Personal Essay Example: Career Action Plan

Education forms the foundation for a person to pursue the career of his dream (Bertram, 2014). People's ideas regarding the meaning of success differ. I believe that achieving my career goals as an accountant will make me successful. To be successful in one's career, an action plan that will serve as a guiding tool towards career goals that one aims to achieve is essential (Bertram, 2014). As an accounting student, creating a career plan early enough will provide me with an opportunity to explore all the available learning options. It will also enable me to align all my learning activities with my career goals.

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When creating a career action plan, it is necessary to begin with where I am right now. Currently, while in college I have several career goals. One of my career goals that I am planning to accomplish before finishing college pertains to build a network of contacts. Also, pursuing the same career trajectory in accountancy, I will not only work towards achieving remarkable education qualifications but also to make contacts with relevant accounting agencies and professionals. Such efforts constitute vital career goal, especially in the current competitive job market. Notably, people with the thirst for success and those wanting to make a difference in their career path should not wait until they finish college for them to building their network of contacts (Brown, 2013). By establishing robust professional networks in the course of their career, individuals can build a personal brand that will give them a competitive advantage over others who seek similar positions or objectives in the job market (Brown, 2013). In the same spirit, I will take advantage of the current technological advancements in professional networking available in the social media arena. For instance, I will use Linked in, Google plus among others to connect with leaders and relevant people in my profession. Apart from social media, I will build my network of contacts through internships and volunteering, where I will effectively interact with many accountants with extensive knowledge and experience. I should achieve this goal before finishing my college education.

The other career goal I intend to achieve while in college will focus on garnering distinguished grades in all accounting subjects. My competence as an accountant will be underpinned by my academic qualifications in this field (Miner, 2016). In the contemporary world with many graduates in the job market, my good grades in accounting courses will give me an added advantage over other job applicants. Every employer looks for people with excellent education milestones (Miner, 2016). Achieving this goal will require commitment and creation of study time for each course unit. At the commencement of every semester, I will create time blocks for every class. Additionally, I will be evaluating myself periodically (weekly, monthly and semester wise), by reflecting on the learning activities, assignments and Continuous Assessment Test (CATS). Moreover, I will ensure that I interact with my instructors frequently in order to get recommendations from them. This goal should be achieved by the end of every semester for each subject that I will be taking.

After college, I also plan to achieve various career goals. Among them includes being a Chief Financial Officer of a leading company. Achieving this career goal would be important to me because I would like to have my own company in future. To achieve this goal, I will have to prove my worth as a competent accountant in the job market (Thomson, 2018). Through the knowledge and skills acquired in college, I will be able to analyze the profitability of an organization in future. To achieve my dream as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO), this skill will be necessary. Being a CFO requires a mix commercial, technical skills, and excellent interpersonal skills (Thomson, 2018). As such, I will need to effectively apply my accounting skills in the organizations. Moreover, I will struggle to get leadership positions in organizations in order to acquire the necessary leadership expertise required to be a CFO. I plan to achieve this dream five to seven years after completing my college education.

My other goal after college is to start my company. After gaining knowledge and experience as a Chief Financial Officer, I plan to be an entrepreneur. Accounting offers a good background for people who want to manage their own business (Thomson, 2018). To realize this career goal, I will actively participate in leadership positions in companies so as to gain managerial skills that will be required to run my company. Moreover, I will actively participate in market researches in order to create new services or products which will differentiate my company from my future competitors (Crump, 2017). I plan to achieve this goal eight years after completing in college education.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are career goals that I dream to achieve while at college and after college. While at school, I plan to work hard in order to get good grades which will, in turn, increase my competency in my future workplace. After college, I believe that it would be a good idea to focus on self-employment. Accounting background will give me a good opportunity to realize my goals.

References

Bertram, V. (2014). Pursue your dreams, prepare for reality. Huffpost. Retrieved from: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/vince-bertram/pursue-your-dreams-stem_b_4704090.html

Brown, R. (2013). Three things I want accounting students to know: The career path. Retrieved from:https://www.macpa.org/three-things-i-want-accounting-students-to-know-the-career-path/

Crump, M. (2017). The rise of the accounting entrepreneur. Accounting Today. Retrieved from: https://www.accountingtoday.com/opinion/the-rise-of-the-accounting-entrepreneur

Miner, K. (2016). 6 Smart goals for college students. American Intercontinental University. Retrieved from: https://www.aiuniv.edu/blog/2016/may/smart-goals-for-college-students

Thompson, J. (2018). Accountant career objectives. Retrieved from: http://work.chron.com/accountant-career-objectives-10949.html