If you’re considering a new career, it’s probably for one of these reasons: Any or all of these can feel like a gut punch. One of the worst aspects of being either jobless or unhappy in your job is the sense that your life has spiraled out of control. What to do? Now’s the perfect time to come up with a career plan for yourself.
The best thing about being forced to work on a career plan is that it’s all about you — taking control of your career and your future. You might be thinking, “That’s great, Phil, but I need a job, like yesterday, and I don’t have the luxury of making a long-range plan. I’ve got rent to pay next week.
” You obviously need to keep a roof over your head. If cash flow is essential, then get a job, any job. One quick-fix solution is getting hired for a temporary job through a temp staffing firm like ours.
Give it your best effort until something better comes up. I’ve found that people will put up with the hardest, most boring job if they know they have a way out. OK, now that your world is not totally falling apart, it’s time to work on your longer-term future.
Start with, “What’s my dream job?” Allow yourself to brainstorm without any boundaries — not pay, location, education or any other inhibitors. Then, most importantly, ask yourself why that’s your dream job. We all had childhood fantasies about what we wanted our lives to look like.
As we grew into adulthood, many of us slowly chipped away at those fantasies. Coming up with a career plan allows you to start with your ideal job, and then provides you with a clear path to get there. At first, your ideal job may seem unreasonable (a golf teaching pro, let’s say), but let yourself freely ruminate about the aspects of that job that make it so enticing for you.
Assuming you’re a reasonably good golfer and know the game like the pro you want to be, what are the features of being a teaching pro that make it so appealing? Is it your love of the game? The chance to work outdoors? The joy of training others? Proving your own competitive skills? Maybe it’s working at a large golf company or a golf course. Maybe it’s the thrill of joining a startup putter-design firm or becoming an entrepreneur yourself. Is working hybrid important? Are you willing to relocate? Where? Now you’re ready for your career plan details.
Start with making a list of the companies, golf and otherwise, that utilize your skills and why you’d like to work there. Write down why you selected those companies. Was it that they pay well (larger private firms), or have great benefits (government jobs), or that they provide meaningful services to the community (nonprofits)? Next, list the jobs you think you’d like to learn to do or do better, starting with, “I have all the skills I need right now,” and ending with, “I need longer-term education and/or training.
” Then think about people you know or would like to know — yes, it’s always about networking — who are either in these companies or doing the job that you’d like to do or learn how to do. Now strategize about how to meet the people on your list, get references from them, or set up informational interviews. Of course, feel free to change your mind and add or drop criteria.
Soon enough, you’ll be taking control of your career path. Take pride in your new outlook. Hopefully, you will begin to enjoy the adventure and not see it as overly stressful.
Let your dreams lead you to a better life. Blair is co-founder of Manpower Staffing and can be reached at [email protected] .
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