As you apply for jobs consider your own
ambitions and plans. Jidaw asks: Newcomer what is your plan? Your focus is your career. Big
or small organization, local or international, the job is a tool not your final
destination. Beginner or experienced professional, everyone needs to have a
plan. The job is a vehicle to get you to where you are going. Just any job will
do?
Jidaw insists that you must have dreams. Everybody needs a dream. You can’t limit your
career to a job. Everybody needs a roadmap; otherwise the dream remains a
dream. Planning brings your dreams from the back to the front of the brain. It keeps you coordinated - all your
activities fit in and reinforce each other.
Without a career plan how do you search? Or will
growth just happen? Lack of experience does not mean lack of ability to plan.
Planning provides direction. It is certainly better than jumping on whatever
comes along. Rather than shooting aimlessly in the dark make your efforts
focused and purposeful. Get your career growth perspectives right and develop
an effective career plan. Jidaw advises that it may not appear glamorous but it is meaningful and
needed. As grow your career you will appreciate the need to plan.
Applying for the job because of the announcement shouldn’t
be the only thing in your mind. How does the job fit into your plan? Is the job
is in line with where you are going? It is important in planning that you have
ideas not just about how and where to search but also about how jobs will be employed
for strategic advantage.
Jidaw recommends the following to make your plan effective:
- Have ideas that expand your thoughts past the narrow confines of a fresh graduate looking for a job.
- Make your mental involvement in the job search and career development process big picture and future oriented.
- There are no dumb ideas. And it isn’t a crime to run out of ideas.
Jide Awe