We have insurance on almost everything. If you are holding an outdoor event you can even get insurance for the event if it rains.
So what about career planning insurance? No one that I’m aware of can sell you an insurance policy to protect your career. What you have to do is self-insure. That is you have to take responsibility for you own career.
Others are not going to make sure your career is moving forward and is becoming more valuable to you and to your employer. It is rarely productive to blame others for where you are or what you are doing. So it’s up to you to insure that your career is moving forward on the path that you planned.
We all know about the annual performance review. Yet there is a more important performance review than one done by your supervisor. It’s the personal review you do on your own performance.
This review should be done at least every three months or sooner if you are just starting out in your career. First update your resume. No need to rewrite the resume just add the appropriate information to the accomplishments, education and personal sections. If you have nothing to add to any of the sections it should tell you to start planning what you are going to do over the next three months.
After you’ve completed your performance review, take a close look at your work and your career. Do this analysis on a piece of paper. List what you like about your present job. Also list what you don’t like. Now ask yourself, “What can I do to do more of what I like?” And “What can I change about what I don’t like?” From the answers to these two questions you can add additional actions to your career plan.
Remember change is always difficult but if attempted in small steps you’ll notice the improvements at your next planned performance review.
We are all living longer. Some long living retirees receive retirement benefits longer than the time that they worked to earn the pension. Social Security as we current know it will be changed or it will go broke. All this means, in addition to your career plan, you need a well thought out financial plan.
You need to develop income coming in from a variety of sources. Multiple sources of income spread over a number of asset classes will also tend to reduce risk.
Of course you must take advantage of the 401k offered by your employer. Roth IRA’s or regular IRA’s should be added to you financial plan. Opportunities to invest in real estate can also be considered. Everything starts with having a financial plan.
Second jobs can bring in extra income to invest. A neighbor works most Saturday nights as a bartender at a local country club. He earns more in tips and wages in six hours than he does working eight hours at his regular job. Another neighbor buys, fixes up and sells four to six cars a year. It has allowed him to buy real estate that provides him with additional income.
When you create additional sources of income you are adding career options that will be a benefit to you if you decide to change careers, retire early, or continue generating income when you do retire.
Moreover, your career plan will give you the flexibility to explore other careers or invest in a business and move to be self-employed. Career planning insurance mean you take some of the risk out of your career.
Things happen in which you have little control, companies go broke, bad decisions are made, you get the boss from hell but with your career insurance in place you reduce the overall risks. And isn’t this what insurance is all about?