Develop a Career Plan
After Identifying Your Career Goal, you’ll chart a clear path to your SMART career goal by creating a career plan. Follow the steps below to determine the knowledge, skills, and experience needed for your desired career. Then, build an action plan using our resources to address any gaps in your qualifications and achieve your career goal.
Get Started
This initial step lays the groundwork for your career action plan, uncovering where you might need to grow to achieve your career goal.
- Watch these two videos to learn how to do a gap analysis: *Identify employer needs (LinkedIn Learning, 3m, 21s) and *Identify your gaps (LinkedIn Learning, 2m, 39s). Use the Gap Analysis Worksheet at the link below instead of the one mentioned in the videos.
- Download and complete the Gap Analysis Worksheet to research your career goal, identify your skill/qualification gaps, and brainstorm ways to fill your gaps. To maximize the benefits of this worksheet, refer to the example tab for guidance and view the Action to Close Gap Resource Guide, linked in Step 3 of the worksheet.
Save a copy of your Gap Analysis Worksheet for future reference.
*To access LinkedIn Learning videos, please first log in with your WGU credentials.
Watch these two videos to learn how to craft an effective career action plan to achieve your career goal:
- *Setting Career Goals to Fulfill Your Vision (Percipio, 2m, 51s)
- *Setting a Timeline for your Action Plan (Percipio, 2m, 48s)
*To access Percipio videos, please first log in with your WGU credentials.
After identifying your gaps and actions to close them, it’s time to create a career plan! In this step, you’ll work backward from your goal, defining the specific action steps you’ll take to address your gaps and ultimately accomplish your career goal.
- Download and complete this workbook to create your career plan: Career Action Plan Workbook
Save a copy of your Career Action Plan to keep you focused and motivated as you work toward achieving your goal.
Learn More
Develop Your Top Skills
Research the career steps of professionals in your desired occupation/field to guide your career strategy. What kind of experience do they have? What is their educational background? Do they have any industry certifications? What are some of their top skills?
Use the LinkedIn Alumni Tool to find WGU graduates from your degree program and investigate their profiles to explore their career history.
Engage with the Career OneStop Skills Matcher and/or the Agile Work Profiler to uncover and explore your unique skills. These assessments will provide valuable insights into your strengths and capabilities, helping you understand how they align with potential career paths.
Great work completing Milestone 2!
Your career plan provides a clear path to accomplishing your SMART career goal. Remember to revisit it regularly to celebrate your progress and make adjustments as needed. If you’d like more support or have additional questions about this milestone, our career advisors are available to assist you.
Contact us at careers@wgu.edu or read our FAQs.
