Are you planning ahead to meet your next challenges?

Often we dive right into life without planning ahead. Job seekers look at extra expenses like hiring a professional resume writer as too much money. I used to look at life this way too. I would procrastinate expenses like getting the furnace checked or the dryer repaired. To be honest, I still do struggle with those things but I am working on them.

Never to old for planning ahead

It’s late in my life to be finally putting things in place but it goes to show you that you are never too old to change. I look ahead in my budget to schedule those things that stress me out if they just came up.

I called my furnace company last month. The first opening they had was on October 15. I even asked for an estimate for the check up call plus two filters my furnace uses – $185.

I know I have a dentist appointment on October 3. I checked what the last appointment without x-rays cost. It should be $196 so I put it in the budget.

I remembered my membership for the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches comes due this month. I added $150 to the budget to cover that fee. Looking at the October budget, I realized hosting is due ($59.70 for 6 months) so I put that in the budget. In addition, I made a note about whether I want to move the hosting or leave it there before it auto-renews.

The dryer is squeaking so I added $100 for the repair and wrote down the number for the model. I will call one of the appliance repair places today, ask if they repair that model, and schedule the repair. There is the chance that it may not be repairable. I looked at new dryer pricing and made sure there is enough in savings for a new one if necessary.

You get the picture. None of these are in the normal expense area of my life. I still have a bevy of other things I need to pay in October to stay on track. But by planning ahead, there are no surprises.

Why should you plan ahead for career management?

Yesterday I talked about the coffee I had with a client who is always proactive. I have many clients like him who look closely at their career and plan ahead. They avoid being surprised by unexpected things in their lives. But others tend to let life happen to them. If they were planning ahead, they would be strategically looking at their career. Does their resume resonate with their accomplishments? Are they networking continuously? The impact of a sudden career end isn’t quite as earth-shattering to those who plan ahead/

On more than one occasion, I had clients devastated by sudden changes in their career, a job loss, company shut-down, or an unexpected termination. At least twice that I remember, I had husband and wife in my office, reeling from the shock and wondering how they would survive.

You survive by being prepared and planning ahead. I’m an entrepreneur, nothing is for certain in my world. I am learning that by planning ahead, I am ready for the next storm.

Is your resume ready? Is your LinkedIn profile complete? Are you building your network and nourishing your connections?