OGL 482 Pro-Seminar II

Unit 3 Assignment:

Career Plan Template

Section 1: Creating your BHAG

Following the information in the “Good to Great Connections” PowerPoint presentation and all

of the additional information provided under the content area, and taking your Personal Mission

Statement development efforts into consideration, carefully develop your own personal long term

BHAG (***one amazingly HUGE, your world changing goal***). The timeframe for your

BHAG is 10-25 years out, however it will depend upon your age. For example, a 55 year old

person might be closer to the 10 year BHAG, whereas a 30 year old or younger person should be

considering a BHAG 25 years out. This BHAG may be related to your overall life/lifestyle

aspirations, or it could be related to some organizational, protean, or entrepreneurial vision you

have for the future. Dig deep and and go beyond the job. That is up to you. What it needs to be is

BIG! HUGE! REALLY HAIRY! STRETCH YOURSELF! LOOK BEYOND GRADUATE

DEGREE! LOOK BEYOND A JOB! HOW WILL YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THIS

WORLD?

Answer the following:

1) What is your BHAG (***one amazingly HUGE, your world changing goal***)?

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 My amazingly huge, world changing goal would have to be volunteering with the Peace

Corps within the next ten years of my life. It was a dream of mine out of high school,

however life got in the way and I would still love to one day volunteer.

2) Why is this your BHAG?

Volunteering with the Peace Corps has been a goal of mine since I was a late

teenager/early adult. I have a love for traveling the world and experiencing other cultures

and being able to meld my love for travel with helping people would be very fulfilling.

3) How does your BHAG align with your vision statement from Module 4?

“I aim to have a positive impact on someone’s life in all that I do,

whether that be through a relationship, or by just delighting

someone’s day with a thoughtful surprise, I want to have a lasting

impact.”

My BHAG aligns with my personal vision statement in the sense that by volunteering

with the Peace Corps will enable me to be hopefully positively impact people around the

world. I want to be able to experience other cultures around the world, while being

respectful and leaving a lasting positive impact as well as making friendships all over the

world.

4) How does your BHAG align with your mission statement from Module 4?

“I aim to be genuine, empathetic, and compassionate in all things that

I do. I vow to be true to myself and speak out when I have opposing

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 feelings or views. I promise to myself that I will value the time that I

have, and I will never stop bettering myself through the arts, reading,

and exercise.”

My BHAG aligns with my personal mission statement by helping to enable me to be

empathetic and compassionate in new situations. By being able to volunteer with the

Peace Corps, I would be able to not only better myself in the ways listed in my mission

statement, but I would also be able to help inspire others to be better themselves as well.

5) List your top five (5) obstacles in order from number 5 being least difficult and

number 1 being most difficult you need to overcome in order to obtain your BHAG

and explain the relevance of each one.

Obstacle 1: COVID -19.

Currently, I consider the COVID-19 pandemic to be the mort difficult obstacle in

the steps to complete my BHAG. I am aware that I cannot control the pandemic, however

navigating international travel an volunteering in a foreign country has changed

considerably since the onset of the pandemic. To overcome this obstacle, I would need to

get to a point where I am comfortable traveling and knowing what I need to do to remain

healthy.

Obstacle 2: Finances.

I consider financial support while I am volunteering with the Peace Corps to be a

difficult obstacle in my BHAG; I will need to save money to help support myself during

my time spent volunteering as the compensation for volunteering is quite low. Being able

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 to keep up on my own financial obligations while volunteering would be very important

to me.

Obstacle 3: Application Process.

A difficult obstacle would be the application process itself to become a volunteer

for the Peace Corps. I would need to research extensively on which volunteer position I

would find the most fulfilling as well as create a polished application to market myself

for that particular position. I am not very good about marketing myself, so this step in the

process would cause me some anxiety.

Obstacle 4: Time off of work.

To volunteer with the Peace Corps I would need a substantial amount of time off

of work, or quite possibly would need to leave my job for the duration of my

volunteering time. I know that my current position offers a short leave of absence for

people who have been with the company for 3 years, I am not quite there at the moment,

but if I continue my employment there it may be an option. I

Obstacle 5: Determining where to volunteer.

