Navigating Career Stages: How to Take Charge of Your Professional Journey Today

Managing your career has never been as important as it is today. The individual must be responsible for creating and managing his or her own career. In today's job marketplace, employee ability replaces job security.

The first step in planning a career for yourself or someone else is to learn as much as possible about your interests, aptitudes, and skills.

Making Career Choices

Identify your career stages

Each person's career goes through stages, and the stage you are in will influence your knowledge of and preference for various occupations. The main stages of this career cycle follow.

There is at least one more exercise that can prove enlightening. On a sheet of paper, answer the question: If you could have any kind of job, what would it be? Invent your own job if need be, and don't worry about what you can do—just what you want to do.

Identify High Potential Occupations

Learning about yourself is only half the job of choosing an occupation. You also have to identify those occupations that are right (given your occupational orientation, skills, career anchors, and occupational preferences) as well as those that will be in high demand in the years to come.

Not surprisingly, the most efficient way to learn about and compare and contrast occupations is through the Internet.