Develop Your Career Plan

You have analyzed your background, listed all your experiences and identified a certain number of skills that you have used and developed, for which you’ve been able to prove your talents!

Using the same method, let's continue with the next steps, we’ll now proceed to steps 3 and 4.

1. Assess your skills: What are you good at?

2. How would you like your skills to develop? What is your potential for improvement?

Some of you already have a clear idea about your career plan and are eager to seek out job offers and apply. Others are still uncertain about your choice of job, company, region, etc.

This approach suits both scenarios.

• You will need to be realistic about your skill level and your potential for development if you want to attract potential employers/recruitment agencies and interest them in your application.

• If, like many people, you are still searching for your vocation, this assessment will be very useful in building your career plan!

Assess Your Skills

A skill can be assessed on several levels. There are different scales you can use to label these levels, but for the purpose of this course, we will use the following.

• Beginner: You’re a novice but have already mastered some simple tasks. However, you need a tutor/manager/expert nearby to answer your questions and help you progress.

• Average: You know how to do most tasks but still have some progress to make. You may be considered a “junior” in professional situations where this skill is key.

• Very good: You are proficient with projects and can work independently. You can train beginners and even tutor juniors, but you need expert advice for complex tasks.

• Excellent: You’re an expert in every, or almost every, aspect of this skill. You are able to train juniors and can even help those who are already proficient themselves. With this skill level, you can also lead research and development.

Fill Out Your Table

You have pinpointed several experiences and at least two to three skills for each of them. This should give you a list of 6-20 different skills.

You are now going to assess your level of proficiency for each skill.

Ask yourself the following questions for each one.

Use the previous table (experiences - results - skills) you’ve created and add new columns.

Here’s an example of a skills assessment to help you:

Assessing your skills this way ensures you identify your strengths and areas for improvement. It will help you pinpoint jobs that fall into your areas of knowledge.

Benchmark Your Skills

Some skills are essential in certain professions. There’s no such thing as a butcher who doesn’t know how to use a knife or an accountant who can’t count!

If you have an idea of what career you would like, take a good look at the skills that are relevant for that profession. You can easily find job descriptions and profiles online, or job offers that have been posted with the accompanying required skills.

As you can see, potential employers/recruitment agencies will be interested in your education and qualifications, but they will pay particular attention to your skills and what you know how to do! They will assess how well you suit the company’s requirements and whether you will soon be operational and efficient - basically whether you’re a good fit!

What Are Your Key Skills, and Are They Related to Your Career Choices?

It’s a good idea to determine what key skills are required for the career you’re interested in.

Next, identify on your list the skills that match the job, and determine your current level.

For those who haven’t yet decided on a career, the opposite approach can be very useful.

• Assess which skills you are excellent and very good at.

• Look at what kind of career they are suited to.

• Does that give you any ideas?

Each job also requires significant behavioral qualities, which will be reflected in social skills such as:

• organizational skills

• strong learning and adaptability skills

• ability to work in a team, in project groups... the ability to share skills

Identify Which Areas Need Improving

So far, this analysis has helped assess your key skills, as well as compare them with those required for the jobs that interest you. Of course, you’re not excellent at everything. No one is! You should be able to identify your strengths and weaknesses. To make your profile as a job-seeker as attractive as possible, you may need to improve on certain areas.

• What skills do I need to implement my career plan successfully?

• What are the most important skills?

• What is my level when it comes to these skills?

• What do I need to do to progress and achieve my goal?

Based on your career plans and your interests, you may need to:

• strengthen certain skills you already have, but which need improving for the career goals you have in mind.

acquire the skills required for the job you are targeting.

How Can You Strengthen Your Skills?

There are several possibilities:

• Think about taking a course to improve your skills. There are plenty of online courses. Many offer a certificate of completion. For example, explore other OpenClassrooms courses, like Work Effectively in a Team, Prepare Professional Written Documents, Speak in Public, and Learn How to Learn.

• Look for an internship. Here is a great article to help you get started.

• Get involved in a club or charity to try new experiences and test and develop skills. Become a volunteer!

• Find and apply for a student or temp job that will provide you with work experience in a straightforward context and help you develop your skill set.

• It’s worth exploring other skills too. You can add them all to your portfolio! For example, how good are you with Excel?

Let's Recap!

• It’s vital to assess your skill level if you want to have an achievable and realistic vision and build a solid career plan!

• Ask yourself, “What proof do I have of the level I assume I have?” Think of ways you’ve demonstrated your skill.

• Benchmark your skills! Compare them with what potential employers/recruitment agencies expect in the career that interests you.

• You have to work on your skills! There are many solutions available to explore and improve your key skills and to add new skills to your profile.

You will have to manage your skills throughout your (working) life. Some skills will develop, others will become less relevant and fall out of use. In the long run, you will acquire many throughout your career.

This ability to assess your skills and grow them based on your needs and goals, as well as changes in the job market, is fundamental to safeguarding your employability.