Career planning is one of those things most of us know we should do and keep putting off. In this episode, we explore why it feels so much harder than it should be, and why the version most people have in their heads doesn't actually count as a plan. Pam shares the simple, one-page approach she uses with her clients that takes an hour (or 10 minutes a day across a week) and turns vague ambition into something you can actually act on.

If you've ever thought "I'll do that when things settle down" or "I wouldn't even know what to put in a career plan," this one's for you.

Access Pam's Career Plan on a Page resource to work through it after listening

Key points from this episode

• Why keeping your career plan in your head is costing you opportunities, even if you think you've got it figured out
• The biggest misconception that stops ambitious people from starting: it doesn't have to be a big formal exercise
• Why good career planning starts with looking back, not forward, and what that unlocks
• How a career plan becomes a compass when you're in a role you're not loving or you're wondering "is this it?"
• What Pam's Career Plan on a Page actually contains, and how to use it to keep moving forward

00:00 Introduction and why career planning keeps getting put off

01:00 The problem with keeping your plan in your head

03:00 What stops ambitious people from committing it to paper

05:00 The clarity gap: not knowing what to even put in a plan

06:30 Where to start: reflection before direction

08:00 Looking back to move forward, and what the career mapping exercise reveals

11:00 Using your plan as a compass when things feel hard

12:00 When a career plan leads somewhere unexpected: client stories

14:00 Pam walks through the Career Plan on a Page process

19:00 What the completed plan looks like and how to keep it live

21:00 Final thoughts: treating it as an experiment, not a commitment

Useful Links

Connect with Pam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelalangan/

Connect with Jacqui on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqui-jagger/

Interested in working with us?

Get in touch about career or leadership development, outplacement workshops or recruitment support via the Catalyst Careers website