What’s Your Plan?

I’m spending the week in Manhattan as a visiting guest faculty member at NYU and enjoying every minute of the experience. In addition to meeting with students (grad and undergrad) in a variety of academic disciplines, I have been working with staff and faculty members teaching career development strategies and action plans.

The common question from each of my groups has been How do I plan for my next (or first) career move? As a consummate planner and career coach, I have always been an advocate for writing down your goals and enlisting your accountability masters from your personal Board of Directors to give you the extra nudge and encouragement to follow-through.

A dear friend and fellow career development specialist introduced me to the 30 * 60 * 90 Day Plan concept. Whether you are developing a vision statement for your professional portfolio or getting started with expanding your community to do basic career research – the 30 * 60 * 90 Day Plan can help you move forward incrementally and with purpose.

Take some time to get quiet with your thoughts and think about your long-term career goals. Then work backwards to carve out 30 day segments with attainable action steps that will help you on your way. Reward yourself for goals accomplished and set more realistic baby steps if you action plan turns out to be too herculean to accomplish in the 90 day period.

The key is to give yourself specific tasks to accomplish and to update and expand your goals as you move forward. I believe you need to plan ahead for the career move you are contemplating after you earn your degree or cap-out in a current job, for example, because it takes time to make a move and it’s less stressful to go through the action steps now, than before you desperately need a career upgrade.

Organizations, especially in the business arena are asking candidates about their strategic vision for their prospective position during the interview process. Another great opportunity to use the 30 * 60 * 90 Day Plan to illustrate your value-add to a company.

But no matter what industry you are in – this kind of innovative planning shows forward thinking and can distinguish you amongst the competition. It’s also a great strategy for a performance review or new project proposal.

So from the heart of the Big Apple on the campus of NYU, I challenge you to contemplate your plan and put it into action!