✨ Activity: Career Planning

How would you like your career story to unfold and evolve?

Whether you're creating a vision for the first time or revisiting established goals, use the questions below to clarify your career direction.

Think of visioning as a dreaming activity.

• How would you love to live in all areas of life—like relationships and activities—if there were no challenges?
• What would your ideal lifestyle look like?

Capture your thoughts in the downloadable Career Planning Worksheet, or in your own journal.

"Interests are preferences for activities that are expressed as likes or dislikes. These could include activities, hobbies and subjects or topics. Some examples include: sports, music, art, and topics like science or fashion, etc.” - (CERIC, 2004-2012)

Interests can change over time. Sometimes interests can become your  career focus. For example, an interest in social justice could evolve into a career in social enterprise.

Strategies For Creating Your Vision

Still unsure of your direction? Try these strategies to help clarify your vision.

Follow Your Themes: Review your Career Planning Worksheets for recurring ideas—these are your themes that reflect what matters to you and what motivates you. For example, if “helping people”, "working outdoors" or “solving problems” appears often, write that in the Themes section of your worksheet.  

List Your Core Values: Use the next step in the worksheet to identify what values guide your decisions.

Connect with People: Talk to people in roles, industries, or organizations that reflect your values or interests. The Discovering Connections unit shows how to network and learn directly from others’ experiences.

Identify Skills You Enjoy: Use the worksheet to note skills you like using or want to develop. Search these along with “occupations” (e.g., “critical thinking + occupations”) to explore related careers.

Find Opportunities: Look for opportunities—paid or volunteer roles—to practice these skills. These experiences can help you uncover direction.

Pay Attention to Your Interests: Notice what naturally draws your attention in daily life and explore it further. For example, if you’re drawn to sustainability content, look for professional groups, such as Green Drinks, to connect with. 

Apply Career Theories: Try new things and meet new people. The Chaos Theory of Careers and Happenstance Learning Theory suggest that experimentation and reflection often lead to meaningful insights and direction.

Career Change? Evaluate Your Options

For those considering a career change, take time to reflect on your situation and options. Ask yourself:

• What’s driving my need for change?
• Is it your career your want to change, or is it your current employer or work environment?
• Are you self-employed and looking for stability?
• Do you feel bored or unfulfilled?
• Is this a manageable time for change?
• Can you make a small step now?
• Do you have capacity to invest in learning new skills or gaining experience?

Remember: career development is a journey. Discovering what doesn’t work is an important part of the process. Stay curious, persistent, and open to change.

Next, choose a vision or a “now” direction (which can evolve) and note it in your worksheet.

If you don’t yet have a direction, revisit the Strategies for Creating Your Vision section.