Introduction:
Does a Career Plan ensure that your career is going in the right direction? Well, mapping a career especially for students who are in grades 10th and 12th is an important factor, since it will help them to assess and decide their Future Career Plans.
However, most students tend to neglect it. The result, hence ending up with a wrong career choice.
When it comes to graduates (10th or 12th pass outs) we must all agree that it is quite natural that one makes a difficult choice. At such a nascent age, most students cannot seem to make a rational decision at that given point in time. Here’s where having a Career Plan outlined early on, may prove to be beneficial in the long run.
And that’s exactly what this blog article will help you in along with covering its benefits importance, and ways to establish your career goals. So, before we delve into the benefits of career planning, let’s first understand – What is Career Planning and Career Planning Process?
Career Planning is the self-evaluation and planning done by a person to have a strong career path. Career Planning Process is the continuous reiterative process of understanding oneself, setting career goals, revising skills, and searching for the right career options.
Having said that, it is clear how Career Path Planning needs to be thoroughly planned and executed to reap the desired benefits. Now let’s look at some of the benefits of Career Planning:
What are the Benefits of Student Career Path Planning for Class 10th and 12th Students?
Benefit #1: It can help choose a career
The process of career planning includes identifying your strengths and researching spheres that you can excel in. Once you know your strengths, you can look for appropriate opportunities in the sphere of your choice. For example, in this digital day and age, a career in digital services like AI, data science, software development, education, data analytics, or digital marketing can be a great choice if you are good with technology.
Benefit #2: It can ensure job safety
Today, many MBA graduates find themselves in entry-level positions or in jobs that don’t pay well enough. The circumstances are similar for engineers and lawyers as well. Only graduates from top-notch institutes in these spheres are able to make it big, at least initially.
In this situation, one mustn’t choose to pursue an engineering or MBA degree simply since they see others going for them. If you do this without planning your career the right way, you may find yourself in trouble. One of the advantages of career planning is that it enables you to select wisely and enter a sphere with enough employment potential.
Benefit #3: It can ensure financial stability
When you plan your career well, you also take into account potential job losses, future uncertainties, or any other unforeseen scenarios that could affect your earning potential. Career planning can also assist you to mitigate the uncertainties and financial risks to the extent possible.
Also Read: Need of Career Guidance for Students
Why is a Career Development Plan for Students of 10th and 12th so important?
Career Growth Plan for 10th and 12th class students is often an essential part of career development, and to grow personally. It is an effective way to plan for the future and set a specific timeline for accomplishing the things you want to achieve and is crucially needed for the following reasons:
- Gives you a roadmap to your future
Career Planning outlines how you’re going to get from Point A (where you are at present) to Point B (your ultimate career goal).
- Identifies gaps you need to fill
Career Planning assists you to determine where you might have a little more learning to do.
- Gives you space for ongoing personal reflection
Career Planning gives you the opportunity to reflect on what you have to offer to the world, how your career plan fits your life, and identify ways that you can grow (personally and professionally).
- Provides much-needed motivation and guidance
Career Planning will assist you to stay inspired during all the twists and turns your career path throws at you. And, most significantly, it will guide you during times when you are considering industry or career changes by assisting you to figure out whether your choice truly fits the plan.
Also Read: 3 successful ways to map career aspirations for students
How Should Class 10th and 12th students Establish their Aspirations by Career Planning?
Establishing Career Goals is much easier than achieving goals, but there’s no secret to why it’s difficult at times. It can be difficult to set certain goals unless you do not know the right Steps To Develop A Career Plan. Here are 5 Steps to an Effective Career Plan For Students of grades 10th and 12th that will help them in career goal setting:
Step 1: Know Your Goals
Knowing your goals is possibly the most crucial driver of your career success. Although there are professionals with a clear objective, there are several more who lack the clarity on where they need to be. The ones with clear aim have an edge that others do not.
The advantage comes from the control mechanism that an aim helps you build. Your goals ensure that when you go off track, you don’t let yourself steer off away from the goals but get back on track. To get clarity in your career, begin by answering a few of these questions.
Want to be a specialist or a generalist?
You also need to know whether you want to be a functional leader or a business leader?
Similarly, do you desire to reach a specific level in the organization or do you have some different success criteria?
To begin with, you need minimum clarity on these aspects of your career.
Step 2: Identify the Skills You Need to Produce Those Results
Why do two people deliver two different outcome levels? If you think more about it, you will understand that the outcomes you achieve boil down to the skills you have developed. So the secret to delivering superior results in a consistent manner boils down to the skills you develop.
Step 3: Assess Your Skill Gap
Once you have realized the skills you require, you can assess the skill gap you need to fill. Although this seems like a straightforward exercise, it is a difficult step. It is not an easy exercise primarily since several people are not aware of their strengths and weaknesses.
Your actual skills and uniqueness are at times hidden from your own sight. And this is why experimenting with distinct roles early in your career is useful in figuring out your natural skills. In short, your assessment of your skill gap is not a one-time exercise but a continuous work you need to do for yourself.
It is similar work that will assist you to become more self-aware over time.
Step 4: Build a Skill Path
Once you realize your skill gap, you are on your way to acquiring and developing the required skills. Though how do you build skills? You do that by taking on roles that need those skills.
Think of your skillset as an ever-expanding quiver of arrows. You utilize one skill set to get into a position that enables you to build another vital skill. Using subsequent roles to develop missing skills is an excellent way to chart a skill path.
But this is where you will also understand that there are few skills you can obtain easily and much faster than others. At the same time, there are few skills that you will find very difficult to build since they go against the very grain of your personality. For instance, you may be anyone who is energized by people, but your goals need you to build few skills that require periods of solitude.
Step 5: Use Mentors and Advocates to Accelerate Your Journey
If you have identified role models precisely, you may have built a mentor-mentee relationship with one or several of them. While they can help you in getting clarity about your path, they can play an even more crucial role. They can be your advocates who can assist you to move into the correct positions.
But that is an unexpected gift you at times get instead of something you are entitled to. By taking advice from your mentors on a daily basis, you may create unforeseen opportunities. Such mentors may guide you on how to build the correct skills.
They may also help you become self-aware. Sometimes they may assist you to get into roles that are right for you and at other times can be your advocates.
Is changing careers part of your career plan? Want to get personalized counseling from a Career Planning Specialist? Then get one-to-one free online career counseling today @ MyCareerGurukul.
Takeaway: Checklist to Help You form Your Career Plan
Each person’s career plan is different, as these plans all rely on what sort of person you are. For some, they may be full of detail and very structured, for others, they may be more fluid and only require some notes in each section. Here is a list of questions that you need to answer to help get you started with your career plan:
Q. Are you clear about the sort of work you would like to do?
Q. What kind of job skills or knowledge will you need?
Q. Do you require additional job skills or experience?
Q. What areas will you need to develop?
Q. What kind of experience would be helpful to you?
Q. Is there a course you need to complete to gain a specific qualification or skill?
Q. What actions do you need to take to reach your career goals?
Q. Is there someone you can discuss your goals with?
Q. How often will you discuss your goals with them?
Q. Do you feel in charge of your career direction? If not, how can you take charge?
Conclusion:
Before concluding, I’ll emphasize that Career Planning And Development is important because it makes you aware of your strength and weaknesses and the skills and knowledge that are required to achieve your goals in the future. Hope that you’ll utilize the 5 steps that I’ve discussed above as it will enable you to outline a successful career path. Best of luck 10th and 12th students in setting goals and establishing ways to achieve those goals.
