Writing a Career Action Plan Part II : What is It and How Can It Help Me?

By Dawn Rosenberg McKay

Jobs Vacancy, Job vacancies, Employment Jobs

Employment History/Educational Background

This part is straightforward. List any jobs you've had in reverse chronological order -- most recent to least recent. Include the location of the company, your job title, and the dates you worked at that job. When you put together your resume, having organized this information will prove very helpful. That goes for the next part as well -- Education and Training. List the schools you've attended, the dates you've attended them, and the credits, certificates, or degrees you've earned. Also list additional training and any professional licenses you hold. Next, list volunteer or other unpaid experience. You may find that several of these activities are relevant to your occupational goals. By volunteering you may have developed skills that will play an important role in your future career. Again, this information can be used on your resume. It can also be used in job interviews, or when applying to college or graduate school.

Self Assessment Results

If during the career planning process you met with a career development professional who used self assessment tools to help you gather information about yourself, this is where you can write down the results of those assessments. You can then list the occupations that were suggested to you during that phase. You may even want to attach the information you gathered when you explored those occupations in case you want to refer to your notes later on. Out of all the occupations you explored, at some point in the process you narrowed your choices down to one occupation. That is the one you plan to pursue. You may even have two occupations -- one to pursue in the short term and one to pursue in the long term. They should be related, the second being one that is a step up from the first. For example, you can say you want to first become a nurse's aid, and then after you get some experience you will pursue a career as a registered nurse.