One of the major concerns at the moment is unemployment especially amongst the youth. We have a lot of graduates walking the streets with degrees feeling very demoralized. The main employer in the country is the government. Until the private sector grows even more and entrepreneurship flourishes in this country to help the government by creating more jobs it will take a long time for unemployment to drop at an accelerating rate. In the meantime, graduates need to focus more on activities that will enhance their skills to better position them for employability.
It is that time of the year were we should actually now be thinking through our career plans for 2014…what is it that we want to focus on regarding our professional development come 2014. As the saying by Elbert Hubbard goes “The best preparation for good work tomorrow is to do good work today”. However before you even get to start thinking about your professional goals for 2014, take a long hard moment to reflect back on 2013.
How has the year been for you? What success stories or challenges did you come across professionally? What strengths and weaknesses did you pick up on your professional journey this year? Did you get involved in voluntary or extra activities outside work? What other activities did you partake in that have added value to your CV? If you attended interviews this year, what learning pointers did you receive? Is your CV updated? Have you googled your name recently and what information is appearing about you on the Internet? There are just a lot of questions to ask one to evaluate your professional path this year. Please do take the time to entertain these and other questions, as they will help you map out issues of concern for 2014.
Now that you have taken time to review your 2013, what would you like to do differently next year to ensure you stay on the expected path? What pointers would you like to improve on in 2014 based on your 2013 review? The main question is “WHAT IS YOUR 2014 CAREER ACTION PLAN”. Now take some time once more to think long and hard about this next step.
Some of the suggestions you can consider for implementation whilst you are planning for your professional development next year includes to;
1. See a career coach to discuss your year career plans.
2. Attend networking events to build on your network base. This also includes trainings, workshops or conferences.
3. Get a mentor in the following and other areas of your life. A mentor, whom you can meet on a regular basis such as monthly depending on how the both of you schedule the meetings, to give you advise on the following;
- Academic
- Career
- Finances
- Relationship
- Health
4. Do voluntary work. Give back to the community and at the same time enhance your soft skills.
5. Learn a new language i.e. French, Chinese etc. This will also enhance your employability especially if you are aiming at working for international companies or organizations in the future.
6. Invest in books or audios on personal development or motivation. Some of this material is available for free on the internet.
7. Join a professional body, for example if you are an accountant you join an Accounting Association so you are kept up to date with latest developments within your profession.
8. Invest in your online presence, especially on Linkedin and other professional online platforms.
9. Update your CV and ensure every time your CV is tailor made for the purpose intended.
Often at times when one works, they tend to focus more on their work and home and forget the rest. You need to also continue building or enhancing your skills and hence active participation is important for your professional growth. The job that you are currently doing is not a guarantee that it will be there for a long time as at times you receive surprising news that the company or organization is closing down after unexpected challenges and so forth hence you need to keep your options open and ensure that you are marketable at all times.
The above list is not really exhaustive; there are other activities you can consider that will help with your professional development. Make sure that you make an appointment with a career specialist to discuss these issues and others in more detail.
For career coaching services including mapping out a long term career plan; writing a CV or cover letter; developing effective interview skills; building and managing an effective networking plan and understanding and presenting your personal brand and more you can contact me on ccbotswana@gmail.com
Kutlwano Magazine, Career Corner Page 50, November 2013 Issue
Career Coaching Botswana 