The Key To Career Planning - Define Your Career Values

Career planning is something that you need to do on a continuous basis. What helps the most in career planning is to understand your skills, abilities and your talents.

When these things are clear in your head, then career planning is easier.

Career Planning Questions That You Need To Ask and Answer

Before you start your career planning and goal setting, you need to know what your career values are. You need to understand what is important to you and what matters the most. These can also be called your career principles. You also need to ask yourself some questions. These questions will help you enormously with your career planning.

What are you passionate about? What would you like to do every day? Do you find your current career or job fulfilling? When you answer these questions you will get answers to some important aspects of your career. Are you happy with your current career? Would you be happier doing something else? These questions are on the same lines, but they also help to define your career satisfaction, which is important to career planning.

Another aspect of career planning is the environment you work in. If you are unhappy with the environment in your workplace, then you can work towards changing your career. This again becomes easier with some strategic career planning. The last and most important question you need to ask yourself is: does your current career allow you to satisfy your dreams and goals in life?

If it doesn't, then you need a change immediately.

Setting Goals for Career Planning

It is important that you set goals in your career planning effort. Without goals and targets, you are most likely going to be lost and confused. Realistic goals are important because it doesn't help to set goals that are unreal and unachievable. The key here is when you set some realistic goals and achieve them, you will feel good about yourself and work doubly hard at your career.

Career goals need to be manageable. If you are working as an executive and your goal is to become CEO in the next two years, wake up my friend and smell the coffee. This is not going to be possible unless you are related to the CEO of the company, and even then it is not going to be easy. Set small and manageable goals where your career plans are concerned.

You need to work at your goals systematically. Keep working at one goal at a time; do not be disorganized and chaotic, as this will get you nowhere. Systematic planning is the key. Also have some strategy in place to help and guide. Without a plan, you will find it harder to achieve success.

Career planning isn't rocket science; follow the tips above and you'll be well on your way!

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for six sigma professionals such as, lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

The Many Values of Career Management!

Are you managing your career to build value into your skills and qualifications? Learn the basics to manage your career, improve your abilities in your present career and perhaps prepare you for a career change whenever the opportunity reveals itself.

Career management in midlife can generate additional value to both you and your career. You've had experience managing projects, teams and groups of people. How about taking these skills and managing your career.

After age 50 it's even more critical to set your sails on a desirable career destination. If it means building up your skills and knowledge in your current career or planning on changing careers after age 50 either approach can be profitable and probably fun.

The first thing to get nailed down is that you and only you are in charge of managing your career. It can't be delegated or turned over to a career coach (although they can provide you with productive ideas) or a friend or your employer. You're on the island all by yourself.

Then you need to look at yourself as something to sell. You are the total mix of skills, knowledge and experience that you must package and brand your self. This package will be marketed, as you build and manage your career, to employers (including your current employer) as a person who get results and adds value for the employer. If you can make your skills more valuable it's an added bonus.

Employers in their hiring and retaining of employees constantly attempt to get the best value for the money. Your job in managing your career at any age is to see that the value you provide to your employer always exceeds the employer's cost of employing you.

List all your skills and experience and your job related and personal accomplishments. What quantifiable things did you provide your employer? What other benefits did you provide? How up-to-date are your career related skills? What specific things have to done lately to make yourself more marketable?

Are there any gaps in you required skills? A system or process that you need more experience on? How about something new coming along; what plans do you have in place to learn the new system or process? Do you need help managing the difficult employee? Presentation skills need polishing? This is where the fun comes in as you manage your career, add skills and you can look back and see how far you've progressed.

Take time to study job announcements and internet job postings in your career or your planned new career. Pay particular attention to the current job requirements. If you are lacking some qualification now is the time to get the required training and education. Perhaps there is an opportunity with your current employer to volunteer to get involved in the new requirement and earn some relevant experience.

All of these and many more job related skills you'll need to manage in order to complete your career toolbox. Every tool is important and your history of learning is a powerful asset to any employer.

In managing your career, you must continue to build your written career plan. You must continue to be proactive in moving forward. You substantially enhance you chances of moving ahead with your current employer or making a successful planned career change. By managing your career and the related skills you optimize the chances of fulfilling your longer term career goals.

For more information about after age 50 career management, career change tips and career planning go to http://careersafter50.com. You'll also find great ideas about changing careers, finding jobs and the stories of individuals just like you who successfully managed their careers after 50.