Table of Contents
A career map is a visual organized tool that displays the various directions a career can head within a specific industry. It shows how the jobs in the different industries are connected. Every career map is different, but they all share one thing in common, to show an opportunity past a single job to look at an entire career.
Purpose, and Benefits of a Career Map
Career maps are designed to help prepare employees and businesses with the proper tools to construct and retain various jobs that are headed in different directions. A career path will help move you get to a job that fits your needs, lifestyle, interest, and financial goals.
Career mapping increases employee retention rates, especially within larger companies. Employees generally quit their job because they have no visible future path for them to move on to or do not know how to get the specific job that fits their needs. A career map gives a clear roadmap that draws a line for employees to get to their desired job from their current job.
127 our experts are availableright now
Importance of Setting Goals
Setting goals gives you something to plan and work for in order to fuel your ambition to succeed. Goals are about making a customized plan for your life to stay accountable to yourself. Goal setting is the key to success whether you are a student or an employee working for a company. Specific and realistic goals for me include:
- Gain positive feedback from team members
- Improve presentation skills
- Join an Extracurricular Group or Organization
- Know one professor really well
- Meet with a career planning advisor
- Actually, read the required texts
- Get an on-campus job
These are some of the goals I hope to achieve while on the path to receive my business degree at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Setting up strategies to achieve my goals will draw an outline for me to follow.
Strategies for Achieving Goals
All these goals I have set have set for myself have set me up to be successful throughout my four years in college. There are different strategies that can be used to reach my goal but I should choose strategies that will help me stay committed. Gaining positive feedback from team members is constructive feedback. Asking my professors, students (when working on group assignments), and team members for focused feedback would help me get upward feedback. Asking for suggestions on how to improve from their point of view will provide me with great insight.
It is always valuable to improve on presentation skills. Presentations allow me to engage, communicate, and inspire the audience. Practicing a presentation multiple times, arriving early, and adjusting to surroundings are terrific ways to improve on presentation skills. Colleges have a lot of students with lots of interest. There is almost a club for each specific interest, if not making an organization for your specific interest not that complicated. Professors teach courses to students who are studying for a particular degree. Students never think about their motivations and interests that have shaped them. Scheduling an appointment to talk to the professor is a way to know a professor.
Colleges offer many resources to help students with their career. Scheduling an appointment with a career planning advisor will help with the transition from being a college student to an employee in the workforce. Professors often assign texts for students to learn, analyze, and remember. Students usually do not read these required texts. Challenging myself to read the texts and remembering the information will give me a clear image of class. The cost of college tuition is high enough and students do not have a source of income to manage expenses. Visiting the career center can get me a job at the university and if available a job in my field of study.
Need for Flexibility & Changes in Developing the Career Map
Being flexible means to be able to adapt to any change. There are many times throughout college where I will need to be flexible. For example, working on a group project in class requires me to work together as a team. Every student in that group has a different method of working. In order to succeed and reach my goals, I will need to work with my group. This same example applies to my career map. I must be willing to change and modify my goals to fit my needs.
