Few people career plan – most people have accidental careers.

Career planning and development is: “A goal that you desire to achieve in a selected field or occupation with a well thought out plan to get you there.”

Most people, at a relatively young age, choose a career based on a few simple parameters, such as:

• What am I interested in?
• What are the market opportunities?
• What does a certain career pay?
• Fashionability etc.

Having chosen a career the next step is usually to get the appropriate training and after graduating from that training to find a role within your chosen industry/profession.

Some of us will embark on further training and development in our careers; for example, enroll in a post-grad diploma or master’s course and most of us will be given some sort of further vocational training by our employers.

And that is pretty much the extent and thought that most of us give to “Our Own Personal Career Planning and Development”. Which is a shame, because this approach abdicates to others control of a large part of our lives.

Do a quick Google on the subject “Career Planning” and you will find a large number of sites on the subject, mostly focusing on young people at the start of their careers. However, this is a not a subject that should be confined to beginners, it is a subject for all of us at all stages of our careers and extends into and beyond our retirement.

Many of us will change our minds about our initial chosen career and a good number of us will change our minds more than once. So, the need to re-visit our career goals will most likely recur on more than one occasion.

The key to career planning and development is quite simple; it is a straightforward process akin to planning a project and the chances of success in this particular life project is enhanced by allocating some time to do it properly and exercising some thought.

It really is a simple process of “Taking Charge”. Here’s a useful article to help you get started.