Career Development Plan

Name: _____________________ Date: ___________

This career development plan template can be used as a tool to guide your thought process
and map your progress over a chosen period. It is intended to be used in conjunction with
the Career Navigation at UBC website, which provides you with links to resources, tools and
websites within UBC that may be helpful in planning your career.

Completion of this plan will follow a 4 step process. Each step will address specific career
related questions:

1. What skills do you already possess? (Where are you now?)

2. What do you want for your career? (Where do you want to go?)
3. How might you get there? (What steps do you need to take to get there?)
4. Who can help? (What resources might I use?)

You can complete it at your leisure, print and save a copy for your personal use.

Please use a separate sheet of paper if you need more space to add information.

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1. Where are you now?

This process starts with taking a good look at where you are currently at. What are your
skills, talents and interests? What are your values – do you like to lead, work with people or
alone with data or text? Do you like working face to face with people or prefer independent
work? Do you like to work inside or outside? Do you like working to deadlines? Which teams
do you like working on, quiet or loud, small or large?

Answering the questions below will assist you in determining your starting point. There are
several tools & resources that can assist you with this. Please refer to the navigating your
career at UBC website

Question Notes.

Where am I now in regards to my

career?

What is my view of current

situation?

What have been my experiences

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to date?

What do I enjoy most?

What skills come to me naturally?

What do I think my
strengths/assets are? (Skills,
knowledge, talents, interests)?
What are some things people ask
me to help with?
What do I do well?

What appeals to me?

What are my values? (work/life)

Do I like to lead, work with people

as a team or work alone (with data
or text)?
Do I like working face to face with

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customers or back office work?
How do I feel when I think about
my ideal job (excited, motivated,
fear)?
Is there anything getting in my way
of achieving what I want?

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2. Where do you want to go?

What you'll do next is:

 Consider your career goals

 Explore your career options.
 Develop concise written statements related to your goals and add them to the table
below.

Knowing where you want to go makes the next steps in determining your futurecareer move
much easier.

There are several tools & resources that can assist you with this. Please refer to the
navigating your career at UBC website

Question Notes
What does my ideal job look like?

If I could do any job in the world

what might it be and why?

What are my goals (short/long

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Question Notes
term)?

What energizes me?

Where do I want to be (in 1 yr, in

5 yrs)

Are there any specific challenges

I want to face?

Why is this important to me?

What do I want to see/get/do

more of?

What do I want to see/get/do less

of?

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Question Notes

What is my preferred balance

between work and my personal
life?

Who else does this affect?

What normally gets in the way of

achieving my goals?

What kind of work environment

suits me best?

Do I feel I have a calling in life?

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3. How might I get there?
By answering questions 1 &2, you should now have a clearer idea of what you want & where
you want to go. The next step is figuring out how you might get there. What do you need to
do? Below are some questions you may consider in deciding what resources may be useful.

There are several tools & resources that can assist you with this. Please refer to the
navigating your career at UBC website

Question Notes
How can I prepare myself and my
environment to achieve my goals?

What resources and

tools/resources do I need?

What steps do I need to take to get

from where I am now to where I
want to be?

What new skills, knowledge do I

need to possess?

What new skills do I want to learn?

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Question Notes
What existing skills do I need to
develop?

How can I commit to achieving my

goals?

What barriers do I need to remove

to make this happen?

How will I know I have been

successful?

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4. Who can help (resources)?
Knowing who can assist you and what resources you need to achieve your career goals can
greatly assist you in staying focused on your goals. The navigating your career at UBC
website contains a list of excellent resources that can help you.

Question Notes
What new relationships might I build
help me attain my career goals?

Who do I know who can support me

attain my career goals?

Who have I lost touch with who

might be able to support me in my
career goals?

What role can my friends and family

take in encouraging me to stay
focused?

What role can my unit

head/manager play in supporting my
career aspirations?

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 What communities of practice
currently exist that I can tap into?

Setting Goals

Now that you have a clearer picture of where you are now and where you want to go , it is
now time to set some goals for yourself and create your Career Development Plan – goal
summary.

When deciding on your career development goals it is imperative that you set yourself up for
success. Using the SMART goal setting process is a good way to achieve this. SMART

Specific (so you know exactly what you are trying to achieve)

Measurable (so you know when you have achieved it!)

Action-oriented (so you can DO something about it!)

Realistic (so it IS achievable) and

Time-Bound (has a deadline)

Focusing on the Outcome:

1. What is it that you REALLY want to achieve? …

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2. What is the SPECIFIC OUTCOME that you are looking for?
3. How will you know you have achieved it?

Please click on the following link for a SMART goal setting template

Personal Career Plan – Goal Summary

Once you have your goals in a SMART format – add them to the Personal Career Plan –
Goal Summary below:

Goal Specific How will I What By when Success

knowledge, achieve the resources do (timeline) criteria – how
skills achieved goal? I need will I know I
(people, have been
material etc) successful?

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