How to Set Career Goals for Yourself

A long-lasting career can begin with well-informed goals set by young professionals. You can craft such goals by remaining honest with yourself about your needs, utilizing related experience, and learning from people who are in a position you aspire to have.

By Timothy Mably

The habit of setting smart career goals can spark a successful lifelong career. However, it can be a challenge to know how to set strategic goals that help you get where you aspire to be someday.?

Regardless of your field or experience level, implementing goals for five to ten years in the future can have a significant impact on your professional trajectory. Such milestones should be based on how well you know yourself, lessons you have learned throughout your professional experience, and where you would like to go.?

Authentic and Realistic Goals

Founder and president of Career Revolution, Inc. Christine DiDonato believes that a missing component of career goals is authenticity. She says, “Sometimes we set career goals and later realize that they compromise our values. For example, if you value family time or flexibility, then you should explore career paths that enable you to live these values. Sometimes we chase goals because they sound good, but when we achieve them we find that we’re really not happy.”

She believes that practical goals should be focused on more than a title or a salary. Instead, they should prioritize your happiness and wellbeing. DiDonato says, “Whether creating goals based on what we see our peers doing on social media or being influenced by our parent's expectations of us, it’s not uncommon to set our aspirations based on the needs and desires of others.”

Instead of hustling without much rest, it’s important to be realistic with ourselves and consider our individual needs. She advocates for setting goals up to five years in the future . Although this may seem fairly short-term , her reasoning takes a morphing job market into account. “The work world is changing so quickly that it’s really difficult to know what success can look like ten years from now. I advise young professionals to map out three potential paths they could pursue in the next five years based on their natural strengths, values, and interests,” said DiDonato.

As you consider the skills, relationships, and experiences that back up each route, you may notice overlap between some of them. She explains, “This helps to create a picture of what’s possible while at the same time focusing on what you can do in the immediate future to develop and grow in more than one path.” By articulating each component, your goals can be informed by reality and set you up for success.

When CEO and founder of The Brownlee Group LLC, David Brownlee graduated college, he mapped out his career goals which would move him up in the world of sales. As he gained experience, he recognized that entrepreneurship better suited his personality, passions, and general desires more than work on a corporate level. He sacrificed a steady salary, 401k, and an expense account as he made the change. However, he believes it was one of the best decisions he ever made.

Questions to Consider

As a result, Brownlee has a new outlook on setting career goals. He believes there are three questions you must consider before making goals.

Do you have the skills or resources to obtain those skills that are necessary for this type of work?

Are you passionate about this work and willing to do whatever it takes to be successful in it?

Do you have the time to dedicate to becoming a professional in this career?

Brownlee says, “If your answer is yes, then it may be the right career path for you.” While it may take more time than you like to get there, remain focused on the target. He adds, “Make sure that you are on a path where you are willing to stay the course; especially when you face obstacles along the way.”

He warns against a common mistake that many people make when setting such high stake goals. Instead of focusing on the financial potential of a path, consider the day-to-day life of a role. Brownlee suggests asking yourself, “‘Will I enjoy the day-to-day tasks in this job?’ ‘Am I willing to learn the skills necessary to be successful in this career?’ ‘Am I excited enough about the opportunity to find fulfillment in the work I will be doing?’”

Answering these questions requires experience, honesty, and self-awareness to understand who you are. Although you might think you would enjoy a specific field, position, or workplace, you may risk idealizing a job if you lack any of these three components.

Become Informed

Regardless of whether you possess adequate experience to make an informed decision or not, consider reaching out to experienced professionals. For example, networking on LinkedIn is a great resource as you seek the best strategy to map out your career.

Connecting with people who have been in an industry you are trying to break into can be extremely beneficial. Whether a person effectively becomes your mentor or only provides an example of their career path , they can give you a blueprint to have in mind. In the process, you will see a field for what it is, instead of what you may have idealized it to be.

It may seem daunting to reach out to someone you don’t know who is in a position you want to be. However, there’s a decent chance they will have time to set aside for a 15 to 25 minute call to touch base. They may respect your proactive spirit and provide advice they wish they could have heard at an earlier point in their career.

If you lack the experience to make informed career goals, it may be best to start by volunteering or interning in a capacity that relates to your chosen field. Observing the daily routines and atmosphere of an industry will keep you from idealizing a position. Beginning at the ground level with realistic expectations to act strategically and make well-informed career goals.

Top Takeaways

Do you know how you can strategically set career goals?

• Set realistic and authentic goals which take personal needs into account.
• Be cautious of idealizing a position or an industry, as you can create unrealistic expectations for something you don’t really want.
• Focus on what makes you happy, instead of the financial security that comes with a specific career.
• Reach out to people who are in a position you aspire to have to learn how they charted their career path.