How to Create your own Action Plan
How to Create an Action Plan
Finding employment can be a challenging task at the best of times. Keeping focused and making the best use of our time can be as important as the actual qualifications and experience we possess when it comes to looking for work. That’s where creating an action plan comes in. An action plan can be used as both a practical means to effectuate a better, more efficient job search, as well as a solid mental exercise designed to boost motivation levels and increase our focus so it’s where it needs to be for the job hunt ahead. As such, it’s important to consider how we go about creating our action plan so we can get the most out of it by doing it right the first time
The best way to approach the creation of your plan to is not to go about this as a serious activity, but rather as a light exercise, and not only will you probably get more out of it this way, but it’s what will make this an activity one that’s quite fun and enjoyable for you too
An action plan can help you maximise the time you spend job searching by helping you focus your efforts so you can reach your goals quicker by not only by helping you identify areas in your job search that you can improve upon, but also consequentially helping you identify areas that are, or could be, problematic. Whether you’re making an action plan as the first step along your path at the start of your job hunt, or as a means to give your existing job search the renewed impetus it needs, creating one is a great way to set targets that will ultimately help you achieve your goals by giving you the additional structure and motivation you need to accomplish them
If this is the first plan you’ve created, or you’ve been out of work for a while, its recommended that you review your action plan every 6 weeks, amending or creating a new one as and when you feel is required. It’s important you review your action plan regularly because circumstances in your life can change quickly and unexpectedly, especially if you’re acclimatizing to a new schedule, or are getting back into the swing of a normal job search routine once again
The great thing about an action plan is that it can be used not only as a means to give yourself a more effective job search routine, but is also a great way to help you achieve other important goals and personal milestones you want to achieve in life
CREATING YOUR ACTION PLAN
Time
Allow yourself 1 hour for this activity (or however long you feel is necessary)
Defining your goal
It is important you define your goal in your own words, because you are the one who best knows what you want to achieve. Keep it as simple and as straightforward as possible, 1 or 2 short paragraphs should suffice
Remember that your goal does not need to be as all-encompassing as getting a job, if you’re not ready, or not confident enough, to attain such a goal to begin with, there’s no harm in starting off with smaller steps first. It could be something straightforward like creating a great C.V, or successfully using a contact through your networking activities to source a job opportunity, or simply even getting an interview by a said date. While it is okay to have more than one goal, normally you’ll find your action plan is more effective if you stick with just one goal at a time. Ultimately, the end goal would be to use your action plan as a means to help you land the dream job you’ve been looking for, but at the same time, it can also be used as an effective tool to help you achieve smaller goals along the way
Guidance
Before you go any further, at this point you may want to check the following sections for additional help and guidance
https://interview-professional.com/networking/
Our Networking section can provide expert guidance on how to effectively network by devising an effective networking strategy that can be important when setting targets for your action plan
https://interview-professional.com/methods-of-effective-time-prioritization/
Also see, Effective methods of time prioritisation, for great advice on ways to effectively plan your schedule and manage your time
The next step is to set a date to complete your action plan by
You’ll need to use your own judgement based on the time you think you’ll need to complete your goal. While its entirely up to you what date you choose, it’s important you set a deadline for yourself that’s definitive, (not approximate), ideally for a date that will give you enough time to complete your goal but will also push you to get it done as well
Next, open your Action Plan template
Now, enter the following details:
What your goal entails
Do this by copying and pasting the goal (or goals) you have written out.
See defining your goal, (above)
Actionables
Actionables are simply what your action plan will involve you doing to meet the goal or goals you’ve set yourself. Again, this is also something that needs to be written out in your own words. You’ll normally find you need to write down numerous different actions, (actionables), in any given action plan to achieve your goal. You may also find that these actionables may change over time as you progress closer toward your goal, as there may be obstacles you didn’t initially anticipate or challenges you thought you wouldn’t encounter. If that happens, don’t worry. Simply amend the actions in your plan to reflect these challenges and keep on working towards your goal until it is achieved
When outlining actionables, there are 2 main things you need to focus on.
