1. Decide where your career fits into your life and what motivates you

We all have our own personal priorities and these priorities can change throughout our lives.  If we can identify our priorities and allow for different stages in our lives we can plan to achieve a life/work balance.  Refer to the section on life/work balance.  Maybe you could include the significant people in your life when working through these issues as they may have opinions and insights that will help.

Think about what really motivates you.  Are you driven by:

• financial benefits
• freedom to pursue your interests
• social life at work
• recognition by manager/peers/industry
• status
• security
• the knowledge that you do your job well
• your achievements
• working with clients
• interesting work
• predictable work
• working with/for the community

2. Determine your career interests

A large part of our lives is spent at work, so following your career interests will result in a more rewarding life.  Completing the exercises in the self-assessment section will assist you to identify your interests.

3. Identify skills, attributes, qualifications that you currently possess.

It is important that you build upon what you already have!  Complete the exercises in the self-assessment section.  You may find it useful to discuss these issues with your boss, colleagues, family members as well.  Form a realistic picture of what you currently have and at what level you are currently at - be honest with yourself.

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4. Consider who will support your career aspirations

In the workplace there may be key people who can directly or indirectly affect your career.  Identify who those people are.  Strengthen your networks and build positive working relationships with all of the people you work with.

If you are seeking career development within a profession but not necessarily a particular organisation then ensure that you establish and maintain links within the profession.

If you have family that will be affected by your career and development choices, involve them in dialogue and decision-making regarding career plans (both yours and theirs).

5. Keep informed about what is happening in the industry/profession that could impact on your progression

This is particularly important when it comes to changing either your career or the organisation you are working for.  Stay in control of your career by being informed about the environment so that you know when to act, what to prepare for and how to respond.  People who are not aware of the environment they are working in can find themselves in a more vulnerable position than those who are in tune with what is happening around them.

6. Plan how you will develop your skills and experience

Think strategically about your own development.  It can take considerable time to acquire skills, experience and qualifications.  Look at where you want to be in the medium to long term.  What would be required of you then?  You need to plan.  You need to determine what you are willing to invest in your own development in terms of time; financial resources; and the impact on family and friends.  Look at the Section on Lifelong Learning and Training, it will also inform you about study options at UC.

7. Visualise what you want to achieve in the short term, medium term and long term

Doing a 'good job' does not guarantee career success.  Examine what your short-term goals are and how you are going to achieve them but don't forget about your long-term goals.  Think about where you want to be in five years time and then in ten years time.  Research the requirements for advancing to higher levels or for changing careers, and then plan how to meet those requirements.  Let others know of your interests so that they are aware when opportunities arise that you will be interested.

Do not just concentrate on the job you envisage but take into account your financial situation, where you will live?, will you have dependants?, will you have a partner?, what other interests besides your career do you want to pursue?  These factors will influence your timing, motivation and ability to attain your goals.

8. Address how will you measure your success and how you may deal with set-backs.

Just because you have a plan does not mean it will all proceed like clockwork.  Incorporate some milestones into your plan so that you can monitor your progress.  Just because one part of your plan fails does not mean that you can't keep pursuing that goal.  Celebrate your achievements and use set-backs to re-evaluate your objectives.  It is OK to scrap goals and replace them with others.  Make sure that you learn from your successes and your failures.

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Put your Plan in Writing

There are many issues to consider when planning your career, and it may take some time to put your plan together.  Once you have covered the issues and made some decisions, put your plan in writing.  Ensure that your plan includes:

Career Mobility

Career mobility is becoming increasingly important as jobs and organisations change.  There are many jobs and occupations today that will not exist in the future and many jobs and occupations in the future that do not exist now.  If as a result of career planning you find that you want to change your career path there are some suggestions below:

Changing occupation can be difficult, particularly if you have progressed up the career path of one occupation then have to face starting at the bottom of a new career path.  It may be easier to change occupation in your current organisation than to go to a new organisation.  Your current organisation is aware of your work performance and will have a better understanding of your transferable skills, they are also more likely to maintain your salary level.

When changing career paths it may take two or more moves before you get to where you want to be.  You may need to change industry but retain your current occupation, before changing your occupation in the new industry, or you may need to change your occupation in the existing  industry before changing industry.  An example appears below

Currently a finance officer in a government dept.

Wants to be a marketing/advertising executive.

It would be very difficult for this person to move to an advertising/marketing role in a new organisation in one move.  An easier but longer option is for the person to either;

Other ways that may help with career mobility include:

At different stages in our lives the elements can take on different importance.  A 20 year old is unlikely to have identical priorities to a 40 year old.  Changing priorities in our lives can impact significantly on our career aspirations and planning.

Culture and gender can also affect the way in which we prioritise the different aspects of our lives.

Modern organisations are now recognising that to achieve work/life balance, organisations need to cater for the needs of individuals.  Many families have carer's responsibilities for children, elderly parents, disabled family members.  Family-friendly policies to increase flexibility are having positive outcomes for both employees and employers.

The University of Canberra has a number of family friendly policies, such as:

These policies can be viewed in the Human Resources section of the University Policy Database

You may need to factor work/life balance into your career plan and examine what stages in your life other priorities will be just as important as career priorities.