Now it’s time to craft a plan of action.

This step of the career planning process is when you proactively put all the pieces of information about yourself and your carefully collected career information together to produce a set of career-related goals and options. Most likely, you will have some decision-making to do as you consider and eliminate possible career directions and options. It is important to study your own decision-making history to learn your tendencies and style. Learning about and utilizing various other decision-making strategies can also be useful. Trust not only the facts of your gathered information but also your intuition. Believe in yourself and the time and energy you have invested in your own career development. You are ready to start making career-related decisions happen, such as:

  1. Changing jobs
  2. Choosing a different career path
  3. Taking classes to begin a career change
  4. Networking and conducting informational interviews to get your foot in the door of a particular career field or department
  1. Career Development Action Plan - Developing a career development action plan is the main focus of this phase of career development planning. Be as specific as you can in outlining the steps in achieving your short-term and long-term career-related goals. Include in your plan how you will go about building and maintaining your professional network and community of support. (Courtesy of UC Berkeley)
    1. Career Development Action Plan - This tool will help you organize your personal and career development needs and interests in the context of departmental needs and your job. (Courtesy of UC Berkeley)
  2. Starting an >Individualized Development Plan – This can help prioritize and develop a plan of action to reach your short- and long-term career goals, as well as focus your personal efforts in the areas that you have selected, so that you can create an action plan that is clear and achievable.

Continuous growth and development is critical to maintaining the excellence of our staff, and supporting the mission of the campus, now and in the future. There are many options for developing your knowledge, skills, and abilities, and we encourage you to explore them for yourself and with your supervisor. Here are some important thoughts to help you get started, and to continue your development:

  • You are primarily responsible for your own development. Your supervisor and the organization are partners with you in that effort
  • There are many possible goals for your learning and development. The 4 primary ones are:
    • to improve your skills and knowledge in order to raise the level of your job performance
    • to learn new skills and knowledge in order to take on new responsibilities and enrich your current job
    • to learn new skills and knowledge in order to advance your career
    • to leverage your strengths more fully in your job and in the organization
  • There are many different ways to develop. Some of these include:
    • challenging assignments on the job
    • serving on committees or project teams
    • training classes
    • temporary job assignments
    • networking with professional colleagues
  • Always look for development opportunities, and how you can mine your work and personal experiences for learning and application on the job. (Courtesy of UC Berkeley)

 

  • UC Learning Center - You can log in with your UCNetID to take a variety of classes offered on campus that you will need to take throughout your career at UCSB.
  • LinkedIn Learning –With our LinkedIn Learning campus subscription, all employees have user access to almost 6,000 software, creative, and business skills video tutorials that are current and taught by industry experts. With LinkedIn Learning, any UCSB employee can watch full courses or bite-size portions at their own pace from their computer, smartphone or tablet.
  • HR Training Programs – HR has different programs to fit your needs.
  • Reduced Fee Enrollment - Eligible employees receive a two-thirds reduction on University Registration and Education fees.
  • Extension - Employee discounts on course fees for Extension courses are provided to University staff and faculty in order to encourage campus employee development and foster closer relationships between Extension and other UCSB campus units.
  • Dilling Yang Staff Scholarship Program - Scholarships may be used for registration and educational fees for courses, training and other learning opportunities offered at UCSB.

If you are ready to begin a job search, you will need to build up your ability to write attention-getting résumés and cover letters, and to successfully interview for positions. Investigate this section for samples, tips, and information on all these areas.