Your practical guide to creating a successful career map in 2022
Dec 12, 2021

You get up every morning and go to work. Now and then, an interesting job posting catches your eye, or you notice someone in your field whose job you wouldn’t mind having. You’re doing ok, but you’re basically following the path of the least resistance in your company.


In 2022, don’t you want to achieve more? Maybe you’ve been influenced by the great resignation trend or you’re just ready to hone in on some long-term career goals.


The good news is that the beginning of a new year is the perfect time to reimagine your career approach. No matter where you are in your career, you should always know what your ultimate career objective is and how you’re going to get there. Otherwise, your career has no real direction, and you’re reacting to events instead of proactively creating opportunities. Fortunately, there’s a simple tool that can help you determine how to achieve your ultimate dream job: your personal career map.


Just like any map, your career map plots out a course to get you from point A to point B. That course is shaped by your ambitions and skills. For example, if you want to rise to the top of your profession quickly, then your career map should show you the fastest way to do so. Alternatively, if you’re more interested in having a variety of life-enriching experiences along the way, your career map should reflect this.

How do you go about creating your career map?


The first, most important step is to define your ultimate career goal. Do you want to move into management? Would you prefer to become a recognised expert in your field? Or are you looking to make a move to a different field altogether?


Once you’ve defined your career goal, evaluate whether your strengths support your goal. As Jane Porter points out in her Fast Company article “How to Make a Career Map That Actually Works”, building on your strengths will help you excel faster. If your strengths aren’t relevant to your goal, regroup and look for an objective that allows you to use your strengths. For example, if you’re a junior designer with an advertising agency but your real talent lies in communication and strategy, then you’d make a great account manager.


Next, determine what you need to achieve between now and your ultimate goal. What positions will you need to fill? What skills and/or qualifications are necessary? Is it a straightforward vertical climb through the ranks, or will you benefit from making lateral moves to gain a broader experience? Research each question thoroughly and make notes on your optimal path.


Decide if any of your life goals could have a negative or positive impact on your career path. Do you want to raise a family? Do you want to work overseas? Don’t overlook personal goals and how they tie into your career objectives.

Now, it’s time to put it all together


Write down where you are now, as well as your career objective. Draw an arrow between the two. Then write in each of the steps you’ll need to take along the way.


Using the same example as above, let’s say you’ve decided to pursue the route of account management and eventually move into the C-suite at one of the major international agencies. You’re interested in working overseas, and you also want to start a family within five years.


A logical career map would first be to talk to your current employer — who knows your strengths — about transitioning into account management. From there, successfully managing a number of high-profile projects will eventually propel you into senior account management. This would be a good time to either move to a large international agency and/or work overseas for a while. However, you can also remain with your first employer and climb even further through the ranks to upper management and the C-suite, from where you can make the step to an international agency if you still want to.


Think of your career map as your professional GPS. It knows where you are, where you want to be, and how you can get there. And like a GPS, it’s flexible and can re-route when necessary, because good and bad things can happen that can influence your journey. In the example above, becoming a parent might influence how quickly you advance or whether you spend time overseas. However, if your career goal remains the same, then you should always return to your career map to plan out an adjusted course.


It's been a difficult couple of years for everyone, and, understandably, many of us have put career goals on pause, or at least on the back burner. As we move into a brand-new year, why not reinvigorate your ambitions by drawing up a career map?

