1. Get That Job Career Development Fact Sheet 1
Develop a Life Plan and Get a Coach
Get That Job
Career Development
Fact Sheet 1
Develop a Life Plan
and Get a Coach
Written by Malcolm Hornby Chartered FCIPD MCMI career coach and author of Get That Job,
Published Pearson ISBN 0-273-70212-2 © Malcolm Hornby www.hornby.org

2. Get That Job Career Development Fact Sheet 1
Develop a Life Plan and Get a Coach
How can you develop and achieve the career and life that YOU want? The answer can lie in establishing your
priorities in life and developing a career and life plan – and then turning your ideas into reality. These seven ideas
will help you develop a greater awareness of what you need and want out of life, so that your career fits into the life
you want, rather than fitting your life into your career. We’ll then look at how you can turn your dreams into reality
using a coach as a sounding board for your ideas.
IDEAS FOR DEVELOPING YOUR LIFE-PLAN
Idea 1 Define YOUR vision of success
Are you successful? Do you want to be successful? What does success mean to you? A big salary increase? A
promotion? A fast car? When did you last sit down and write your definition of ‘a successful life’? Have you ever
done it? I believe there are as many definitions as there are people reading this article. And the definition doesn’t
have to be driven by money. The 15 months that I spent working as a volunteer teacher with the charity,
Voluntary Services Overseas in Papua New Guinea, count as one of the most successful chapters in my life. So
what are YOUR criteria for a successful life? What is YOUR life-vision? Write down the words that come into your
head and develop your definition of success.
Idea 2 Write a plan
Where do you want to get to in your life? What do you want to achieve? What is YOUR Life Plan? ‘What do you
want to do with the rest of your life’? The idea of a strategic life plan may sound a bit pompous but how many
of us would choose to work for an organisation that doesn’t have a long-term business plan? We should apply the
same principles to ourselves and as a starting point write down 5 -10 ‘life goals’ for the next five year period.
These are the actions, which can turn your vision into reality.
Idea 3 A positive mental attitude
People often impose barriers on themselves. They say things like ‘I could never achieve this’, ‘This isn’t feasible’,
etc. How many times have you heard (or asked!) the question ‘Is the glass half-full or half-empty?’ and felt good
about the positive ‘Half-full’ answer that you’ve given. Well I’d like you to take your thoughts to a new level.
Because unless you live your life in a vacuum, the glass is ALWAYS full. Sometimes water, sometimes air,
sometimes both. ‘The glass’ is in your hands. The responsibility for making the most of the contents is, to a very
large extent, yours. If you adopt the mind-set that you CAN make the most of what you’ve got, then you’re half
Written by Malcolm Hornby Chartered FCIPD MCMI career coach and author of Get That Job,
Published Pearson ISBN 0-273-70212-2 © Malcolm Hornby www.hornby.org

3. Get That Job Career Development Fact Sheet 1
Develop a Life Plan and Get a Coach
way to success. Many successful sports people develop mental pictures of themselves crossing the winning line
first, or scoring that winning goal. Convince yourself, that you are in charge of your own destiny. Believe that you
can achieve the success you want, picture yourself achieving it, and you’re halfway there!
Idea 4 Prepare to fail
Treat failure as a learning opportunity. If you persevere you CAN succeed. Here are some famous ‘failures’ that
were never going to make it: Luciano Pavarotti - was told that he should follow in his family's footsteps and remain
a baker, as he would never succeed as a singer. Apparently, John Lennon's Auntie Mimi used to tell him daily that
he would never get rich strumming that guitar! Eric Morcambe’s mum received a letter from his teacher saying ‘.....
I hate to say this, but your Eric will never get anywhere in life'. A recent BBC poll voted Eric Morcambe the funniest
person ever. The list is endless; learn from your mistakes, persevere and don’t be discouraged by naysayers
Idea 5 Prepare to change
Career and life planning is a personal change management process. And of course we’ve all heard it said in the
past that ‘people don’t like change’ haven’t we? Well I disagree. People LIKE change! If people didn’t like change
then why do we look forward to going on holiday, buying new clothes, getting a new car! People like change if it
answers the WIFM question in a positive way! What’s in it for me? Make the most of change by keeping an open
mind, having a positive attitude to change, and identifying what’s in it for you.
Idea 6 Re-invent yourself?
You may need to challenge your paradigm of your self-image and what you can achieve. In business paradigm
paralysis can cause missed opportunities. Swiss watch manufacturers dismissed the concept of the quartz watch,
even though they had invented the technology … and suffered the consequences. Apparently 42 companies
rejected Chester Carlson’s new photographic process in 1930. One company saw the opportunity – the Xerox
Corporation and produced the first photocopier.
Inertia or fear sometimes stops people from challenging their personal paradigm. You have not been genetically
encoded to be a group product manager, an account manager, a creative director … … you can take control and
have the life that you want, but you need to be brave. ‘You cannot discover new lands, until you have the courage
to lose sight of the shore’.
Written by Malcolm Hornby Chartered FCIPD MCMI career coach and author of Get That Job,
Published Pearson ISBN 0-273-70212-2 © Malcolm Hornby www.hornby.org

