Chapter 14
Career Plan Step #4: One-, Three-, and Five-Year Plan
Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
—George Bernard Shaw
One of the best parts of a vacation is planning it. Thinking about everything you want to do and places you want to see and all the fun you will have. This is exactly what we will do in creating your career plan. We are going to plan your career over the next year, three years, and five years. This is your chance to think, ponder, and decide what you want to do for the next few years. Remember, this is when the sky is the limit for you. During my workshops, everyone gets excited at this point in the day. We have looked at their past, diagnosed their present job, and it is now time to plan for the future. When I tell the workshop attendees they have one hour to plan, the pens go in the hands, but they don't really start moving. After about five minutes, I begin to get comments and questions asking for help. “Dr. Bray, I'm not sure I know exactly what I want.”
It's very likely you will face the same problem. It is easy for you to decide what you don't like. You may not like horror movies or vegetables. You know you don't want to work on skyscrapers washing windows. The difficulty comes in determining what you actually do want. This is where most individuals talk in generic terms. “I want to make more money” is one of the top answers on the board. (Yeah, I get it. We all do!) Some say they want to be promoted or manage people. All are vague answers with no specific information about the final destination they are trying to reach. The devil is in the details for Step Four and you may have to push yourself to answer the career planning questions. The more detail you include in your answers, the better off you are going to be.
“But Dr. Bray, nothing ever turns out like it is planned. Won't I be wasting my time doing this?”
Absolutely not! Without a plan in place you are nothing more than a paper boat heading down a river that will take you where it wants. If you have a plan that includes accurate information, you can steer your boat in the direction you want to go. Because life sometimes surprises us, you may need to adjust or adapt your plans for the future, but at least you'll know where you are headed. With a career plan in hand, you will be able to recognize opportunities as a means of getting closer to your goal or moving yourself away from it. Without that plan, career decisions may seem murky. Ben's situation is a perfect example.
Ben enjoyed his job but was becoming restless to take the next step with his career. We discussed the future of his career and what he envisioned. He bought into most of my suggestions but did not put the time, necessary effort, and thinking into his career development plan. Six months later, he called to tell me he was getting promoted. “Tell me, why are you taking the promotion, Ben?” I asked.
He responded, “It makes more money, I get to be a manager and I get out of here.” Trying not to be a total Debbie Downer on his celebratory promotion announcement, I asked him one question: “Is the job helping you get closer to your five-year career plan?”
“It doesn't matter,” he told me. “I can worry about that with my next promotion.” I left it at that and didn't say anything more. I opened up my calendar and marked a date six months in the future and wrote his name on it. That is how long I gave him before I knew he would call me asking for help.
To my shock he lasted a full year before I received the phone call. Not surprisingly, Ben didn't like his job and needed help figuring out his next move. I politely told him to grab the career development plan, fill out Steps Four through Nine and call me when he was ready to take charge of his career. (He stayed angry for about two months before he called me back. I should have charged him double.)
Begin Planning
To get the most out of Step Four, I recommend you go somewhere quiet and peaceful. Try to get away from any distractions and turn off your phone. You need a chance to think about what you want your future to look like. Make sure you are in the right frame of mind and have a good attitude when answering the questions and planning your career. If you don't finish, don't let more than five days go by without working on your career plan, otherwise you'll lose momentum. Try to finish Step Four in one week. Remember, this is not meant to be a stressful experience, it should be enjoyable. So grab your favorite drink or snack and let's get to work.
I am going to ask you five questions about your career and what it will look like in one year, in three years, and in five years. Answer each question for each specific period.
Question #1
Will you be working for a company or working for yourself? Or are you doing both? Circle one of the options that follows for each period.
(Remember to answer this question for one year, for three years, and for five years.)
| One Year | Three Years | Five Years |
| Company | Company | Company |
| Self-Employed | Self-Employed | Self-Employed |
| Both | Both | Both |
This is important to know because it provides the framework for the direction you are going to take with your planning. If you know you want to work in corporate America in the next five years, then we will be able to move to the next step and identify what that job in corporate America would be. If you know you want to own your own business in five years, you are going to have to start taking some steps in that direction.
Many ask about the possibility of doing both. I know many individuals who like to do additional work on the weekends or during their evening time. Coaching community college soccer or creating a product to sell at the local farmers' market can all be done while still keeping your full-time job. For those who want to be entrepreneurs but don't want to risk leaving corporate America, this may be a great way to put your toe in the self-employment pond. Be sure that you are not breaking any contracts with your day job before deciding to do this!
If you are in a relationship, I highly recommend that you discuss this with that individual after completing all of the chapter questions. You will want his or her insight, opinion, and approval, or the outcome may not be a desirable one.
Question #2
What will be your role based on Question One?
Will you be promoted?
