5 Step Career Action Guide to Take Control of Your Career
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We all have career objectives but other than our annual performance goals how often do we take the time to conduct a checkup on our professional development? What are we doing to change and grow? How do you know when to look for a new job?
LinkedIn posted a great blog called Your 10 Second Annual Career Checkup. The blog suggests you do a simple exercise to see if your goals and your current role are aligned or far apart. The author suggest you make a circle representing your unique skills and interests and your values. Then write down how much you want to be compensated for your work. Next, make a second circle with your current work – skills and projects, and include how much you are compensated. Next, see how much overlap there is between the two. If they overlap you are in a great position. If they do not, you have some work to do.1
It is important to be self-aware of your current skills, what you love about your current role and what you would change to make it better. Do you need to enhance your skills or are you interested in learning something completely different to open new career opportunities? Do you still enjoy the work you are currently doing? Do you feel you are still learning?
IIBA’s Career Action Guide [available to IIBA Members] focuses on five steps:
1
Understand with profile face and lightning bolt. Understand your business analysis foundational skills, tasks, techniques, and personal characteristics necessary to perform as a business analyst using the Competency Model.
2
Evaluate your skills using your Self Assessment Tools to assess your current capabilities.
3
Plan your professional development goals using our SWOT worksheet and step-by-step career action plan.
4
Act using your career action plan, putting your actions into goals.
5
Review your actions during and after the implementation of your plan to understand what's working and what isn't for you.
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The Competency Model [for IIBA Members] identifies 30 performance or discipline competencies specific to the role of the business analysis professional. Using this Model, you can assess your understanding of business analysis skills, tasks, techniques, and behaviours required to be successful as a practitioner. This Model supports practitioners, leadership and organizations to identify the knowledge level and skills required and how to upskill as an individual, for team leaders or managers to identify the competencies required for the role; and for the hiring manager to align competencies with roles.
When evaluating your career, it’s important to self-reflect on what you like doing, what you don’t like doing and what you would like to do and it’s also important to have a framework for how to evaluate your skills and experience and create an action plan to guide the steps you need to take to take control of your career.
Plan your next career move in 5 steps with IIBA’s Career Action Guide. Become a Member to access the guide! >
References:
1. Bolles, Gary A. LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/your-10-second-annual-career-checkup-gary-a-bolles
2. Career Action Guide
3. Business Analysis Competency Model