F is for... Five Year Plan

Today part of me wants to mix up the alphabet and talk about Goals ('G') before discussing the Five Year Plan ('F'), but I am behaving myself.

Your goals should come into many categories - one of these includes the 5 Year Plan. Do you already have a 5 year plan? After all many interviewers will ask you "where do you see yourself in 5 years time?" Do you know?

There are many types of five year plans today I am going to look at a five year plan for a university student or recent graduate.

A 5 year plan should be more than a list of things that you want to do over the next five years. Instead it should set out a rough time frame of things that you want to achieve in your 5 year plan. The one above applies to career development from a university student's point of view - detailing exams, deadlines and interview periods.

5 year plans can also be used by writers - to outline the next 5 years of their projects. I have a 5 year plan for mine.

When writing a 5 year plan you should consider including:

• Deadlines (all and any)
• Conferences and Events
• Submission Dates for Awards, Competitions, Articles etc
• Job and Project Details and Deadlines 
• Appraisals and Opportunities
• Working Abroad/ Travel  

Draft your 5 year plan today.

This is an extract from Putting Pen to Paper's upcoming Career Development Workbook. 

What is included in your 5 Year Plan?