• Why?
• Steps
• The IDP

Office of Organizational and Employee Development

Benefits of Planning

For starters, career planning is a lifelong process. It involves:

• choosing an occupation;
• getting a job;
• growing in a job;
• possibly changing jobs; and
• eventually retiring.

We need to plan our careers because:

• planning assists in our development;
• we don't often stumble into our dream job;
• planning gives a sense of accomplishment, especially when we complete things on our plan and begin to see personal and career growth; and
• to be honest, we need to take personal responsibility for our own growth, no one else has a stronger interest in it than us.

Next we're going to discuss the various steps in career planning.

If, however, you'd like to learn more about the benefits of career planning and get some additional information about it, check out the About.com career planning website. This is a general website outside of USGS that provides interesting information about career planning. After you've checked them out, then come back here to learn more about the actual steps involved in career planning and how to use the USGS's IDP.