What to Do When Your '5-Year Plan' is Blown to Pieces

It's pretty safe to say, not EVERY person in their 20s plans out their entire life for the next 5 years ahead of them, unless you're an obsessive planner like I am. Honestly, the job market crashing before graduation is NOT IDEAL. However, that is what plan B is for and I'm going to tell you how to create a backup to your new 5-Year plan. To start, where do you see yourself one year from today?

When creating a backup plan, you have to look at what you value most of all. These values are going to set the stage for where you plan to allocate your time doing smaller tasks. For example, maybe you graduate college in 2021, but have little experience. From there, you look back at the steps that were missed due to the pandemic blow to the job market- this might be an internship or shadow opportunity. Post graduation, if there is no luck in the job search, you can turn towards supplementing your time with experience and search for an experiential opportunity. After creating those new connections and experiences, the company may hire you from within based on your performance. 

It's a bit unconventional to look at a 5-Year plan so 'nitty-gritty', but for the time being, we are making things pandemic-proof and adaptable to circumstance. Certain things we looked at as normal tasks may be edited to be viewed through a new lens we weren't planning on looking through. Like in the example, many students take an internship the summer before their senior year, but now, to gain the experience needed for their desired career, a new approach is necessary for success. 

Instead of your typical 5-Year plan, limit it down to exceed 1 year with tasks that can be built upon and accomplish the overall goal that will get you to achieve your dream and accomplish your goals. This year has been a difficult one to plan out, but has given a new perspective on the meaning behind the quote from Neil Armstrong, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind". I interpreted this to fit this subject as the small steps taken are still accomplishments that lead to a larger success in your overall long-term goals. How did you interpret this saying in comparison to your 5-Year plan?