Plan Your Career | kgroupconsultants

WHERE TO START?

Not sure what you want to do? Your first step is to understand who you are and what you want – both from your work and your life. Here are some key questions you can ask yourself to help decide on your next steps.

What's on this page?

Who am I?

Whether you’re mid-career or still in study, you need to approach any career move in the same way. Your first step is to understand who you are and what you want – both from your work and your life.

Consider your interests, skills, values and qualities. You should also ask yourself:

What am I good at?
What do I like to do in my spare time?
What have I achieved already?
What things am I passionate about?

Use our online quizzes and tools to help get started. They'll help you understand what's important to you, and give you some ideas about where your career should head next.

What are my interests?

Knowing what your interests are can help you plan or change your career. If you are able to find an environment that suits your interests, you are likely to be happier in what you do.

What are my values?

Knowing what is important to you in a job can help you narrow down your career options, and finding a career that fits with your values can help you feel more satisfied in your work.

What are your work values?

What are my skills?

Working out what skills you have, then matching them to different jobs, can open up career options you may never have thought of.

Think of examples of the skills you've learned in work and other areas of your life such as sport, community work and hobbies.

Skill Matcher - use this tool to find job ideas to match your skills

Where am I?

The people around you and your personal circumstances also play a part in your career choices. Being aware of this will help you in your decision making.

Things to consider include:

Family expectations - perhaps your parents or whānau have a strong opinion about what career you should choose, or what course you should study.
Your commitments - sporting or community group activities could mean you have to be free at certain times, or you may have whānau commitments such as needing to look after or financially support family members.
Your career readiness - if you’re just starting out, you may be willing to spend more time and effort on training or studying than if you’ve been working for 15 years already.
Obstacles or challenges - maybe you feel your age is a barrier to moving into a new job, or maybe you live in a rural area where there are fewer training or study options.

Career Checker - find out where you are on your career journey

Where do I want to be?

Where do you see yourself in five years' time, and beyond? What do you want to be doing, and what do you want to be like as a person? Knowing your answers to questions like these can affect your career choices, for example:

Do you want a job that earns you a lot of money?
Do you want a job that will allow you a certain amount of free time, so you can continue to take part in other activities?
Do you like being in charge, giving advice or having people come to you for help?

Thinking about what you want to be doing will help you with your career ideas, but so will thinking about how you will get there. What's involved in getting to the place that you want to go? Are you prepared to take the necessary steps to get there?

Where can I go for help?

Once you've explored your own ideas about yourself and narrowed down some career options, it's good to talk through your thoughts with others. Bouncing your ideas off someone else can help things become clearer to you. Other people may also have some insights into your character or situation that you had not considered.

Talk to people who know you well and who you can trust. Ask them what they think are your strengths and skills. These may include family/whānau, friends, church leaders or teachers.
If you have a part-time job or you do volunteer work, think about asking your employer which parts of the job they think you do well.

Our career advisers are here to help you plan your career.

CAREER RESEARCH

Identify Your Career Options. Develop a refined list of career options by examining your interests, skills, and values through self-assessment. Narrow your career options by reviewing career information, researching companies, and talking to professionals in the field. You can further narrow your list when you take part in experiences such as shadowing, volunteering, and internships. MIT students can log in to access MyPlan, an online self-assessment tool offered through our office, can be a useful starting point.
Prioritize. It's not enough to list options. You have to prioritize. What are your top skills? What interests you the most? What's most important to you? Whether it's intellectually challenging work, family-friendly benefits, the right location or a big paycheck, it helps to know what matters to you -- and what's a deal-breaker. We provide skills and values assessments -- set up an appointment with a Career Advisor to take advantage of this service.
Make Comparisons. Compare your most promising career options against your list of prioritized skills, interests and values.
Consider Other Factors. You should consider factors beyond personal preferences. What is the current demand for this field? If the demand is low or entry is difficult, are you comfortable with risk? What qualifications are required to enter the field? Will it require additional education or training? How will selecting this option affect you and others in your life? Gather advice from friends, colleagues, and family members. Consider potential outcomes and barriers for each of your final options.
Make a Choice. Choose the career paths that are best for you. How many paths you choose depends upon your situation and comfort level. If you’re early in your planning, then identifying multiple options may be best. You may want several paths to increase the number of potential opportunities. Conversely, narrowing to one or two options may better focus your job search or graduate school applications.
Set "SMART" Goals. Now that you’ve identified your career options, develop an action plan to implement this decision. Identify specific, time-bound goals and steps to accomplish your plan. Set short-term goals (to be achieved in one year or less) and long-term goals (to be achieved in one to five years).

Specific -- Identify your goal clearly and specifically.
Measureable -- Include clear criteria to determine progress and accomplishment.
Attainable -- The goal should have a 50 percent or greater chance of success.
Relevant -- The goal is important and relevant to you.
Time bound -- Commit to a specific timeframe.

Create Your Career Action Plan. It’s important to be realistic about expectations and timelines. Write down specific action steps to take to achieve your goals and help yourself stay organized. Check them off as you complete them, but feel free to amend your career action plan as needed. Your goals and priorities may change, and that's perfectly okay.
Meet with a Career Advisor. Our advisors are here to help you make effective career decisions. Make an appointment on CareerBridge to talk about your career options and concerns.

RESEARCHING CAREERS

After you have narrowed down your career options through self-assessment, research career options using these tools and techniques. Don't forget: if you need help, you can always schedule an appointment with a counselor.

CareerBridge

CareerBridge is a great place to start your research. Companies looking specifically to recruit MIT students share job postings that you can filter by location, industry, or job type (internship, full-time, research, etc).

Online Research Tools

These online tools can help you in your research:

MyPlan: a career planning and self-assessment tool (requires MIT Touchstone login)
Muse U: career advice, job postings, email classes and videos
Occupational Outlook Handbook: the US Department of Labor's occupation guide
MIT Library Business Databases: industry reports and overviews
Wetfeet: free career articles, plus industry-specific guides for sale
GoinGlobal: country-specific guides for international job searching (requires MIT Touchstone login)

Networking and Informational Interviews

One great way to find out more about career options: talk to other people. Through networking and informational interviews, you can tap into the knowledge of alumni, faculty, friends, classmates and family.