Once you have decided what do you want (a job or a career) is time to see what you can do about it!
A 7-Part Action Plan Proposition
Niko, in order to answer the question “Do You Want A Job Or A Career?” you need to follow a more structured approach, a one that can really help you find your goals and employ an action plan able to make you achieve them.
In order to start, Niko, you should take the initiative now and start following the steps that can lead you to the field you aspire to work! Here an approach in 7-parts, Niko!
The first steps in this process, is, of course, for you to define your goals and to select your work area.
Defining your goals, is not always, an easy task, Niko. It takes time and a lot of “discussion” with yourself! But the effort, worth it, because it can yield a multitude of results for life and business!
Let’s see how this approach can be employed!
1. Define Your Goals
Defining your goals, Niko, is the one, single and foremost unilateral action you should take either for personal or professional decisions.
What I suggest, is for you Niko to take a piece of paper (or use any other recording medium, what it is more convenient!), think carefully and write down your goals and your objectives! It is important to have your goals on a piece of paper, Niko, since this is something that would help you to review them often, and change them if needed!
Let me make myself very, very clear Niko. This is not a piece of paper you just jot down some notes and forget it. It is a small mission statement for your personal and professional life, since your personal and professional area, often interact with them, in more than one ways!
To compile it in a short and concise form, in order to help you and support you, it needs a lot of thinking and consideration. This is a paper containing your orientation in life & business, and you cannot take it lightly. You write your goals because of the simple act of writing, “obliged” you in more ways that you can imagine at first, and serves you for future reference.
In this text you think, you evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and write down your goals in life! Not only the ones associated with the e-learning career you want to pursue (either in Greece, in Europe, or somewhere else). You should include and the goals that depended or depend by your career decision (some people would say that this includes a lot of things! And they would have right!) After the initial writing, Niko, and when you are OK with the result (and feel ready to commit yourself to those goals, another important but indispensable component of the procedure!), step back for a day or two and come back to this paper for a second review!
The objective of the second review is three-folded.
- To check again what you have selected and test your resolve in relation to the goals you have select
- To confirm, refine or remove the goals you think you cannot commit to (aiming at keeping only the goals you can pursue in your life)
- To convert the actual goals you have selected to pursue in S.M.A.R.T. goals and make them more robust, concise and easily employable! Every goal you put on this paper should have an estimated timetable for their completion (otherwise is not a goal, is just a dream or a “want to do” item).
This 3 folded process, should be repeated 2 or 3 times more (in a cascading mode, with some time intervals), aiming at leaving only the goals you really want to achieve in a form that makes them easily understood and achieved (BY YOU. This is your goals, remember!). Moreover, this process would provide you the clarity needed to propel you towards your objectives.
The final result would be a short (or longer!) list of clear and concise goals with their estimated time for their achievement (i.e. how you want to do that, when you would achieve the other thing, etc.)
It is important to review frequently this list, evaluate your progress, and add, update or delete any goal it is no longer current or feasible!
2. Define The E-Learning Area You Want To Work Or Make Career
The second step for a job or career in the e-learning sector is to clarify what area of e-learning you want to work. Every expert and company in the field is specialized at some specific section of e-learning.
You may be want to work at consulting, at instructional design, at courses development & production, at the development of learning material and resources, at social learning, etc. The field you want to work in is entirely at your disposal, Niko. But once you select it, you have to work very hard to develop the knowledge, skills and the expertise you need to cope effectively in the area.
Furthermore, you have to evaluate your strengths and weakness in the area you have selected to focus on, to see what more you have to offer and check if the area is wide enough and “rich” enough to help you achieve your goals.
Your decision on what particular section of e-learning you want to focus on, defines your later career and connected closely with the achievement of your goals and objectives!
Well, how it is going? Have you consider, yet, Niko if you want a job or a career?
The post “Do You Want A Job Or A Career?” would continue in Part III!
