I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This
By Julie Jansen
Chapter 6: Been There, Done That, but Still Need to Earn
Step 3: Create an Action Plan
So now it's time to make an action plan, which is not terribly different from the last time we did this, and takes into account our answers from the previous two steps. We start by answering, or revisiting, some questions:
- What are all of the career or work paths that interest you and are realistic?
- What kind of research do you need to do to learn more about what is entailed in the work you've deemed interesting? Well, looking at my top choices, I know what's entailed in the work itself. But I could use some advice from the field on how to get the work.
- What is a pragmatic time line for moving into another career? Well, again, my top choices I could bounce right into, but for some of the less realistic ones... well, I just don't know.
Then, Jansen adds a few more steps that can help the action plan:
- Create criteria for yourself that will help you to decide when and why you might stop exploring a specific career path.
- Create a realistic time line for each of the goals in your plan.
- Find someone to confide in and share what you are doing
- Keep an open mind to possibilities that may not have occurred to you.
- Start scheduling networking and informational meetings to gather information and meet people.
- When you are gathering information about a field or industry, don't just speak to one person who works in the area you've targeted.
Once you know what direction you want to take, start getting ready even before you leave your old career. Start studying! Take on part-time work in the field! Take on a mentor!
Next time, we start a new chapter with a new set of issues.
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