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.