Career progression is at the front of every ambitious person’s mind. A career progression plan, or career growth plan, is a term you may hear about. It is not just linked to your standard 9 -5 job either. It can be used for a side hustle or self-employed.
So What Is It?
A career progression plan is your roadmap to where you want to get to professionally
- It is the simple steps you plan to take to get where you are trying to reach
- Think of career progression as a goal, and the career or professional level you are working towards is your ‘big goal’
- Set out the tasks or ‘Stepping Stones’ you need to achieve to reach your goals
Step 1
Identify the Career You Want
- Be clear on two key points: Why is this career right for you and what will you get from this career? Being clear on these basic points will give you confidence the career you are about to pursue has relevance for you.
Additional Elements To Consider
Get a mentor
- Does your current employer pay for any courses that could help?
- Consider paying for the right courses yourself
- Internships, work experience or apprenticeships are all ways to gain experience in a lower level role so you can understand the role and career better
Step 2
What Skills Are Required?
- Know the requirements of the career you are trying to achieve.
- There are a number of ways you can do this:
- Look at job adverts in the field and level that you want to achieve
- What skills are they asking for
- Find people doing the career that you are looking for and connect with them
Recap
A career progression plan is just a series of logical steps
Step 3
Where Are Your Skill Gaps?
- Identify how your current skills and experience match up
- Write down your skills
- Speak to colleagues and senior managers and get feedback on what you are good at
- Note down the skills you understand from Step 2 that are required for your ideal career
Build a Career Progression Plan
List out skills you need to achieve
- Set out how, where, and when you will achieve these
- Home learning courses you can take that allow you to continue with your current job while building skills for your future career
- Space these out like stepping stones to track progress
