Career Plan

Career planning is a process which is based on the personal characteristics of the student and the conditions as a whole. The process will end at the time of retirement. However, the process may be interrupted or stopped due to sabbatical leave or unemployment or it incorporates additional processes such as working abroad or project work.

The process is like a river which is joined by other streams along the way. And the process can also create new streams, some returning and some leading elsewhere. These streams can be, for example, various life situations, opportunities, possibilities and changes as well as a personal development processes.

An employee is like a person paddling a canoe down the river of career planning. And to reach the destination, even the most skilled employees need a map. The map contains all kinds of marks: jobs and employers, shortcuts or longer routes leading towards the desired destination. Career planning is like a map which helps you to find your location as well as the next point on the way to your target - take the map with you and you can paddle towards the right direction.

It is recommended to start creating the map during your studies, because career planning is a constantly changing and developing process. Think about the things that you want from your future, for example:

What kinds of work tasks are you interested in?
What makes an employer a good one?
What kind of position would you like to achieve?
What kinds of knowledge and skills should you have?
How could you improve those skills and knowledge and include them in your study plan?
What are your goals and how can you achieve them?
How well do you know yourself?
What motivates you?
What are the most essential values and focuses of interest to you?
What are your most important personal characteristics?
What would your career plan, or your map to the river, look like this year?