Failing To Plan = Planning To Fail: Career Planning is Essential for Success

Statistics show that for most people, even (or perhaps especially) the self-employeed or free agents out there, our careers consume over one-third of our lifetimes. Thats an incredibly huge portion of life, and yet only 20% of us have developed specific career plans to help get us to where we want to go. That doesnt seem right, does it?

The fact is, the overwhelming majority of us make decisions every day that will affect our business or career and where we end up in the long run, but we have no clue whether or not those decisions will point us in the direction we want to go. Many of us arent even sure what direction that is-- we may have an idea, but we dont have a plan. And thats scary.

Weve all seen our economy take a downturn in recent months. Many of our friends or family members have lost their jobs or have struggled to keep a company afloat. With all this uneasiness going around, doesnt it make sense to have a specific career plan in place?

When many of us think of career planning, we figure that all we need to know is what field we want to be in. But its much more involved than that. Before you can even decide on a field and a course of education or action to get you there, you have to be sure that the field you have in mind matches up with your personal goals, in-born traits, family plans, and personal needs.

If you want a big family, for instance, do you want to go into a field that will require a lot of travel? Do you even know which fields are likely to require this? Some fields obviously require a lot of time on the road, but other careers than you might not think of as "high-travel" may require more of it that you think. Have you done any research or asked for help in planning which careers match best with YOU and your needs?

Planning your career is every bit as important as planning your education, your family life, and how you want to live. Your career affects every other aspect of your life whether you realize it or not, and its imperative that you have things planned out to avoid undue stress and failure. If youre unsure of what steps to take, or would like to take your career in a new direction, there are plenty of qualified professionals out there that can help.

About the Author

Author Tom (TJ) Jones is Director and Founder of Career Planning University, and President of Global Career Agents, Inc. Both companies specialize in career planning, career development, recruiting, coaching, and assessments for individuals, the self-employed, free-agents, retiring careers, and organizations. For more information or to sign up for the FREE weekly "Career Planning for a Lifetime" newsletter.

tjones@careerplanningu.com
http://www.careerplanningu.com