If you’re worried about how to plan your career in an uncertain world following the coronavirus pandemic read on!
If you:
- Are starting out on your career
- Have recently been made redundant
- Are considering a career change
This is the Four Stage model that helps people to get focused on what they want and the route to get there.
What is the Four Stage Model?
This model is used extensively in both higher education and the health service to help professionals to plan their careers, but it works for anyone, including you to effectively plan your future.
These are the four stages of career planning:
- Self-assessment
- Career exploration
- Decision making
- Plan and implementation
Self-Assessment
This first stage helps you to understand who you are and understand your values, skills, strengths and areas for development. While you may think you know yourself pretty well, it’s always revealing when you actually focus on yourself, what’s important to you and what you really want to spend your working time doing.
Career Exploration
With more clarity about yourself you may have some career ideas. These can be researched online or in the local library. Talk to people who are doing your proposed roles and if possible, shadow them in action to ensure the job is right for you.
Consider future employment prospects as we start to emerge from the pandemic the working world has changed quite considerably. New opportunities have emerged, some options have gone and many companies offer a different way of working. For example, many people are now working from home. In the workplace new hygiene regulations and social distancing measures are required.
Some clients we have worked with have had ideas, but not had the confidence to discuss these ideas with friends or family or do not know how to go about researching their career ideas. A professional, friendly person to discuss these ideas in a confidential manner enables them to explore their aspirations in more detail and start to formulate an action plan.
Having gone through the self assessment and career exploration stages you may still be uncertain what the right career path is for you or want further confirmation that you’ve made the right choice. This is where psychometric assessments are invaluable, they give you a detailed report highlighting 12/13 possible careers. We can them work with you to narrow your choice down to 3 or 4 possible career choices and assist you with taking the next steps.
Decision Making
Now you have a few possible career ideas it’s decision time. The first step is to explore how you have made decisions in the past. This is an important step. You may have made key decisions by writing down the advantages and disadvantages and then possibly scoring the answers or you may rely on your gut instinct. It’s important to weigh up your options carefully as this is what you’ll be spending nearly half your waking hours doing.
Plan Implementation
The final stage involves having a targeted job search plan and applying for jobs.
This means that your curriculum vitae is relevant and up-to-date. We can help you to put an effective CV together, give you support with job hunting, and at interview stage, help you to prepare and succeed at interview.
After the interview we can help you with evaluation of the interview and, if appropriate, prepare for the next stage of handling a job offer.
Why is this important?
From experience starting at stage four and applying for everything and anything won’t get you the career you really want. It is really important to complete all four stages. This will help to identify the right career for you and ensure your energy is clearly focused in the right career direction. When it comes to applying for jobs and going for interviews, you will already have covered some of the preparatory work.
It doesn’t stop there; a new career can be daunting so we also help some of our clients with their onboarding process. This gives them an objective view from outside the organisation and equips them with useful tips to help their first days and weeks in the new role less stressful.
It’s important to start a new role with clear, achievable objectives to ensure your new career is enjoyable and gives you a working life that gives you real satisfaction.
Alistair Stirling, of Stirling Careers Consultancy, works with a range of clients at different stages of their careers. You can contact him on 07904 614 946 or at Info@stirlingcareersconsultancy.co.uk