Will you stay in the same job?
Will you stay in the same company with a different job?
Will you have changed companies?
| One Year | Three Years | Five Years |
| Role | Role | Role |
The more detailed information you can provide, the better. This question always brings up unexpected emotions and thoughts.
“I can't see myself in that promoted position. I don't think it will ever happen.”
“My boss isn't going anywhere. Her position will never be open.”
Don't get caught up speculating whether or not something will happen. This part of the exercise is to help you determine and plan what you want to occur. So leave all the doubts aside and write down what you want to have happen.
Question #3
Do you manage people or are you an individual contributor? Why?
| One Year | Three Years | Five Years |
| In Management | In Management | In Management |
| Don't Manage | Don't Manage | Don't Manage |
It is vital to identify whether or not you want to manage people. Your salary, the location where you live, and other opportunities and perks are based on your answer. Managing is not for everyone. There are lots of advantages to staying in an individual contributor role. Don't grade the success of your career based on whether or not you are a manager. You can be a leader within your organization at any level. Remember, your true success is based on how you define rich, which we discussed in Chapter 7.
Question #4
How much money will you be making?
| One Year | Three Years | Five Years |
| $ | $ | $ |
This is an exciting topic because everyone likes to dream big about how much money they can make. However, if you are currently making $22,000 a year, you need to be realistic about your salary three years from now. I don't want to discourage you, so if you put down that you will be making $100,000 in Year Three, I am hoping you have a detailed plan in place for Question Five. If you're making $22,000 and want to more than quadruple your salary, you need to get promoted, go back to school, or find a position that has that kind of earning power. I have no qualms about putting a big number down in Year Three and Year Five, just have a strong plan to back it up. And if your plan is to marry rich or take out your spouse for the insurance money (or both!) move ahead as if neither are going to occur.
If you don't know how much money certain jobs make, you can go to Google and search out salary ranges for most positions. A specific company may pay more or less for the position, but this will give you an idea of the salary range.
Question #5
What are the talents, skills, and strengths or training and education you need to possess to make your career plan happen?
| One Year | Three Years | Five Years |
| Skills | Skills | Skills |
| Training | Training | Training |
| Education | Education | Education |
| Other | Other | Other |
Now is the time to decide how you are going to make your responses to the first four questions become a reality. This step requires some research into finding out as much information as possible about your future job. Talk to as many individuals as you can who may have information about the job you want. Not only will you learn what skills and competencies you need, you will also learn about the day-to-day responsibilities.
I also recommend looking at job boards and searching out jobs that have been posted for that position. Look for the training or education required in order to apply for the job. Then you can easily identify what skills sets you need to acquire or strengthen to make you a strong candidate for the position.
The question “What do I need to do to get the job?” causes some people to get a bit depressed when they realize the amount of work that is needed to progress toward that goal. This is a good time to decide whether or not it is worthwhile to pursue the job at this time. Think about it and discuss your hesitations (as well as what excites you) with your family and friends. Make sure you let the information simmer in your head for at least a few days before making a decision. Hearing yourself talk out the pros and cons will help you make the best decision.
A favorite client of mine is an incredible strategic thinker, leader, motivator, and coach. She is constantly sought out by her peers and also other leaders for her advice. She would make a fantastic senior leader but with two preteen children at home, she has made the decision that her definition of rich is having the opportunity to be home with them in the evening rather than traveling extensively as a leadership position would require. When looking at her one-year plan and three-year plan, her goals remain exactly the same as her present situation. It is her five-year plan that drastically changes. At that point, her children will be nearing graduation and a promotion and increased job responsibility will be more feasible for her and her family. The best part about this client is that she is consistently continuing to develop herself for the time when she can make the change. She has a list of what she needs to do and who she needs to become to be a stellar leader for that future position.
You may notice that I put “Other” in the worksheet as well. As you plan out your career, there may be something specific that you need to do to successfully get that position. That is the place to write it down so it is a constant reminder of the direction you are going.
Of all the questions, Question Five will take you the longest to complete. Don't give up! Keep reading and researching everything you can about your future job. Spend the necessary time and don't cheat yourself out of the opportunity to build the career that you want. The success or failure of your career depends heavily on the time you spend on this question and the information you are able to gather. As a helpful hint, don't spend more than two weeks on this question or you will begin to stall in your progression. There comes a point at which the amount of new information you are gathering drops dramatically.
Putting It All Together
Now let's wrap this up. You have identified in the future whether or not you will be working for an organization or for yourself. You have decided what the role will look like and what your specific position will be. You know whether you want to be a manager or not and you have decided on a compensation that fits your budget and the lifestyle you want. Lastly, you did your research and discovered what you need to do to get to your goal. Congrats for completing this chapter and making decisions on what you want your future to be.