Career Planning
How successful you are in obtaining your ideal career relies heavily on your ability to plan ahead and set measurable and realistic goals. If you do not know where you are going, then how do you know how to get there? And how do you know when you have arrived?Steps for making good career decisions
Assess
- Get to know yourself and establishing what your priorities are in life.
- Identify the decision to be made and outcomes desired. What do I want in a career?
- Review professional and personal goals.
- Match interests, values and strengths.
- Start creating a career portfolio.
- Attend career workshops run by Careers@Curtin.
- Gather information and identify alternatives. What information do I need?
- Identify possible career fields, entry-level graduate opportunities and what it will take to succeed.
- Acknowledge the possible longer-term outlook for different career fields.
- Seek work experience to "sample" career fields.
- Attend career workshops run by Careers@Curtin.
- Complete online research
- Talk to alumni and others from the career you are considering.
- Seek a vacation placement.
- Weigh evidence and choose from the alternatives. What will lead to you achieving your desired outcomes? What might obstruct you?
- Test desirability and motivation levels for each option.
- Make a list of the pros and cons of each alternative.
- Discuss what you have learned so far with my family and closest friends.
- Attend a careers consultation with A Career Consultant
- Work towards a definite decision.
- Decide what action should I take? By when?
- Locate organisations who employ graduates (and others) in your chosen field.
- Attend the Career Fair and Employer Presentations
- Clarify the personal qualities, skills, knowledge and (possibly) prior work experience required to be competitive.
- Prepare for your job search.
- Develop your resume, cover letter and interview skills.
- Attend a Career Service Workshop
