there) then, read on.

I want to share 5 resources that you can use to take control, and own your career path.  Considering that you spend the majority of your life at your chosen profession, owning your career development is really owning and taking responsibility for your life. 
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​5 WAYS TO OWN YOUR CAREER PATH

MAP YOUR FUTURE 

The first step to mapping your career path is to evaluate where you are now, in a clear, unbiased, objective manner.

• What is your current role, responsibilities & activities?

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Then, you need to reflect (don't rush this) on who you are.

•  What are your
  • Values
  •  Preferences
  • Strengths & weaknesses
  • Overall life goals

 Then using an updated copy of your resume summarize your

• Current experience
• Qualifications
• Education

With this information in hand, you have a good baseline for where you are now.  With this baseline ready it is now time to map your future.

As it relates to your work, determine what your goals are:

• In the short-term
• Mid-term (2-5 years)
• Long-term (5+ Years)

Then look at the skills you have, versus the skills/competencies/requirements you will need, to achieve your career goals, and identify the gap:

• What skills do you need to acquire
• What experience is needed
• What education or certification do you need

Then create an action plan along with a timeline to fulfill that gap and start along your path to career success.

To make it easier for you, I have created a one-pager template that you can use to Map your future. Get it HERE. 
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One other important point to mention before you move ahead with this exercise is this, before you plan your career track, make sure that you are actually in the right career.  Sometimes we find ourselves in a position because we are successful at it, or because we think we have to, and it doesn't actually align with who we are. With that in mind, before you start the above exercise please list to this. 
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​SKILL UP

Now that you know where you want to go, and the gaps that you need to address in your knowledge, now go out and acquire those needed skills.  The good thing about this, is that no matter what happens to you in life, your skill set can never ever be taken away from you. Plus you would be surprised how many cross industry positions, that you have never even thought of, that could benefit from different sets of skills.  So skill up.

• Take the courses and trainings that your organization provides
• Start the university/college program (perhaps your current employer will even pay for it)
• Start the online learning programs that are so readily available to you - check out one of my other posts for 5 of the best online learning programs HERE
• Find a mentor or a coach to support you with your skill acquisition
• Read books, listen to podcasts, watch YouTube content on the given subject

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There are so many ways to "Skill Up" and get the information you need regardless as to where you are starting personally.  So sign up, put it in your calendar, and SKILL UP. 
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​NETWORK 

Relationships are fundamental to your career journey.  If no one has ever heard of you, then it's not surprising that you are not chosen for that next promotion. So intentionally plan to create meaningful connections. This can and should be done both at work and outside of your current company. 

At Work:

• Join networking events.  A lot of companies host dinners, or charity events, sports events, after work drinks and so on. So participate, mingle, let your colleagues get to know your fabulous self  and what your working on (Skill Acquisition) on the side.
  • If there isn't something readily available create one yourself.  This will also show how you can take charge.
• See if you can support another team or project to get to know new people and show that you are willing to put in work. Plus you will probably learn something new.

Outside Work:

• Join networking platforms like LinkedIn and join the subgroups available via the platform. There are thousands to choose from so you are bound to find one that is for your industry. Go to their events, offer to be a speaker, or volunteer to support, be active in the chat boards and get to know the people throughout your industry and make a name for yourself.
• If you contract allows it, do some freelance work in your spare time to continue to build a name for yourself (and make extra $$)

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You'll be surprised how fast you will make connections and how these relationships will continue to serve you again and again in your career! 
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​DO THE WORK

Show that you can actually do the work for the job that you want. Hiring is always a gamble for any manager so if you can take away some of the risk and show with real results that you can manage the work for the position you desire, than you are a shoe in.

Do this by:

• Offering to your boss to take on an extra project that will support the companies objectives, that normally would fall under the responsibility of the role you covet.
• Ask to be part of the team on an on-going project. There is so much work in most organizations that the team would probably be delighted to have your support (and its another networking opportunity).
• Take a problem you know needs fixing and fix it. Then show how you are a self-starter to your management team and what the benefits are, that your solution has created for the company. ​

​AGREE ON THE PATH 

If you are going to be doing all of this extra work, it would be to your personal benefit to make clear your career intentions with your manager so that you can agree together the path forward. This can be difficult, especially for women, but I have done my research on this and there is a way to present your plans so that your boss will be actually looking forward to give you a promotion and will be singing your praises.  To learn more, I have a whole post dedicated just to this subject, check it out HERE. Trust me, you will not want to miss the post, the strategies are so simple but so effective!!!!

With these 5 steps, you will be well on your way to creating an amazing career and designing a life that you actually love!

NOW OWN YOUR PATH.

Design Your Life ~ Be Authentic. Be You. Be Sharp. 
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Sources:

• ​Chris Harder - For the love of money Podcast. Episode 436. How to choose the right career for you with Ashley Stahl ~ 436. How to Choose the Right Career For You - with Ashley Stahl | For The Love Of Money