How you intend to do this – and what you’ll need to do it
How you intend to do this
When outlining how you intend to do this, write each actionable out in the form of a clearly defined bullet point. Be honest with yourself and write down as many actionables as you feel are necessary to accomplish the goal you have set yourself. By doing so you’ll have a clear idea of how much time and effort will be needed to accomplish the goal you’ve set for yourself.
These actionables should be anything useful at all that comes to mind and could be things such as:
• Job searching for 4 hours a day, 5 different times throughout the week
• Making an effort to network and trying to source opportunities through any pre-existing networking connections you’ve managed to establish
• Reviewing your C.V to make sure it is current
• Applying for at least 10 jobs a week
What you will need to do this
Where outlining what you will need to do this, also write these out in the form of bullet points too. Again, this should be anything useful that comes to mind, simply make a note of it, no matter how trivial it might seem at the time. When writing out what you’ll need, it’s useful to write out not only the tangibles, but any intangibles that come to mind as well. For instance, here are some of the things that might be needed
Tangibles would be things like
• Money
• Bus pass
• Internet access
• Access to a professional interviewing preparation site
• Access to templates for great interview preparation
Intangibles would be things like
• Resilience and determination
• Belief in yourself and a steadfast motivation to achieve your goal
What you’ll do to adopt a positive approach so you can achieve your goal
Approaching our actionables with a positive mindset is another essential step along the way to helping us achieve our goals. There are multitudes of different ways we can go about doing this, and as individuals we’ll find that some approaches work better for us than others, it simply comes down to finding and utilising the approach that best suits our needs for that specific set of circumstances
The smart acronym SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely) is an example of one such approach that is commonly used to harness the power of positive thinking in a straightforward and structured way
The great thing about approaches like these is that as individuals we can employ them both not only in the setting of our goals, but also in the pursuit of the actions we take to achieve them
The other great thing about this approach is that utilising it effectively is a very straightforward thing to do
In order to get the most from it you should go about applying it in the following way
S – is for Specific
Be specific about what you want to achieve. Doing so will help to ensure you get the best results from any action plan you create
M – is for Measurable
When you write out goals make sure they are measurable, in that there is a clearly defined goal that you can measure your progress against
(For example – An easy to measure goal would be to attain an interview in 1 months time. While a hard to measure goal would be something more vague, like becoming a more employable candidate)
A – is for Achievable
Achievable goals are very important – if the goals you set aren’t achievable, not only will you face disappointment when you don’t achieve them, but you’ll also expend valuable time and effort in the process, and be no closer to what you are ultimately trying to accomplish at the end of it all
R – is for Relevant
Sometimes it’s fine to set small goals for yourself simply so you can revel in the feeling that the accomplishment of achieving those goals brings, while at the time enjoying the confidence boost that comes with it – in some cases can be very a shrewd mental exercise indeed…
…However when it comes to going after the things you want most in life, if your goals aren’t relevant, not only will you find you’ll have to push yourself harder to accomplish them, but a further downside is that even though you might do so, they’ll not bring you any long term satisfaction. For this reason, make sure the goals you set for yourself are ones that are relevant to your overall plans for the future
T – is for Timely
The amount of time you allot yourself to achieve your goals is equally, if not more so important, than the setting of the goal itself
Setting goals in a timely fashion will not only give you a better chance of achieving them, but by giving yourself a challenging but realistic timeframe it will make you more likely to work harder, and give you more motivation to achieve them, which is precisely the point of having an action plan in the first place
When going about creating your action plan the goals and the timeframe you set are ultimately up to you. The smart acronym is just one of many commonly used tools that can help you go about structuring your actions and adopting the positive mindset that will bring you closer to achieving the goals that you’ve set so you can realise your most important life ambitions
While adopting a positive mental approach to our actionables is one of the important things we can do not only so we can progress our action plan forward and achieve our goals, but so we can also maximise the motivational benefit we derive from our action plan itself, there are also other methods in our arsenal we can employ that will also bring about the same desired effect and help us maximise the motivational boost and structure that an action plan brings
