Weekends are for relaxing but also for setting your career goals. Wouldn’t you like to start a new career path, one that is financially and emotionally rewarding, and do so in only 4 weekends?

While your To Do list may be a mile long, this exercise will not take long and has the potential to enhance and improve your career. Just follow these steps and only invest about an hour or less per weekend. See my tips below.

1. Weekend One.  This weekend will ease you into getting motivated to make a career change.  The only thing you have to do is daydream.  That’s right, let your mind wander.  This is not a time for planning so just concentrate on what you really want and not how to get there.  Daydream about where you want to be in your career in five years.  This important step is planting the seeds so your subconscious will do a big chunk of the work for you over the next week.  Go ahead and jot down some notes on where your mind took you; this is the only exercise for Weekend One so you are free to go and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
   

2. Weekend Two. Pull out your notes from last weekend and review. Then jot down some additional notes that your brain has formulated over the past week. Determine from these notes what job title that you are interested in pursuing. Is it Sales? Clinical Research Associate? Accountant? Write this title down then perform Internet research on what you can expect from your title. Glassdoor.com is a great resource as this will give you an idea of the salary you can expect to receive in this position, based off your location. Once you put in your title and location, you can view jobs, companies and their reviews, as well as salaries, under the tabs at the top. You will want to view job postings online as well, as this will give you an idea of the skills and education that this title will require. Once you have obtained the information of the salary that you can expect and the skills and education that you will need to have, write down this information and you are complete for Weekend Two.

3. Weekend Three. It is now the 3rd weekend, you are almost complete in paving your way to your dream job! Pull out all of your notes and get organized. On a clean page, outline your plan, (this is your Action Plan). At the top center of the 1st page, write down the title that you are looking to have. List the skills next, starting on the left margin and the salary that you hope to achieve. Then list the education that you need to have. You now have a plan in place, with a clear view on how to reach your goal. Weekend Three is now complete.

4. Weekend Four. Now that you are at the final weekend, it is time to execute your plan! Pull out your notebook and review the education section of your Action Plan. Go online and start looking at local colleges or online courses to review the courses needed to get to your education goals. Write these down and sign up for your first courses today; why stop now?

Although at Weekend One, I referenced a five year plan, I guarantee that you will have your dream job much sooner, depending on how quickly you can finish your educational requirements. You can also look into entry level jobs that will pave the foundation of the title you are seeking to have. Staying organized is the key when growing into a new career so make sure you do not abandon your Action Plan. Review and add to your Action Plan once a month. I use an Excel document to keep my goals aligned but there are multiple organizational programs that you can use; you will be amazed at how it will keep you on the right track.

You are well on your way to obtaining your dream job, great work! I wish you the very best in career success!

Investing in a Lifetime of Success,

Angela Roberts