The process of developing one’s career is a long and time-consuming one; however, it does pay back when one puts much in it. The process itself involves a number of consequent steps, namely:

1. Preparation/Reviewing Stage
Define your needs, which may have to be dealt with before you research any further. Determine whether your present life satisfies you as it is, including your present job/position, place and way of life, relations. If you are a college student consider what field or area of study interests you the most, what would you like to connect your life with. If you have a job already, evaluate how rewarding it is. Maybe, you think about changing it; then think of possible alternatives and what you have to do for this.

2. Self-identification
Think of how you see yourself in this world (now or in future). Evaluate all your interests, hobbies, talents, achievements, desires and wishes. After that identify yourself as a professional, decide what place you want to occupy both at your future job and in this world in general.

3. Brainstorming & Exploration
First, brainstorm as many fields and areas where your present skills or the ones you want yet to acquire are applicable as possible. Don’t limit your optionsa to one or two areas. Be creative. Then find more information about the fields your chose. Search in the internet, read newspapers and magazines as well as books, talk to career advisors and community agencies, contact employers personally.

4. Decision Making
This stage is the one to start prioritizing and narrowing down the list of your options. For every person it is a unique process. You may try to draw a chart of pluses and minuses every job/position/area of work involves, you may consider what your subjective preferences are or what you heart tells you. In any case, it must be your well-thought personal decision.

5. Summarizing
After all the research and exploration and decision making was done, you can look at all you efforts from the side and analyze what you have completed, whether  you moved in a right direction, why you chose this direction and any other points you need to think over one more time.

6. Planning
At this stage you need to set certain goals for achieving the career of your dreams and decide what specific steps you have to take to accomplish what you’ve set. This may include enrolling for some courses, visiting conferences, self-education, passing some examinations or simply applying for a (new) job.

7. Action Taking
When you start to move towards your goals, you will find that on achieving some of them the new ones will appear. You can and should always be flexible and open to new ideas, opportunities and goals. Career development may take the whole life and the point of it is to be involved in what you are doing, always striving for perfection and never stopping to move forward.