Insights & News

What’s Your Plan for 2016?

The start of a new year is an excellent opportunity to develop a career plan. This will assist you to achieve your goals and further progress your career. The following provides a guide to some key steps to think about in developing your plan and objectives.

Career Plan

To advance your career, it's a good idea to think about your medium-term plans.

• What do you want to achieve?
• What are the timeframes to meet your achievements?
• What are the areas that require further development?
• What are your annual targets to help achieve your career milestones?

If you have never established a formal career plan, this is something you should consider doing. There are many examples on-line that can guide you.

Review of 2015

It's important to reflect on your performance during 2015. This includes reviewing your 2015 goals that you established, identifying the areas that you need to develop further and consider your current strengths. While doing your review of the past year, make sure you're honest about your achievements and areas for development. Many companies will ask their employees to write an annual review and have a discussion with the manager. Listen to your manager's feedback, as this will hopefully provide valuable insight for you.

2016 Objectives

Your objectives for 2016 should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely). These goals should link to your career plan. When setting your objectives, make sure they are stretch objectives, but still achievable. You need to think about your role in the company and what the company wants you to achieve. A discussion with your manager about the year ahead and what he/she expects from you is an important part of this process.

Communicate

Once you have finalised your objectives, it's a good idea to communicate these with your manager. This helps to ensure everyone is on the same page and demonstrates a proactive and driven approach. Hopefully, what you want to achieve is on the same path as your employer. If there is a gap, you should have a detailed conversation to bridge this gap.

Conclusion

With many years of leading teams throughout my career, I have always been impressed when an individual comes to me to have a discussion about their career plans and objectives. This demonstrates a person that’s driven, focused and proactive. Having a clear plan and being honest in your self-reflection will further develop you as an individual. Combining this with hard work will result in a rewarding and challenging career.