4. Get That Job Career Development Fact Sheet 1
Develop a Life Plan and Get a Coach
Paradigm shifts can create new opportunities like the re-positioning of Lucozade. In the mid 20th century Lucozade
was a drink, which helped people to recover after a period of illness. In the latter part of the century Lucozade re-
invented itself completely as an extremely successful ‘energy’ drink for athletes and sports people. What has
Lucozade got to do with career & life planning? Well, everything! Our working environments are changing faster
than ever. The rate of change continues to accelerate. Our beliefs and perceptions about what is right or possible
often prevent us from exploring new solutions. Challenge your life-paradigm. Just like Lucozade you may need to
re-invent yourself, to achieve your goals.
Idea 7 DO IT NOW!
The first time I embarked on a major career and life planning process, I spent several hours over the space of a
fortnight. I used the principles I have mentioned here as well as many techniques like mind-maps, life-pies, force-
field and SWOT analyses. It was hard work but the investment paid off enormously.
I have had the privilege of working with numerous people, who too have used these techniques to start their
journey of career and life planning. But it doesn’t come from reading an article. If you want to achieve a better
work-life balance, you need to commit time and energy to the process. If you have a partner, then you must
involve them from the start, so that you can develop a joint vision and set mutually compatible life-goals.
Are you now inspired you to develop a career-life plan? Then switch off the TV tonight, and start on your career
and life plan. There’ll be another edition of Eastenders tomorrow night, and you’ll quickly catch up. But you’ve only
got 1 life!
And remember a successful life is a journey, not a destination; make sure that you review and re-set your goals
periodically.
If you tell yourself that you CAN’T achieve your vision of a successful life, and do nothing then you won’t achieve it.
Tell yourself that you CAN achieve your vision of a successful life and you might achieve it, and you probably will!
In summary - ‘If you try you might. If you don’t you won’t.’
Written by Malcolm Hornby Chartered FCIPD MCMI career coach and author of Get That Job,
Published Pearson ISBN 0-273-70212-2 © Malcolm Hornby www.hornby.org

5. Get That Job Career Development Fact Sheet 1
Develop a Life Plan and Get a Coach
GET A COACH
There is no such thing as a quot;self-madequot; man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever
done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our
character and of our thoughts, as well as our successquot;. George Matthew Adams
A coach will help you to turn your visions and dreams of your career-life plan into reality. Do you know someone
whom you can use as a sounding board for your ideas? As you develop your career and life plan, you will find it
very beneficial to quot;bouncequot; your ideas off someone else. Ideas can take on a new dimension when you explain
them to someone else, and inputs from another person can really help to motivate you into action.
A professional career coach may be a complete stranger, who will take you through a series of series of exercises to
help you formulate and refine your plans. Many coaches do this through an initial 1:1 meeting, followed by a series
of telephone calls. Very few of us have the benefit a use professional coach, but do not despair! What about
someone who knows you well and whose opinion you value? What about a favourite uncle or aunt? An old
school/college/university friend? A current or previous work colleague? A neighbour? A fellow member of a sports
or social club? You will probably find it best not to use your partner. Please do not misunderstand me - I'm not
advising you should exclude your partner from the career-planning process; not at all. But they may not be able to
quot;see the wood for the treesquot;, because of their personal involvement.
A coach is: someone who can facilitate your learning and development – primarily on a 1:1 basis.
What qualities should your coach have?
Challenging – helping you to explore alternatives not providing answers
Good listener - you should do most of the talking
Genuineness - someone who has a genuine interest in you
Respect and confidentiality - both ways it is important that you are talking as equals
Written by Malcolm Hornby Chartered FCIPD MCMI career coach and author of Get That Job,
Published Pearson ISBN 0-273-70212-2 © Malcolm Hornby www.hornby.org

6. Get That Job Career Development Fact Sheet 1
Develop a Life Plan and Get a Coach
In touch with reality - if your dreams and goals become unrealistic they should help you back to earth gently
Remember, your coach is not your adviser: A good coach won't begin sentences with quot;If I were you I wouldquot; ... or
... quot;Why don't you...quot;. It's your job to develop the ideas and use your coach as a quot;testing groundquot;.
COACHING GIVES . . . . VALUE for RECEIVER NOT RELEASE for the GIVER
A simple test, to see if they are the right person may be to ask yourself, quot;Would I choose them as my boss?quot;
When? A regular meeting for an hour or two weekly or fortnightly.
THE BENEFITS: You will find that your plans are modified, refined; and more realistic. And all it will cost you is a
box of chocolates, a special thank-you at Christmas or a couple of beers!
Please see below for information about my books and other factsheets.
Good luck
Malcolm Hornby
Written by Malcolm Hornby Chartered FCIPD MCMI career coach and author of Get That Job,
Published Pearson ISBN 0-273-70212-2 © Malcolm Hornby www.hornby.org

7. Get That Job Career Development Fact Sheet 1
Develop a Life Plan and Get a Coach
A few words from the author
My Books
These tips are from my books for career planners and job hunters. I wrote the first book in ’93, since then
thousands of people have used the tips to plan their lives and get new jobs
There’s more good advice in my other slideshows and at my website, visit
www.hornby.org
A couple of words about copyright
If I have used your material
Much of the material that I use in my writing and my presentations is obtained from my research, surfing the Web.
It is not my intention to rip anyone off and so if I have used your material without your permission, please let me
know and I’ll sort it.
Want to use my material?
I’m flattered and am happy for you to use my slides and factsheets at work, at college or in your job hunt, etc
provided it’s ‘not for profit’.
If you want to use my material in a commercial situation please get in touch as I’m happy to write for websites
journals, newspapers etc or to licence my material.
Written by Malcolm Hornby Chartered FCIPD MCMI career coach and author of Get That Job,
Published Pearson ISBN 0-273-70212-2 © Malcolm Hornby www.hornby.org