A career action plan lists your professional goals and the steps to achieve them. Your career plan will help you make smart decisions as you prepare for the real world — from activities and clubs to join to internships and jobs to pursue.
When you enroll at a Shorelight university, you will have access to our Career Services, along with services offered by your school’s career center. One of many goal-oriented services offered through Shorelight Career Services is creating a career action plan. Let’s take a closer look at what is a career plan and how it works.
What Is a Career Plan?
A career plan is a step-by-step process of building a clear roadmap that guides you toward your career goals. It helps you identify what kind of work you want to do in the future, the skills and qualifications you may need to achieve your goals, and other strategies that will enable you to pursue growth opportunities that enhance your overall career prospects. With a career plan, you can align your courses, work experiences, and visa requirements to suit your career objectives.
Why a Career Plan for Students Is Important
Career plans provide a structured and clear direction to students on what they would like their future to look like, with foundational activities starting while enrolled at university. Here are three key advantages of having a career plan:
Clarity and focus on courses — Career plans encourage students to think about the degree program and subjects they have enrolled in and how they support their career goals. It keeps students focused on establishing a timeline and making informed decisions about taking additional courses or enrolling for a dual degree, meaning simultaneously completing two degree programs in the timeframe of one.
Better preparation for job opportunities — A well-thought out career plan ensures students are better prepared to attend networking events and ultimately apply for internships and jobs. It boosts confidence and improves one’s ability to respond when opportunities arise.
Adaptability to changing personal interests or job markets — While a career plan acts as a guiding tool, it also helps students adapt to any changes in the job market and personal career preferences.
For example: a computer science student who initially planned to become a software engineer at a large tech company discovers a passion for user experience (UX) design – and now wants to pursue a career as a UX designer instead. The student’s career plan was initially designed to achieve their software engineering goal, but can now adapt to this change in preferences by identifying overlapping skills, adjusting course selections, and seeking design-focused internships (instead of having to start planning from scratch).
4 Steps for Career Planning
Whether you are just starting university or preparing to graduate, having a clear career plan can help you make confident choices about your career and stay on track to achieve your professional goals! Here are four key steps to explore your options, set meaningful goals, and prepare for successful careers after your studies.
1. Understand Your Career Options
The first step in career planning is to understand what career options are available to you and exploring how your skills, interests, and values align with potential career paths. You can start by researching industries related to your field of study and exploring the types of roles available, required qualifications, typical salaries, and growth opportunities. Conducting a thorough self-assessment can also help you understand what you would like your future career to look like.
Action Plan
Research career paths related to your field of study using job boards, LinkedIn, and university career resources to understand roles, requirements, and growth opportunities.
Join student clubs and organizations that align with your career interests. Participating in a club is a great way to meet other students and network with potential employers to have a better understanding about your career options.
Network with professionals in your desired field and ask them to meet for coffee or lunch. Ask about the steps you should take to be successful.
2. Set Your Career Goals
Once you have a thorough understanding of your career options, shortlisting potential careers can give you clear direction on the next step to build your career plan: setting your career goals. Establishing career goals can give you direction and help you focus on developing your technical and professional skills to achieve your desired career. It will guide you into thinking about two important factors:
What steps can you take to achieve your career goals?
How long should it take to achieve your career goals?
Action Plan
Create SMART — Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time bound — goals. Write them down on paper. Break your long-term goals down into the smallest steps you can.
Collect all the components of your career development plan — your self-assessment, career objectives, and plan for reaching your goal — then meet up with your career advisor, present your action plan, and make sure you have not overlooked anything.
Apply for internship opportunities and volunteer positions to gain experience.
3. Research Your Ideal Job
With your career goals established, the next step involves researching your ideal job. This step helps you understand exactly what employers are looking for and how you can prepare to meet those expectations. You can begin by prioritizing, comparing, and considering factors such as job availability, required skills and qualifications, organizational culture, and more. Consider narrowing down your options to a shorter list of potential careers to add to your career plan.
Action Plan
Create a LinkedIn profile (if you do not have one already). Keep it up to date with relevant experience, such as internships and volunteering.
Join Slack, Facebook, and other groups that pertain to your career objectives. Follow conversations and gain insight into what the day-to-day looks like.
Attend meetups, career fairs, and other professionally oriented networking events. These are great places to meet people who do what you want to do and to ask them questions.
4. Prepare Your Resume and Start Your Job Search
Once you have researched your ideal job, the final step is to prepare your application documentation and begin the job search process. You can start by building a clear, direct, and relevant resume. You can tailor it to the types of roles you are applying for and highlight relevant coursework, projects, internships, and any part-time work or volunteering experience that may interest your potential employer. Remember to read your resume multiple times to make sure it is error-free!
Your resume plays an important role in your job search process, as it enables you to apply for roles and helps potential employers see how you will fit into the company. Consider beginning your job search early, as many internships and full-time positions are posted months in advance. You can look for opportunities on online job platforms, at career fairs, and through alumni associations, while also speaking to your professors or mentors who may be able to connect you with opportunities.
Action Plan
Review your student visa’s work eligibility rules carefully before applying for any job or internship. This will help you in your application and to plan ahead for internships or post-graduation employment.
Make an appointment with your Career Services advisor. Talk to them about how you can improve your resume and any additional documents needed to apply for jobs.
Additional Career Action Plan Tips
Do not be afraid to cross options off your list of potential careers. Now is the best time to figure out you do not like a job or a profession.
Be flexible — it’s OK to make changes as you go or even start over.
Meet regularly with your career advisor or visit your Career Services rep as things change and when you need advice. They have experience helping students make career-oriented choices.
Keep an eye on your campus job and internship boards and research any other opportunities to learn and gain experience, especially CPT and OPT opportunities. Tell people and post on social media that you are looking for opportunities. The best way to know what you want to do with your life is to try out a career first.
Career plans benefit students by giving you a clear view of where you are currently and what you need to do to achieve your academic and career goals. With the support of a Shorelight advisor, you can begin drafting your career plan today!
Explore Shorelight universities and their career-ready degree programs >
