Don’t Know Your Next Career Move? Write a Five-Year Strategic Plan
I’m frequently asked for career management advice. Most of the questions are “I don’t know what my next career move should be. How do I take my next career step?” I always reply, “Identify what you’re passionate about in work, and then come up with a plan to achieve your goals.”
Passion in Work
Are you trying to figure out the next step in your career? Not passionate about your work? Try brainstorming to identify things you love to do and would love to get paid to do. Use Donny Deutsch’s five tips for finding your passion by asking yourself:
- What did you love as a kid?
- What was your best day and what were you doing? What did that involve?
- Who are you jealous of?
- What would you do even if you weren’t being paid?
- What would your script read if you were its author, no holds barred?
Five-Year Strategic Plan
After identifying key things you’re passionate about, translate these passions into goals, and write your five-year strategic plan. This document covers your personal Mission, Vision, and Values. It also identifies your Priority Concerns that helps you identify your strategic goals in your career. After you list mission, vision, values, and priority concerns, then list your strategic goals, why it’s important, and objectives for that goal. For example:
Goal: Return to school for school psychology to advance my career earnings.
Why it’s important: To leverage my teaching credentials and experience in an area that pays a higher total compensation package.
Objectives: (1) brainstorm on schools for school psychology, (2) identify admissions requirements, (3) action plan to meet admission requirements, (4) meet with a school psychologist to learn if they like their job and if they have any advice.
Below is a corporate example of how mission, vision, and values drives strategic priorities (goals), which drives objectives, with each objective having its own activities/tasks to accomplish the objective.
While writing a strategic plan sounds very corporate, the act of brainstorming your mission, vision, and values helps you discover your next career goals, making the thought of work more meaningful rather than pointless.
Recommended Reading List
- Strategic Planning For Dummies by Erica Olsen
- Simplified Strategic Planning: The No-Nonsense Guide for Busy People Who Want Results Fast by Robert W. Bradford and Brian Tarcy
- 10 Steps to Successful Strategic Planning by Susan Barksdale and Teri Lund
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Strategic planning applied to me? I know what I like to do for work but don’t structure or a plan for my next few years of work. Maybe this will help. I like the strategic plan example/image, thanks for the post.