The benefits of a career assessment cannot be overemphasised, which is why a career health check is essential to your quest to attain your short-term and long-term career goals.
A career health check is a periodic assessment of your career; it tells you how well you are doing, what industry trends will impact you and based on needs, the actions you should prioritise in your career pursuit.
Most times, professionals assume that when everything is going great and you are not at the edge of losing your job or being redundant, you do not need a career health check but this is wrong. The workplace is fast-paced and ever-evolving; with new technologies, artificial intelligence and robots being great threats to many redundant roles, a career health check should happen about 2-4 times a year.
The duration for a career health check might differ according to your personal career goals and industry needs but it is highly advised that it should be conducted frequently – This can be between a once in a year or twice a year. Some career health check goals can be carried out by individuals while others need to be conducted by a professional career advisor.
When was the last time you sat back with yourself or a career advisor to map out your path to your career goals? When was the last time you assessed how you are performing with the goals you have set for yourself? Before you answer that, let us look at some of the things you stand to gain when you carry out a career health check.
A career health check helps you align properly with your values, passion and interests. Like the popular quote goes “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”. Being aligned with your personal values, passion and interests make it much easier for you to choose jobs. It also makes it easier to turn down or walk away from jobs that don’t fit into your career plan. It also gives you the confidence to say no to situations and things that have a negative impact on your integrity.
A career health check unlocks a certain level of passion both on and off the job. What happens with a career health check is that the decisions you make drive you towards achieving a career goal that is actionable.
Most times, it is easier to improve on results of an action if it is tracked because insights reveal what actions to take. A career health check reveals your strengths and weaknesses, which open you up to a whole new world of possibilities. Being aware of your strengths and weakness will help you put in more conscious effort toward improving your strengths and as well as your career.
A career health check can be a good confidence boost. Most career professionals go through their quarterly or yearly tasks accomplishing so much or so little. However, they fail to track them to assess their careers. Knowing your career status can give your confidence a boost and motivate you to do more. It could also help you realise you are doing so little and this becomes a reason to take your career a bit more seriously.
Ultimately, a career health check provides guidance and checks that make you more intentional with your career. This helps you stay focused and helps you paint a clearer picture of achieving your goals.
If you have never considered a career health check, now would be a great time to get it done. We wish you the best as you forge ahead in your career.