Back when you were trying to figure out if Helga would ever tell Arnold how she feels, rocking out to classic boyband songs, and sipping on some Hi-C fruit punch, you were probably also looking to the adults in your life and picturing how it would be to be a grown up. You probably had a vision and could easily imagine how your life was meant to turn out. Nowadays, what with technology, business hours, our side hustles and social lives, it can be difficult to have a clear vision. Our creative vision is fading and becoming substituted with our daily lives. Writing down our dreams and goals is an active way to remind ourselves what we must achieve to ultimately hit our personal jackpot.
A career journal is almost like any other journal. The difference is that this type of journal is solely meant to log your thoughts, feelings, and accomplishments that you have about/from working; it is helpful if you are unsure as to how to get into that industry or what path you should forge. You can comment on past jobs, current jobs, potential jobs, and/or careers you are interested in. Here, you can be honest and discover what you want from a particular field, goals, and work towards progression. You can explore anything and everything. You will be able to answer questions such as: Do you want a new job? Do you want to move up in your current job? Is this what you pictured as your job or career at this time in your life? If not, where do you want to be? What do you want to accomplish? The list goes on. These questions are meant to reflect on your experiences thus far and show what you have done, what you want to do, and where you want to go.
If you use this journal to your advantage, everything you write down is the insight you need to help you move forward into your career. Once you start your career journal, be sure to catalog your events in the job-sphere By year’s end, you can go back to page one of your career journal and see how far you have come. You will see how awesome you are with your career development. Go you!