Sharing your goals with others…
Not only is this a great way to bring yourself closer to friends or family by discussing these important milestones in your life, but by doing so, it will supply you with a great underlying motivation that makes you want to push yourself onwards to achieve those goals and more
Celebrating your accomplishments…
Whenever you reach a milestone or accomplish a goal you’ve set for yourself, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem at the time, celebrating it is not only a great way to remind yourself of what you’ve accomplished thus far, but its also a great way to inspire yourself to push ever onwards and achieve even bigger and more important milestones in your life
When it comes to celebrating your accomplishments, there are numerous ways you can go about this. We have some suggestions below:
Share your accomplishments
In much the same way that sharing your goals can give you a big motivational uplift, so too will celebrating your accomplishments with others have that same galvanising effect, not to mention the fact that it can also be a lot of fun too
Have a night in
Making an enjoyable night in by binge-watching your favourite shows can be an affordable and highly enjoyable way to kick back and celebrate your success after all your hard work
Meditate or do Yoga
Highly lauded as being both a therapeutic and relaxing way to unwind, taking the time to reflect upon your success after all the hard work you’ve put in is not only a great way to give yourself perspective, but is also a really useful way to give yourself time to think about what you want to do next
Disconnect from your surroundings
Disconnecting from your surroundings can be another highly effective way to celebrate a success while at the same time making some badly needed time for yourself. The number of ways of you can do this are only limited by your budget and by your own imagination. It could be anything from going away on a weekend vacation, taking a trip to the movies, going shopping, or taking time to do an activity like playing a sport, hillwalking, or even visiting a museum. All can be effective ways of removing yourself from your everyday surroundings while you take a few hours or a few days for yourself to reflect on how far you’ve come
DEALING WITH DISAPPOINTMENT
Another less desirable aspect of creating an action plan is preparing for the prospect where you don’t achieve a goal you have set for yourself
First of all, if this happens, don’t worry about it too much! Failure is a part of everyday life, it happens from time to time and it can be a very formative experience for us. What matters most is how we deal with it and what we do next
When coping with a setback or failure – the best way to deal with it is by being proactive
Start by re-evaluating your goals to see if you can identify what went wrong
Ask yourself questions like – Was your goal too ambitious? Have your circumstances changed, or have other factors changed elsewhere that have prohibited you from reaching your goal?
Most important of all is perseverance. If you’ve failed the first time around, the most important thing you can do is pick yourself back up and try again, you’d amazed at how much more straightforward things can be once you try them a second time around
If you can identify what stopped you from achieving it the first time, try putting additional actions in place that will enable you to continue to move forward so you can manage those challenges and achieve your goal the next time around
Basic support mechanisms like conversing with friends or family can be a really helpful tool when it comes to overcoming failure too, and you’ll find that sometimes just by talking this over with them, you’ll be able to approach these challenges with a fresh perspective and a renewed enthusiasm
In much the same way that removing yourself from your surroundings can be an effective way to celebrate success, this same principal, applied in moderation, can be a highly effective way to help you recover from the stress of a disappointment too
From relaxation techniques like meditation or yoga, to taking a weekend break away, to having a quiet night in and binge-watching your favourite TV show, or taking time for yourself to do an activity like playing a sport, having a picnic, or going for a walk, you’ll find these can all be really effective ways to help you unwind and recharge your batteries so you can reflect upon your setback and build up the mental stamina you’ll need to take on these challenges a second time around
All in all, creating an action plan is an excellent way for you to plan your approach and structure your actions so that you can go about overcoming obstacles and accomplish the things you want to achieve. Whether it’s getting yourself back on the employment ladder, accomplishing a career aspiration, or a personal goal completely unrelated to work or employment in any way. An action plan is a great way to boost your confidence and motivation levels, and it will help you structure the actions you need to take so you can achieve the goals you’ve set yourself and move forward to where you want to be in life
Example 1