We are three months into 2018 already! How are your plans going to think about and develop your career? Making plans to work on self-improvement through your career is often overwhelming and we just don’t give it enough time. This month we will look at what you can do to develop your career plan. Any successful career plan involves firstly understanding who you are and what you want to do with your life. At any one time, only 20 percent of employed people are in their best suited job, there are 40 percent who are close to their best suited job and the other 40 percent are in the wrong job (Solly 2017).
The 4 stages in your career plan involve the following stages –
- Self Assessment
- Exploring Options
- Setting Directions
- Taking Action
These stages are commonly called the SODA model.
Self Assessment – this is the most difficult stage to undertake and one that many people go through life never fully understanding. It is the reason the 80 percent of people are never really happy in their job role. Self assessment is more complex than a Rubik’s cube – each of our personalities, motivations, likes, interests, skills, abilities and experiences are different to the next person. Helping us to understand our personalities are tests such as Myers-Briggs Personality profile and the Keirsey Temperament Sorter. We should see these tests as a way to focus our career efforts but need to realise that our personality lies along a spectrum within these tests. Some tests such as Myers-Briggs can help identify the stressors of situations that cause unhappiness which is useful if you are not satisfied with your work. For example, if you are a more introverted person, placing you in a role that requires constant contact with people will be stressful as you need the down time and personal space to regain your energy. Self assessment involves knowing what interests you have in relation to your work, what your values are, what’s important to you and what things you do well. The following self assessment tools may help you focus your career planning.
Personality test based on Myers-Briggs Type Indicator- https://hr.berkeley.edu/development/career-development/self-assessment/personality-type
Career planning self assessment – https://www.deakin.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/482060/career-planning-self-assessment.pdf
“Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing.” August Wilson (American playwright 1945 – 2005)
I would be interested to hear from you if you undertaken a recent self assessment with any insights you have gained from this process. Next time, I will look at the other stages of the SODA model – exploring options, setting directions and taking action.
Dr Janene Piip
Talent consultant and career practitioner
Australia
www.janenepiip.com.au
janenepiip@gmail.com
