Best Job Ever!

Chapter 14Career Plan Step #4: One-, Three-, and Five-Year Plan

Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

—George Bernard Shaw

One of the best parts of a vacation is planning it. Thinking about everything you want to do and places you want to see and all the fun you will have. This is exactly what we will do in creating your career plan. We are going to plan your career over the next year, three years, and five years. This is your chance to think, ponder, and decide what you want to do for the next few years. Remember, this is when the sky is the limit for you. During my workshops, everyone gets excited at this point in the day. We have looked at their past, diagnosed their present job, and it is now time to plan for the future. When I tell the workshop attendees they have one hour to plan, the pens go in the hands, but they don't really start moving. After about five minutes, I begin to get comments and questions asking for help. “Dr. Bray, I'm not sure I know exactly what I want.”

It's very likely you will face the same problem. It is easy for you to decide what you don't like. You may not like horror movies or vegetables. You know you don't want to work on skyscrapers washing windows. The difficulty comes in determining what you actually do want. This is where most individuals talk in generic terms. “I want to make more money” is one of the top answers on the board. (Yeah, I get it. We all do!) Some say they want to be promoted or manage people. ...