finding the perfect fit - authentick you · the other important thing that most successful people...

FINDING THE PERFECT FIT

T h e U l t i m a t e C a r e e r P l a n n i n g G u i d e

BY MARIA KATOLIKOVA

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Remember the time when you were a university graduate, proudly holding your diploma and looking excitedly into the future. Have you been making any actual career plans at that time? And what I mean by that is not just thinking in your head “I want to be an investment banker”, but actually sitting at your desk and writing down a concrete plan of what you want from your first job (pleasant working environment, life-work balance, great learning opportunities, etc.) and how your career will look like in 3, 5 or 10 years. According to statistical data, very few people devote their time to actual career planning and it results in a high percentage of people ending up in a career that they actually don’t really like. Have you been recently having some second thoughts about your career path and wondering what your life would have been if you went another way? Or have you been wondering why you lost motivation and why your job doesn't feel fulfilling? The good news: it’s never too late to make a change. But you need to figure out what exactly is not working for you anymore. And then create a detailed plan of actions to get it fixed and follow through with it.

CREATING YOUR EXCITING FUTURE

INTRODUCTION

So you want to feel happy about your work again. The first step is to assess whether you’re in the wrong place and what exactly needs change. Once you’ve figured out that, the next step is planning. Research shows that every truly successful person has at some point in their lives produced a written plan of where they want to be and how they think they will get there. And the most successful will tell you that they constantly review these plans to ensure that they are on track, and modify them as appropriate on a regular basis to make sure that they are taking the most effective steps to get to their goal as fast as possible. It is particularly important to write long-term plans to guarantee that your career stays on track. If you don’t have one eye on the bigger picture and the final goal, it will be easy for you to become sidetracked and miss opportunities. The following quote by Yogi Berra– ‘If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else’ – applies to many people who have inadvertently found themselves in the wrong role or in the right place but unable to fulfil their real potential. If this sounds familiar and you feel that you are exactly this person, chances are you’ve never made any plans about your career and your personal development. But don’t worry, we will have it covered, just keep reading!

P H O T O B Y M A R T I N R . S M I T H

U L T I M A T E C A R E E R P L A N N I N G G U I D E

W W W . A U T H E N T I C K - Y O U . C O M

P A G E 2

‘If you don’t knowwhere you’regoing, you’ll endup someplaceelse’

— Y O G I B E R R A ,

Think of yourself as a big organization –

“Me Incorporated”. What would happen to you as a great organization if you didn’t

spend time creating visions and the strategies to ensure you achieve them? I think it’s safe to say that you would not

last long on the market and end up being a bankrupt. Therefore, it’s vitally important

to understand the necessity of having a long-term plan and of spending time working on how you will achieve it.

"ME Incorporated"

The other important thing that most successful people have is a great network and the ability to extend it. Career networking, or "professional" networking, involves using personal, professional, academic or familial contacts to assist you with a job search, achieve career goals, or learn more about your field, or another field you'd like to work in. You might network with past or present co-workers, colleagues, managers, supervisors; clients and customers; business associates, university alumni and teachers; people you know from your personal life or through your partner or family; people from your church, gym, yoga studio and, basically, anyone you meet and have a productive, professional conversation about your career path! And networks don’t happen by accident. It takes thought and planning to create a network that will support you to achieve a career goal – yet some people are, actually, not comfortable networking! Enough talking though! I hope you understood the general idea behind finding a career that will inspire you and that you will truly love and now it’s time to get a closer look at the process itself. The following planner will provide you with a structured process to work through, to give considerable thought to your career and assess whether you want to remain in your current role but see it evolve together with you, change jobs or pursue a new career path altogether. And then to put together an action plan. It’s not fixed in time. You can review and modify it on a regular basis to ensure that you have extreme clarity on where you want to be and how you are going to get there. This is an invaluable tool to be 100% used when you have reached a crossroads in your career or do not seem to have clarity on where you want to be in the future and what exactly you want to be doing.



P A G E 3

Step 1Define your preferences

Brainstorm on all the things you like and dislike in your current job (or previous jobs you had) and compile a list of elements your future career must absolutely have to make you happy. What is really important to you? Also, think about all the things you like doing in your life in general. What makes you feel really passionate and excited?



P A G E 4

I like I don't like

The must-haves of my future career

My values (what's important in my life?)

Figure out your passions and

values. They will lead you directly

to your purpose.



P A G E 5

My passions (what excites me?)

My dreams If I knew I couldn't fail and I could be paid for doing it, what

would I do?)



P A G E 6

My WHY (why is it so important to me to get what I want? What will it

give me?)

When your why is big enough you will find your how.

Step 2Visualise your future career

Take all the elements you've identified in STEP 1 and project yourself forward in time 1 year from now. Think about where you will be at that moment. What sort of role will you be in? What sort of company will you be working in? Will you be an employee or an independent? Will you still be working for your current company or for someone else? What level will you be at? Will you be managing a team or a project? What will you be earning? What sort of environment will you be in? How will you have developed personally? Which of your talents you will be using? What will a typical day look like? Be as specific as possible.



