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Career plans are outlined goals that take employees beyond choosing career strategies toward achieving actual career growth. These plans are important because they help employees develop viable plans to obtain the abilities, skills and competencies needed to achieve personal career goals, which, when tied into agency goals, will assist agencies in accomplishing strategic objectives.

Career plans should only be completed after employees have gone through a conscious process of: (a) becoming aware of self, opportunities, barriers (including organizational support and constraints), solutions, choices and possible outcomes; (b) establishing career-related goals; and (c) aligning work, developmental activities, skills, abilities, knowledge and personal talents to develop a logical plan, with sequential steps, to achieve specific short-term and long-term career goals.

Once career plans are completed, managers, mentors or career development professionals should become involved in helping employees manage their careers. Career management is defined as an on-going process of preparing, implementing and monitoring career plans undertaken by an employee in concert with the agency's career system.