How to Build a Career Plan

Plans are part of virtually every aspect of our lives. We are either on a plan or part of a plan: Game Plan, Lesson Plans, Medical Plans, Retirement Plans, Bonus Plans, Pension Plans, Financial Plans, Travel Plans, Strategic Business Plans. 

The most rare plan? The Career Plan. The most prominent area of financial benefit to a working human’s life has the rarest form of a plan. Can you see the misalignment? The career plan is so rare that there is no data on people who have one.

What is a plan? Webster’s dictionary defines a plan as a method of achieving an end or a series of actions that help you achieve something. There has been no way for the individual to build a real career plan encompassing the awareness of how professional and personal elements of life impact career.

The way some people work today is from a development plan structured by the company they work for. Or the company has a plan, but you are not certain what it is. The “end to be achieved” is for the company and often not to the benefit of the individual human. This isn’t a surprise and we shouldn’t be mad about this. Just because the individual doesn’t advocate for themselves with an individual career plan, doesn’t mean the company you work for should do more than a development plan to meet their goals and hopefully benefit you. 

But as we know – “Hope is not a plan.” So who should take ownership of your career plan? (This is where the obvious-ness of this moment makes everyone pause and say “duh”). 

Own your career! You need a career plan. So how do you build a career plan? The first step is understanding the key aspects. What makes a career plan real?

A Real Career Plan has these characteristics:

1) Documented goals

2) Clear actions with timelines

3) Able to be shared with others

For the first time ever, Koda has built a Career Management Solution (CMS) with tools and exercises for you to build the best career plan for possible, one that can evolve and change as you grow.