P A G E 7

My vision

How does this picture make me feel?

Step 3Decide on the kind of change you want and your timeframe

You've done the brainstorming and dreamt about the future, so now you know whether you want to improve your current job, change jobs or change careers altogether. Write down below the final result you want to get.



P A G E 8

What do I want?

Now, decide what period of time you want to consider in your planning to get what you want. It can be the next 3, 6 months, 1, or 3 years. Generally speaking, it can take 3-6 months to improve your current job, up to 1 year to change jobs and 1-3 years to entirely change careers, but you're the master of your life so you need to define the timeframe appropriate to you.

When do I want it?

Step 4Make an inventory

Now that you have a good view of what your ideal career would look like, think about what skills and competencies you will need for that role.

What skills and competences do you currently possess that will be useful for your future career?

Compare the skills you have with the ones you will need and write down the skills that you will need to acquire in order to be successful in your desired role.



P A G E 9

Step 5Build your network

Now it’s time to think about your network. As already mentioned before, networking is extremely important and you need to think it through really thoroughly how to develop it to achieve your goal. Write down the corresponding names for each category. People who will sing my praises:

People who will give me honest feedback on my performance:

People who will challenge me to develop:

People who will give me positive emotional support:

People who will help me understand the organization:

A mentor who will help me talk through personal and career decisions:

People who have power to make things happen:



P A G E 10

People who can help me to increase my visibility:

People who will help me to stretch my skills and knowledge:

Positive role models:

People who will speak highly of me and my work:

People who are well connected and can introduce me to others:

– you should regularly maintain contact with your network and

not just get in touch when you need a new job, even if it's just a

short email to say hi and check their news. People are more

cooperative when they know you. Also,

– if you stumble upon an interesting article or a relevant job

position, share it with your network. Having a career network is

having resources who can help, but you should reciprocate

whenever you can.

– and last, but not least, try to attend networking events. Many

people tend to remember faces over names so if you exchange

your business cards, you will have higher chances that people will

remember who you are.


Important things to remember:


P A G E 11

Step 6Develop an action plan

By this point, you should already know what exactly you want and have a solid list of people who can help you get it. Now it’s time to think about the actions you can put in place to reach your goal. Remember that insight won’t get you far if you don’t take consistent actions.



P A G E 12

What is my final goal?

Which milestones can I define on the way to my goal?

What would my first step that I can implement already this week be?

What actions can I take to develop my skills?

What are my next logical steps?

What could stop me from performing these actions?

How can I bypass these obstacles?


W W W . A U T H E N T I C K - Y O U . C O M P A G E 13

What actions can I take to develop my network?

How will I know that I’ve succeeded in each of the steps?

MY WEEKLY ACTIONS PLANNER

M O N D A Y

T U E S D A Y

W E D N E S D A Y

T H U R S D A Y

F R I D A Y

S A T U R D A Y

S U N D A Y

D A T E :

T H I S W E E K I M U S T :

T A K E N O T E :

P R I O R I T I E S :

Congratulations! Now you have fully completed your planner!

Remember to review it on a regular basis to make sure you stay

on track and keep moving towards your dream career!

Don't get overwhelmed and frustrated if it seems that the vision

that you've created for yourself is too hard to get. Set mini

goals, block some time in your calendar to do small steps every

day and you will see the results much sooner than you think!

But if you feel that you’re still not really clear about what you

want and need and what's next for you in your career, I'd be

happy to help you! Have a look at my Career Makeover session.

It's designed to help you explore what makes you tickle inside,

find purpose and meaning in the work you do, put your talents

to good use and so much more! I know that it’s really not easy to

get perspective and figure out what you truly want in life. I

would be honoured to help you sort first steps out and guide

you further towards your career satisfaction if you decide you

wish so.

Get more information and book your session here:

https://www.authentick-you.com/offer-career-makeover-

session/



phone: +352691919876 | email: [email protected]

Visit my website: www.authentick-you.com

Contact me:

or check out all the ways I could help you here.

https://www.authentick-you.com/offer-career-makeover-session/

http://www.authentick-you.com/

https://www.authentick-you.com/career-and-life-coaching/

about maria

WE SHALL CONDUCT

EVALUATION ACTIV IT IES

AND USE SUCCESS OR

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

TO MEASURE THE PROGRESS

OF THE PROJECT PLAN .

Maria is a Certified Career Coach and Master NLP Practitioner. She is passionate about helping women who want their job to be more than just a paycheck find true satisfaction and fulfilment and pursue a career that reflects who they truly are. Her unique coaching approach helps people look at themselves from various perspectives and uncover things they didn’t know about their own personality and their priorities in life. Maria has a Master’s degree in Economics, a Bachelor’s degree in foreign languages and business, a professional coaching certification, Master NLP Practitioner Certificate, 8 years of experience in the corporate world, a successful career change and multiple success stories from happy clients. Her core belief - Everyone can be happier and more fulfilled when they align their work with their authentic self and do what they love. EVERY DAY.


“If you want your job to be much more than just a

paycheck, let's have a talk!”


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