# The Job Hunt

## Developing a career plan

A career plan charts your progress towards your career choice. It details goals and objectives, priorities, planned actions, timelines, a review of progress, successes, and alternative choices.

An effective career plan includes:

- a clear career goal
- career objectives
- a personal profile that outlines your previous achievements, values, interests, skills, and qualifications
- a list of additional skills or qualifications you need, and a plan for achieving them
- any personal development strategies planned
- actions for gathering all the relevant information
- a list of networks to develop relationships with potential employers
- a plan to create or update a curriculum vitae.

## Implementing your career plan

You will find there are times when you will need to change your career plan. Your personal circumstances or employment situation may change. Changing your career plan is very common and acceptable. You need to know how to cope with these changes and adapt your career plan. You may even need to start a new one.

## Example career plan

### Goal setting

Set at least two goals that match your skills and needs for each of these areas:

#### Social/relationship

#### Intellectual

#### Economic/financial

#### Skills I want

#### Health, physical and spiritual wellbeing

#### Career/life's work

### Options for future direction

Which of your goals do you want to explore further?

Goal 1. | Are there jobs in this area?
Goal 2 | Are there jobs in this area?
Goal 3 | Are there jobs in this area?

#### Do you have enough experience for this? What do you need to do?

#### Do you have enough qualifications for this? If not, what do you need to gain?

Goals | Will fit my current other commitments | Will fit my future other commitments
--- | --- | ---

#### What changes will you have to make to your life? Is it possible to change?

### Sources of Information

#### How will you learn about the type of work you prefer?

#### How will you learn about the type of work done in a chosen workplace?

#### How will you learn about how work is done in this workplace?

#### How will you learn about the purpose of your chosen organisation?

Find current information about your desired future. You can search the following:

- internet
- employment databases
- tertiary institute information
- career leaflets and promotional material
- liaison and industry personnel or word of mouth
- employment agencies
- media articles or information

### Making Decisions

Now that you have explored your options and gathered information, have another look at your goals and decide what you want to do about them.

#### Do you want to change your goals?

#### What do you need to change?

#### Do you want to give a different priority to your goals? What will you change?

#### Do you want to cancel one of your goals? What do you need to change?

### Steps along the way

#### What do you need to do to get there?

### Barriers

#### What may prevent you from reaching your goals?

#### How will you overcome these barriers?

### Support

#### What will help you to achieve your goals?

#### The first step is:

#### By when?

#### How will you know when you've got there?

#### When will you review your progress?

> If you don't know where you're going, you won't know when you've got there!