What next? - A fresh look at the word "Career"

Most of us think that a "career" is movement up a ladder of growth and success. However very few people now have a 'job for life'. Our parents' generation enjoyed high job security in return for company loyalty, but today workers have to take responsibility for their own career development and to secure their own employability.

Only you can manage your career. The process is about positive goal setting, and about changing the way you think about your experience, and you career as a whole.

Investing in your Career

It is probably true that we spend more time planning our annual holiday than we spend planning a career which matches our skills, personality profile, and aspirations. Your individual career programme begins with you personal needs. You may feel the need for a career change but not know which direction to take. You may feel a lack of confidence. You may feel there are just too many options. You may feel you are currently stuck in a rut and know that some form of change is necessary, but not sure what.

Maybe one of the reasons we spend so little time planning our careers is that we don't really want to engage with the question "what do I want to do in the next 10 years?" If we take that question seriously, then usually it means some kind of change, and change is a threat. The important thing about career change is that you don't just need job hunting strategies, but ways of dealing with change itself.

However - don't make the mistake of thinking that the only healthy change is a change of job. Discover who and how you are, and what you have to offer - and you may find that you have the skills to redesign and renegotiate the job you're in.