1. Cosmic Coaching Centre Corporate & Individual Career Solutions for Mid-Level Professionals & ExecutivesCosmic Coaching Centrehttp://cosmiccoachingcentre.com Page 1

2. nothing guaranteed in life. We all should take risks and be ready to face whatever the outcome is. As long as we do what needs to be done at the highest level possible, satisfaction will be ours regardless of the results. You are still not certain about what you want. As any life coach would put it, you need to listen to the voice from within. It is not enough that you spend soOnce you feel the need for a change in your life, you much of your time trying to fulfill other peoples then have this strong expectations. Explore all the possibilities, meet urge to make these different kinds of people, travel several places, and changes and face even do volunteering activities. Through these, you whatever outcome comes will have an idea of where you will be happy. with it. But then again, Remember that it is important that what you are this just cant be that doing is in line with your values and what can make easy, thanks to all the you happy.common obstacles along the way. This is what mayalso happen if you are thinking of changing careers.For those who are thinking of becoming selfemployed, you need to be ready to face the manychallenges that should come to you. But one thingthat may surprise you also is the fact that aside fromthe external obstacles you would be facing, the moredifficult ones to overcome are those within you. You dont think you are ready. If being selfemployed wasnt part of the career paths that you Creating a career action plan is vital to developing acreated earlier in your life, you would naturally feel clear and strong vision for ones future, at leasthesitant to make a change. This is particularly true professionally speaking.for those who have had some sort of achievement in Using this plan, you willtheir careers. Plus, if you dont have a degree in the find it easier to figure outindustry you are entering, feeling less confident is what steps you shouldunderstandable. take to ensure that your vision will come intoWhat you can do is learn gradually. Take some time reality. Dont worry ifto learn something about the career you are about to you still cannot consider yourself a success in anystart. Ask those who have the knowledge and way. The truth is that this form of planning for yourexperience related to this field. There are some short career is aimed at guiding you whether you are stillcourses or training programs that you may get also looking for your first job, or you have decided to havethat will equip you with the basic skills you need. a career change.The outcomes are so uncertain. You will be OBJECTIVEwondering if youve made the right decision or not.This need for security is innate to all of us. But at A career action plan should enable you to determinesome point, you have to accept the fact that there is how you are going to achieve all your goals andCosmic Coaching Centrehttp://cosmiccoachingcentre.com Page 2

3. objectives in your career. What this type of planningwill do is help you in assessing your priorities andinterests so that you will not have a hard timefocusing on the vital parts of your own career. Also,you will never have to share your career action planswith anyone, not even your future employers. It isyou who need to see it as often as possible, so thatyou can keep track of your progress. It is alsothrough this plan of yours that you will be able toidentify your career pathways. Learning how to control and manage your ownFEATURES career is a must. This means that you should beThere is no specific or special way you should create able to identify what youryour career action plan. It actually may have just a core values are, yourcouple of short paragraphs, or you may also go as personal interests, andmuch as writing a few pages. Whats important is that what skills you have so thatit covers all of the factors and aspects related to your you may determine alsopursuit of your goals in your career. what career opportunitiesBasically, a career action plan would include: specific can excite you the most.action steps plus a probable timetable for When it comes to the skills every worker has toaccomplishing the goals; factors and aspects in your possess, there are several different types actually. Asown life that you think will either support or go you go on with your career, you will acquire a varietyagainst your career goals; the likely hurdles you will of skills through the training and experiences youface and need to overcome; and the names of people acquire. Thus, before you start looking for the mostwho you believe will be able to assist and guide you appropriate career and job to fit you, it istowards the achievement of such goals. recommended that you undergo some free careerBENEFITS assessments just to make sure you know what skills you can apply in a certain job.There are so many good reasons you would want todevise a career action plan and act according to it. Identifying Your Best SkillsFirst of all, this kind of planning will help you define a As you try to explore the opportunities offered byvery clear and structured strategy that you can use various companies, you should first know what exactwhether you are in the stage of career transition or skills are required. In order to assess which areas youyou are simply aiming for advancement in your are really good at or which skills are your strongest,career. Whatever it is, this plan will help you move you may try:and take the necessary steps towards a veryrewarding career. using various career assessment tools online, doing some assessment exercises, etc. asking your colleagues, family and friends about what they think you are really good at. Seeking assistance from a career coach.Cosmic Coaching Centrehttp://cosmiccoachingcentre.com Page 3

4. What Transferable Skills Do You Have? depend on how you improve as an individual and an employee. Thus, you have to constantly search forIdentifying your transferable skills is just as ways you may furtherimportant as knowing your best skills. Your and acquire more skills.transferable skills are valuable in any kind of job or Through performanceindustry. By knowing about it, you can broaden your reviews, you get to knowselection of the possible work opportunities where which areas you stillyou may put such skills into use. need to improve on. ButWhat to Keep in Mind about Skills how are you going to handle a difficult or1. Your skills will be the basis of employers in negative performance review?determining whether you can do the job well or not.You must be really good at a particular area. But Performance reviews are dreaded by most of us.remember that having multiple skills in just the same Nevertheless, they could also a rewarding experiencearea will not automatically make you more desirable. if they are conducted on a regular basis. This way, even managers or supervisors will have an easier2. You should not hesitate to vary your skills. With time dealing with assessment reports.determination, you can definitely enhance yourpresent skills and even acquire new skill sets. All you Tips for Making Performance Reviews a Valuableneed is experience and enough practice. Process3. Dont be afraid to discover that you have 1. Talk to your manager and ask if he or she couldweaknesses. We all have our own weaknesses and give you a list of what your objectives should be,there is nothing we can do about this fact. What we which are directly connected to specific corporatecan do instead is try to address such weaknesses and goals. Then take a look at the objectives and connecttry to turn them into strengths. them to certain tasks that you will be the one to perform. You should then turn this list into a4. There are skills that you dont need to have. To spreadsheet so that it will be easier for you toacquire new skills, you will need to invest. So before prioritize tasks. This is another way of careeryou spend any amount of money to join any advancement targeting.mentoring programs perhaps, be sure that it isworth your time, energy, and money. 2. Ideally, you would want to regularly meet with your manager to have an objectives review. But to do this, you must keep the spreadsheet up-to-date. If possible, you would also want to schedule a weekly meeting in which you may talk about all the workplace issues that need the attention of the management. 3. After every meeting, be sure to incorporate all the discussed details into your spreadsheet. Dont forget to give you manager a copy of the revised spreadsheet. 4. When it is time for your own performance review,As an employee, you only want to get better and ask your manager how things are going. Give him orbetter at what you do. This is because the fulfillment her a sign that you dont mind them being direct toof your dreams and your career success basicallyCosmic Coaching Centrehttp://cosmiccoachingcentre.com Page 4

5. the point. If not everything you hear is good, keepyour composure and continue to listen. Then calmlyask your manager what steps you should take to fixand improve things.5. Always consider everything an opportunity tolearn. Even as an employee, you should not stoplearning. Your workplace may have skills training orcontinuing education programs that you can activelyjoin. Never take criticisms against your boss. Youneed to know where you perform poorly so that youcould turn things around in no time. This is one basicingredient of career advancement.Cosmic Coaching Centrehttp://cosmiccoachingcentre.com Page 5