Having a clear career path is always a good idea. You need to have goals to achieve and a strategy on how to achieve them in order to stay motivated. Of course, you also need to know how to get through barriers and obstacles along the way. If you’re stuck in the same position for too long and you want to start working on getting a better career progression, here are the steps you need to make the five-year plan work.
Set Clear Goals
The first thing you need to do when formulating a five-year plan is to know your goals. You have to set clear objectives. As a matter of fact, you need to make sure the objectives are not only clear but also reasonable.
Setting goals is relatively simple. Imagine the things you want to achieve in five years and start discovering goals to achieve. Do you want to be a regional manager? Are you thinking about saving enough money to start your own business? Don’t forget to write your goals down too.
Things to Do
Now that you have a clear set of goals written down, it is time to start devising some plans. Start by writing down the things you can immediately do to get that much closer to achieving your goals. If you’re aiming for a managerial position, then consider getting an MBA degree online. You can, for instance, enroll in an online MBA program from WSU.
Other goals may require you to change a few things. For example, you can get better performance reviews when you stop procrastinating at work. You can also choose to speak to your supervisor or manager about possible promotions or general evaluation of your performance.
Act Now!
Don’t wait. You will not be able to achieve your goals in five years unless you start taking active steps right now. Don’t even wait for another day; this type of procrastination will only stop you from getting that better career you have always wanted.
Review and Evaluate
I love to have a regular progress meeting with myself. It is an important part of this process. You should always take some time to review the things you have achieved, the changes you still need to make and the overall progress you have made towards achieving your goals.
Evaluating your progress is also a good way to spot if you’re getting sidetracked. Are you having problems keeping up with your online MBA courses? Time to add better time management to fix it. See problems you can’t handle at the office? Don’t hesitate to get help and discuss possible solutions with your supervisor.
Reward Yourself
One last important thing to remember is to reward yourself whenever you hit a milestone. You don’t have to wait for the full five years to be happy. Small steps matter too. If you are promoted to a higher position, or if the company gives you more responsibility, you can look at it as a small progress and reward yourself.
Integrate ways to reward yourself along the way and you are all set. The five-year plan should get you to where you want to be in, well, five years. Best of luck!
