If you’re looking to find a new job, or to promote within your own company, building a plan for your future in the role will set you apart during the interview process. Building a vision-to-action plan allows you to put your thoughts, your style, your goals, and your personality on paper and present it to your interviewers/hiring managers. This also gives you the opportunity to analyze what is needed for the role, and help you prepare for your interview as well as your first few months on the job. Many hiring managers will ask for a formal plan, while some will not ask, but expect that you have one regardless. Whether or not you are expected to build a plan, it is best to come prepared with one to help you increase your chances of securing the role, even if it is not required. 

Building the Plan

Building your vision-to-action plan will start with an understanding of the role. During your interview, you will likely be asked questions by the hiring managers that test your skill set. Knowing the role is key both for the interview and for your plan. Your plan should include new goals and the brand that you want to create in the role. If possible, you should know the team you’re going to, and build a plan that is specific to them. We will review each one of these steps below.

Know the Role

This first step requires you to do research. If this role is an external company, make sure that you find all the information that you can from the job posting. Write down key skills and key requirements that show up in the job posting. If appropriate or available, you may want to research employees in the role or the department through LinkedIn or anyone in your network.

If you are applying for the role internally, this is a great opportunity to make sure you reach out to your coworkers who have held this position or are currently in the position. Be sure to be respectful of peoples’ time and make sure you are not over-demanding.

To truly know the role, ask yourself a few questions:

• Do I know the expectations for this role?
• Do I know the current goals/metrics for this role?
• Do I know what success looks like in this role?
• Are there any ongoing issues in the new department? Can I fix them?

Write down and answer each question. The more you know about the role, the more specific your plan can be.

Know the Team

Create Goals & Brand

Once you have learned more about the role and the team, you should start building goals. Your goals should be specific to your role, and time-specific, and detail specific actions that you will take to achieve these goals. This is your opportunity to set yourself apart while making realistic predictions of what you can do in the role. 

Attach yourself and your personality to your goals. Where can you make the biggest impact? If your skill set is stronger in building culture, make sure to emphasize that in your goals. For example, “In the first 60 days, I plan on building a weekly team meeting with the team.” If your skill set is stronger in performance, build a plan to get your team to be a top performer. “Within the first 90 days, we will be a top 15% performing team.” 

Simplicity and Specificity

Put Your Plan on (Digital) Paper

This piece is key. Many hope to build a vision-to-action plan, and simply articulate the plan in the interview process. However, even if you memorize the plan, you may not have the opportunity to articulate your plan throughout the interview. Put your plan on paper and make it look good. Depending on your skill set, you might want to try a PDF or a 1-2 page PowerPoint.

Your plan should have a clear format with timelines, goals, and actions. Many people like to build a plan with a timeline as the structure. In this case, you can build a 30-60-90 day plan, which outlines your actions/goals within the first 90 days. You can also build your plan with a goal-oriented structure, where each goal is its own section and you build from there. 

Unless there’s a specific requirement or expectation, keep your plan to 1-2 pages max. If possible, a one-page plan can be extremely effective, as it does not overwhelm and ask too much of the reader. If you find yourself building a plan that is over three pages, look at your plan and see where it needs to be edited. Is the formatting causing you to extend the plan over too many pages? Are you adding too many unnecessary, specific details?

Final Tips

Building a vision-to-action plan will set you apart from other candidates and shows your future managers/employers that you’ve envisioned yourself in the new role.

• Build a clean 1-2 page plan through PDF Or PowerPoint.
• For in-person interviews, print a copy of your plan for yourself, the interviewers you know will be there, and 1-3 extra copies.
• Add details, including timelines, goals, and how you plan to achieve your goals.
• If you have the opportunity, ask to distribute your plan to your interview panel before the interview starts. If you do not have an opportunity to review your vision-to-action plan during the interview, ask at the end, and ask for an opportunity to review the plan.
• Have your plan in front of you during the interview, and reference it while answering questions.
• Stay on brand for the role/company you are applying for.

Last tip: Don’t wait until the night before! Once you know that you will be applying and interviewing for the role, start building your plan. You should have plenty of time before your interview to review and practice any talking points.