A couple of years ago, I began to deliberate over what direction my career was going in. I’ve worked as an administrative professional for over 20 years, and I genuinely love my job as an Executive Assistant, but I was conscious I didn’t want to become complacent or get stuck in a “career rut”. I wanted to take action and figure out where I wanted to go professionally. What strings could I add to my bow to make my CV stand out over another? Essentially, I needed to work out what my “niche” was and develop a plan for my career development.

Your career plan should be tailored specifically to you, your personality, strengths, skills and what you enjoy doing. This acts as your guide when deciding new roles, new training opportunities and setting your performance goals. It also provides a mechanism to review whether you’re hitting your goals (and of course celebrating your accomplishments!).

To create your own career plan, consider the following:

  • What are your “niche” areas?
    • Which areas of your job do you specialise in?
    • What are you passionate about?
    • What do you really love to do?
  • Where are you currently?
    • What goals have you already achieved?
    • What impact do you want to make?
    • What is your mission?
  • Where do you want to be?
    • Review the list you’ve created of niche areas and the things you love to do.   How can you create opportunities to really focus on these aspects of your career?
    • Are they any projects you can take on at work?
    • Is there any additional training you could do?
    • Where do you see yourself in three years and what action can you take to get there? Think additional qualifications, mentoring opportunities, or networking with the right people for example.

Access our CAREER DEVELOPMENT PLANNING download to help you with this process – give it a try!

For me… I decided to pursue a qualification as a Chartered Company Secretary as it blended well with my specific skills. And, of course, I created Exec Angels, to pursue my mission of inspiring administrative professionals from all around the world to excel in their careers. My proudest achievement career-wise to date.

Good luck everyone!