Plan your career
Your career encompasses your paid and unpaid work, education, and community engagement. You will develop skills to shape your career from each aspect of your life.
Explore the resources and information below, which are designed to help you in your career planning and assist you in reaching your goals.
Get started
Whether you are starting out in your career or transitioning to a new job, it is crucial to start by understanding yourself and exploring different career options. By gaining an understanding of your skills, interests, values, and strengths, you can identify job opportunities that align with your career goals. This self-discovery process will also provide the confidence necessary to pursue the career path that is best suited for you.
Getting to Know Yourself
Consider asking yourself the following four sets of questions. Reflect on all your experiences to date, including your employment history, education, interests, sports, and your volunteer or community activities.
My skills
- What work-based skills have I developed?
- Which skills have I received positive feedback about recently?
- Which skills would I like to develop in the future?
My values
- What is important to me?
- How do I want work to fit into my life?
- How can I have impact through my work?
My strengths
- What are my personal qualities – for example, honesty, determination, loyalty?
- Do I most enjoy working with people, data, or equipment?
- What are my strengths – for example, connection, creativity, action-oriented?
My interests
- What interests and activities do I enjoy and invest time in currently?
- What interests have I held in the past?
- What am I curious about?
Visit Career Essentials for additional resources designed to help you better understand yourself and your career goals.
Explore options
Once you have a clear understanding of your skills, values, strengths and interests, you can more confidently explore career options. Throughout your career, you will likely change jobs and potentially switch careers multiple times. It is advisable to explore a broad range of career paths until it is time to narrow your options and make a decision.
Explore what's out there
Gain hands-on experience to develop insights into your strengths and learn more about your work preferences. Consider exploring casual work, internships and project-based work that will provide discipline-relevant experience. It is important to take a life-long learning approach and continue enhancing your skills so that you can adapt to changes over time. Your program of study includes a career-ready placement experience. Volunteer opportunities are also an excellent way to build your skills for your resume.
For each occupation you explore, ask yourself these questions:
- Can I imagine myself in that role?
- Can I see myself working in that organisation or industry?
- How can I build the skills that would be required for making this a reality?
- What are the regular tasks and duties?
- What are the working conditions?
- What future career pathways are available?
Engage in conversations with people who are working in roles of interest about their work and learning experiences. These are questions you could ask:
- What inspired you to do what you do?
- How would you describe your career journey?
- How did you start and how did you progress to where you are now?
- What do you wish you had known earlier?
- How does the reality of your job match the expectations you had about it?
- What do you love / not love so much about the role?
- What does a typical week look like?
- What advice would you give anyone starting out in this field?
- Are there any additional certifications or training you would recommend?
- Do you have any tips about the recruitment process that you could share?
Finding out what appeals to you can be an exciting process, but it can take time to research. You can start researching specific occupations from the occupation profiles. Make sure you:
- Put time aside to explore and research
- Use a range of sources to research organisations of interest - via company websites, LinkedIn company profiles, sites such as glassdoor.com, social media profiles, attending employer events, and news articles
- Gather information about the job market by doing a future focused job search on roles and topics (e.g., Sustainability) that interest you
- Create a target list of your preferred occupations and potential employers
Focus
It is now time to make decisions. Review your target list of occupations, potential employers or entrepreneurial goals and narrow your choices to a manageable number.
Based on your research, focus on the options that best align with your longer-term goals and your skills, values, strengths, and interests. Goal setting is vital to not only achieving your career goals, but to informing your decision making. Once you can visualise what you want to achieve, you can begin to plan the steps required to fulfil your goals. Complete this online module to learn more about career planning and decision making.
Talk through the process of making your decision with those you trust such as family, friends, mentors, and the Careers Service.
Take action
Once you have established a career direction and pathway to follow, identify the necessary steps required to achieve your goals. You may need to pursue further education, seek additional work experience, or simply start applying for jobs.
Develop an action plan that outlines a clear approach to achieving your career or learning goals to keep you on track. Ensure your resume and other job application documents are current and tailored for specific vacancies. Practice your interview technique to increase your chances of success. Join relevant professional associations and maintain your industry-relevant networks.
Need interview-preparation advice? Access our interview preparation resources or contact the Careers Service to book in a mock interview.
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The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.