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5 Keys to a Strong Career Plan

Published on Nov 06, 2015

Advice on building a strong career plan from Reid Hoffman, co-author of "The Start-Up of You." Adapted from this LinkedIn Influencers post: https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20121029193553-1213-5-keys-to-a-strong-career-plan?trk=mp-reader-card

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

5 keys to a strong career plan

Reid Hoffman

1. Leverage your competitive advantage

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All plans contain assumptions:
I believe I am skilled at X.
I believe I want to do Y.
I believe the market needs Z.

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make your assumptions explicit

So you can track them over time.
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plot the specific steps

to make your aspirations happen.
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2. Prioritize learning

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For far too many,
focused learning ends
at college graduation.

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avoid these mistakes

  • Reading to grow assets, not just to grow
  • Comparing salaries, not lessons learned
  • Investing in stocks, not investing in yourself
  • Focusing on hard assets and ignoring soft assets

prioritize plans

that offer the most learning potential.
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3. Learn by doing

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Entrepreneurs penetrate
the fog of the unknown
by testing their hypotheses through trial and error.

Practical knowledge
is best developed
by doing, not just
thinking or planning.

Whatever the situation, actions, not plans, generate lessons that help you test your hypotheses against reality.

Actions help you discover where you want to go and how to get there.

4. Make reversible, small bets

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Occasional missteps are to be expected when you take a trial and error approach to career planning, but these errors needn't be permanent.

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a good plan a

can be stopped or reversed or morphed into plan B.

iterate bit by bit;

learn experience by experience.
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start with a trial period.

You don't have to quit your day job.

5. Think two steps ahead

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Lunging at the first well-paid or high-status job may offer immediate gratification, but it won’t get you closer to building a meaningful career.

A goal that can be achieved in a single step
is probably not very meaningful --
or ambitious.

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a good plan a

offers flexibility to pivot to a range of possible plan B's.
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a good first step

generates a large number of possible second steps.
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Adapted from The Start-Up of You