These 3Fs will help you enhance your career planning in more detail. Let me take you through to each of the Fs.
The first F is feasibility. A career planning is a process. A process of identifying your area of interest, your strengths, your marketable skills and of course it involves a simple and straightforward feasibility study. The questions to be considered in the feasibility study would be as follows:
- Will this career be a long-term career for me?
- If yes, what are the skills needed for me to be better at what I do?
- How can this career help me financially?
- Will I be able to have a sense of fulfillment in what I am going to do?
- Who will be able to help me during the transition period?
Answer the above questions sincerely and truthfully. These questions will help you to assess whether the career that you are choosing will be the one for you.
The second F will be financial. Most of the time, this particular factor stop many people in embarking their dream career. And in most time, I totally agree because in reality, we need the financial aspect to be able to give us the income to survive. Initially, embarking on our dream career, financially it will be draining. Let me share with you an example.
In order to achieve our dream career, one needs to juggle with the opportunity cost of future earnings. For example, a student spends many years before becoming a doctor. Initially the outflow in terms on financial is pretty high and a high level of commitment is required. After that, he or she will be earning a lot. Likewise, an amateur singer earns lesser initially but subsequently the singer becomes a professional singer, the singer will be commanding a higher fee or record sales. For trainers too, they spend a lot of time reading, researching and designing training materials. Initially, the income that they get is enough to cover their living expenses but subsequently they can command a higher fee when they are in high demand. Therefore, go and work even though it is at lower salary but if it is the career that you want to build from. At times, it will be a good idea to work for free from an industry that you want to be in. But do check your financial status first whether it is feasible to do so.
The third F is focus. After you have done your feasibility study and verified your financial status, staying focus on your career path is very crucial. This is where the rubber meets the road. Many a times, people are distracted from their dream career due to the two Fs’ mainly feasibility study and financial factor. It is difficult to stay focus if no feasibility study is done or your financial status is not stable. Therefore, one needs to continue to stay focused if you have done a proper study and planning for your career. Continue to stay focus regardless of whatever distractions. For example, getting a pay cut to be on a journey of a dream career in the training industry was a very tough thing to go through. However, the journey has been both pleasant and challenging but it was worthwhile after all. Therefore, I strongly suggest that you should stay focus in the career that you have chosen as a choice.
I hope you would use these 3Fs’ to plan for your career. Wishing you success in this journey. Meanwhile, in the next issue, I will share on how to have the passion to proceed on with the journey that you have embarked with.
Article is written by Johann Paul Gregory, MBA, Senior Vice President, Talent & Business Development, Reapfield Academy Sdn Bhd. Log on to www.reapfield.com for more information. The article represents his personal views.