I placed this obstacle last because while it does not seem to be very difficult as I

would be happy to volunteer wherever I would be accepted, I would need to determine a

list of countries and volunteer positions that speak to me.

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Section 2: Career Vision

Consider your long-term vision for your career. Respond to the following questions, and make

connections to your personal mission statement, your BHAG(s), the themes you developed in

Module 4, and the textbook/supplemental readings (as applicable).

Answer the following:

1) Analyze the type of career you want to have, in terms of an organizational career or

a protean career, make sure it is clear you understand the concepts as outlined in

the textbook. Why?

After taking the Career and Life Orientation Index, I learned surprisingly that I lean

towards more being extremely organizational; I had thought that I would have landed in

the middle somewhere between Protean and Organizational with the types of jobs that I

have held so far in life. A more in depth look at my score for the index pointed out that

my “Whole Life Balance Focus” was the career / life facet that was the most important to

me. My score landing as more organizational than protean makes sense as I find that I tie

my feeling of success to the work that I do for my organization versus myself. A quote

from out text stood out to me that says “Simply pursuing vertical paths could be a

mistake. Especially early in one’s career it is important to look for ways to diversify your

skills, broaden your understanding of the organization you work for, and build a large

support network” (Harrington & Hall, 2008, p. 104). While I am early on in my

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 professional career, I would like to think that I would be able to stop and switch careers if

I ever got to a point where I was unhappy in my current role, I would try something new.

2) Analyze your career with an explanation as one that moves you up the organization

or one you develop seeking alternative career paths. If you see yourself taking an

alternative career path, which one(s) sound the most likely? Why?

If I am being honest with myself and how I view my career in this current moment and

climate, I think that I would potentially end up looking at an alternative career path. I am

continuously trying to develop my own confidence inside and outside of my career, and

currently I would say I would be leaning towards not taking a promotion if I were offered

one. The alternative career path that I would potentially lean towards is one of a

Plateauer; a person who intentionally stays in place by turning down promotions to stay

in control of their lives (Harrington & Hall, 2008, p. 111).

3) Discuss and explain if you see yourself working an alternative or flexible work

schedule/arrangement? If so, which ones and why?

I completely can see myself working a flexible work schedule. My past role at Starbucks

was an hourly one with a widely variable schedule and moving to my current role at

Design Pickle has helped me understand more about how I value a work/life balance and

a predictable schedule. I currently work in the office mostly, however I do have the

option of working from home one to two days a week; I find this valuable however I do

think that I struggle with feeling like I am actually working when I am home.

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Section 3: Long-Term Strategy

Develop a strategy for moving toward your ideal future work/life situation and the realization of

your BHAG(s). Consider the timeframe for your BHAG(s). Provide a vivid description of life

“the way it will be” once your BHAG is realized.

1) Critically think about and then list out (not a narrative format) the interim steps or

milestones you have laid out for yourself that will aid you in reaching your BHAG

(you should have at least 10 to earn a rating of excellent and be referenced by time)

(Insert Your 10 Time Referenced Milestones Here as a list)

1. Graduate from ASU – December 2021

2. Refine my current skills in my career – 2022

3. Research current climate regarding the global pandemic – 2023

4. Determine region I would like to volunteer – 2024

5. After the region is determined, pick a common language spoken there and attempt to

learn the new language to a conversational level – 2025

6. Set aside time to meet with current employer about my plan – 2025

7. Create a budget to save for the time spent volunteering - 2025

8. Begin the Peace Corps application process – 2026

9. Accepted to desired program - 2026

10. Request time off, or set an end date for current role – 2026

11. End lease of current place I live if I have not done so already – 2026

12. Leave for volunteer program – 2026-2027

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 2) In addition to career-related roles, consider your other life roles in relation to your

career goals. What are the 3 most precious things you are willing to sacrifice,

besides time, to achieve your BHAG? Why?

Sacrifice 1: Lifestyle

To achieve my BHAG of volunteering with the Peace Corps, I will have to give up my

current lifestyle living in a first-world country. I have traveled before to countries not

considered first-world and I feel that I know a little bit about what to expect, however I

have not spent an extended amount of time in one, so adjusting to a completely different

way of life would be a significant learning experience.

Sacrifice 2: Money

I consider myself fairly smart with the money that I earn currently but volunteering in a

foreign country with a significantly lower “salary” would definitely be an adjustment.