14 Aug, 2023
Rephrasing the famous song, “Love is in the air”, let’s talk about change is in the air – and everywhere. We grow. We change. Look at your childhood photos. Watch your kid, your nephew, your niece. The change is there, and it’s incredible. Nature is constantly changing. We wait for summer as the time to enjoy outdoor activities and gardening, for a quick visit to the beach, or simply take time to relax and spend time with family, friends and loved ones. We wait for winter (even if we never see snow falling) to decorate the house for the holidays, pack presents for the people we love and unpack our own. The colour of the leaves changes, the weather shifts, and flowers blossom in their time – the landscape is constantly transforming. The world around us is changing. We travel to other countries and learn new things, cultures and languages. We take on new hobbies. We get new skills. After a couple of minor kitchen accidents (sometimes), we can cook delicious dishes and get compliments from family and friends. We transform our bodies at the gym or simply by creating the habit of walking every day. We meet new people, we sometimes fall in love, we build families, we have kids. And if you step back for a second, you realise you might have met your other half by pure accident. But you took a leap of faith into the unknown. We embrace many types of unknown change, except for the one that can change how we live five days a week – to change jobs. “I am too old/too young to change”, “I’m used to this environment; It’s my comfort zone”, “Well, I don’t get any promotion, and what I do doesn’t change the world, but it’s stable”, “I am afraid to ask for more interesting projects. What if my manager fires me?”. We often don’t want to change because that step requires a vision, courage, external support, and a leap of faith into the unknown. Scary? Yes. But also promising. A step into the unknown? Yes. But it can open a new door. Do your inner values marry what you do? Yes, it is essential. There is nothing terrible about staying in your comfort zone. At some stage of your career, staying put can be an excellent decision. But if you feel that you need a change – talk to Kelly. We don’t mind going the extra mile and support your wish to embrace the change. The one which will give meaning to what you do, feel proud, motivated and fulfilled. Ready for changing? We’ll make sure your talent can truly shine.
10 Aug, 2023
You’ve seen these guys before when a circus came to your city or maybe on TV. They walk on a wire at an impressive height, sometimes without insurance, sometimes with a long stick that probes the void right and left. They walk slowly, trying the wire with their toes first, making small steps, their eyes fixed on the small platform where they plan to land soon. They never watch down. They don’t listen to an audience that applauses or gasps in awe. They are concentrated on keeping their balance. To keep balance. Let’s come down from the wire above the arena or stage. Let’s look closer at balance, where it has its roots and the secrets of keeping it. Is it an art? Or is it a skill? Can you learn to keep balance? Or is it an innate skill that only gymnasts, figure skaters, circus artists and ballet dancers are born with? Want to know the secrets of a ballerina that must perform 32 fouettes, a complex ballet movement that requires turning 360 degrees at a high-speed standing on the point of a ballet shoe? First, keeping balance is a skill people must learn for years. In ballet, sport, circus, real life, and… work life. A ballerina is taught to pick one point and to fix her eyes on it when she makes her 32 fouettes, a complex ballet movement that requires turning 360 degrees at high-speed standing on the point of a ballet shoe. She focuses on one thing that keeps her upright. She doesn’t look anywhere else. Gymnasts in some disciplines are constantly trained to feel the bar under their feet. They are prepared to land precisely on the bar after they jump, and the incredible contortions we admire in competitions. But let’s come back to the circus artists we have begun with. Often, they have a long stick in their hands to keep their balance. Is their secret hidden in the stick? And what is the secret? You don’t need to be a ballet dancer, a gymnast, or a circus artist to get the idea of balance. Here are your first two steps in your balance training: 1. Keep your main priorities in mind. And have a clear idea about what is very important for you and where you are ready to compromise. But don’t listen to external opinions that don’t align with your ideals. Forget about the audience’s applause – focus on you. 2. Use some help to stay upright and get to your goals. Imagine your life split on two ends of the helping stick, your job is on one end, and your private life is on another. How comfortable do you feel at your height now with the load on both ends? You need support. We at Kelly pay a lot of attention to balance. The balance between people’s private lives and their jobs. The balance between feeling appreciated and professional goals or between achieving extraordinary results and being inspired. Talk to Kelly today. We are not ballet coaches or sports trainers, but we know much about how important work/life balance is in our lives.
03 Aug, 2023
We often associate certain qualities with individuals who seem to possess a natural talent for creativity. We convince ourselves that painting, singing, or dancing are pursuits reserved for these "real" artists while we remain mere spectators. Creativity? Inspiration? No, it's not about me.
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