Not having the ability to order what I want, or save up for things that I want to buy would

be a sacrifice that I am willing to make. Adjusting my spending habits and becoming

even more responsible with my money will take some time and effort to ensure that I do

not make a mistake with my finances.

Sacrifice 3: Family

Living back in Arizona after I have been away for a few years has made me realize how

much my family means to me. I am close with my parents as well as my sister and

brother in law that also live in Arizona with their three children. Now that my nephews

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 are getting a bit older (they are 1, 3, and 5) I am starting to enjoy watching them grow up.

Volunteering with the Peace Corps would have me away for about a year if I am reading

their website correctly, and I would miss a significant amount of time watching my

nephews grow up.

Section 4: The one to two year plan

Using a SMART goals-based approach, as well as project planning and management skill best

practices, create a detailed project plan for at least two specific goals. At least one must be

related to your long-term BHAG. The other may be related to some other aspect of your career

development or career-life integration. Both of these goals need to be things that you are

passionate about accomplishing.

Your selected goals and SMART plan (see SMART goal information provided in the module)

should be structured based on a one to two-year timeline. It should include specific milestones,

action items, sub-tasks as well as task-related interdependencies as applicable. With respect to

each goal, critically think about what specifically are the things you will do in the next one to

two years to achieve these goals.

Develop a clear and detailed SMART plan, with facilitating goals and steps/actions required

to accomplish your selected goals. It should be evident, by looking at the format and structure

of your plan, that you have developed some significant skills respect to project management.

Include Gantt charts (T) or other visual project representations as you see fit, and be sure to

address your approach to tracking/measuring your progress (M).

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 1) What is your #1 Goal? Learn a Foreign Language (Related to my BHAG)

(Insert your #1 Goal above and provide short answers below describing your goal in

terms of the SMART model. Finally, provide a Gantt chart using the tools provided).

a. Specific (provide details about the goal)

i. I want to learn a foreign language. I took French throughout high school

but not a whole lot of it has stuck with me. Ideally, I would know what

region I want to volunteer with the Peace Corps in, which would help me

determine what language I want to learn.

b. Measurable (explain how you’ll measure your progress or completion)

i. I think that using an application like Duolingo or Babbel would help keep

me focused and show my progress. I would consider this goal complete

when I can hold a conversation with someone in my target language.

c. Attainable (explain why this is possible)

i. People learn new languages all of the time, I was on my way to learning a

new language years ago and left off in my practice. This goal will be

possible, I will need to work at it and set aside time to practice.

d. Relevant (explain why this matters to you)

i. I enjoy traveling to foreign countries quite a bit and speaking a second

language could enable me to communicate with someone who doesn’t

speak English.

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 e. Time-Based (provide the timeframe in which you’ll complete this goal)

i. I would like to set the timeframe as starting in mid-December 2021 and

running to December 2022.

2) What is your #2 Goal? Ride my mountain bike 2,022 miles in 2022 (Unrelated to my

BHAG)

(Insert your #2 Goal above and provide short answers below describing your goal in

terms of the SMART model. Finally, provide a Gantt chart using the tools provided).

a. Specific (provide details about the goal)

i. I want to set a goal for myself to ride my mountain bike 2,022 miles to

celebrate the year 2022.

b. Measurable (explain how you’ll measure your progress or completion)

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 i. There is an iPhone application called Strava where I can log my routes,

times, mileage, and elevation for all of the times I ride my mountain bike.

The application will track everything for me.

c. Attainable (explain why this is possible)

i. This is possible because I have been riding my mountain bike more, and I

am interested in doing this not only as a fun goal, but as a way to become

more healthy.

d. Relevant (explain why this matters to you)

i. This goal is relevant to me because I have come to enjoy mountain biking

very much and I can use this as a way to improve my overall health.

e. Time-Based (provide the timeframe in which you’ll complete this goal)

i. I need to complete this in 2022 to have the goal be relevant.

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 References

Harrington, B., & Hall, D. T. (2008). Career Management & Work/Life Integration: Using Self-

assessment to navigate contemporary careers. SAGE Publications.

Work for the world. Make the Most of Your World. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2021, from

https://www.peacecorps.gov/.

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