‘Tis the season: How to set and work towards your career goals for the new year
University of Glasgow Careers, Employability & Opportunity
By Hannah Vuozzo , Communications Manager
It’s that time of year: the time for broadcasting your Spotify Wrapped and sifting through your camera roll to make an end of the year TikTok.
And then come New Year’s resolutions.
Maybe you’re that person who sets a detailed list of ambitious targets. Maybe you’re that person with the one goal of making it through the year. Whatever approach you take, this is the year to add a dash of career development into the mix.
Why setting goals is valuable
Setting goals is the foundation of career development, and it’s something our brains are designed to do. The article “The Neuroscience of Goal-Setting and Its Impact on Your Culture” from Culture Partners offers a useful explanation:
When we set a goal, we are biologically programming our brains to change or create new behaviours and reach them, because the way our neurons organise is impacted. Creating focus on specific goals allows the brain to create new, stronger bonds between neurons that help increase the likelihood that we achieve our goals.
The short version: simply setting goals helps you achieve them. Plus, your brain rewards you handsomely for working towards and accomplishing them with that feel-good neurotransmitter we all know and love: dopamine.
What your career development goals should look like
When it comes to career development, your goals don’t need to be numerous or lofty. In fact, if you want to maximise dopamine release, you should be realistic about your goals. Don’t set yourself up for failure by setting too many goals and/or ones that are unattainable or vague.
Ultimately, your goals should be SMART : specific, measurable, actionable, relevant and timebound.
For example, you might have the goal of finding a graduate job. This is extremely broad and, consequently, could be overwhelming, so let’s rework it into three different SMART goals:
Take time to craft SMART goals that are tailored to you.
What to do when you’re not sure what your goals should be
There are lots of strategies for setting goals, and one that’s commonly used in the career development space is visualisation.
In his article “10 Visualization Techniques to Achieve Your Goals” , Devin Swan defines visualisation as “the act and practice of creating a mental image of your goals.” By doing so, you reduce uncertainty in the career decision-making process which, in turn, reduces stress and anxiety about the future.
领英推荐
You might’ve already set goals subconsciously, so visualisation can also help you surface them.
There are various visualisation practices besides the mental process itself, including creating a vision board and journaling. The main aspects of any visualisation practice are to:
Indeed offers a useful guide on how to use visualisation for setting goals.
As you work towards your goals, they may change, and that’s normal. Similarly, as you accomplish your goals, you should set new ones.
Here are some generic career development goals that may inspire you:
What to do if you’re unmotivated
We all go through periods of feeling unmotivated, but the science of motivation and willpower can tell us a lot about how to combat that mental inertia.
According to “Tools to Manage Dopamine and Improve Motivation & Drive” by Dr Andrew Huberman, dopamine pushes you to take action toward the thing you want, and you have quite a bit of control over dopamine release.
One way to control dopamine release is by celebrating some (but not all) of your wins. Dr Huberman recommends Random Intermittent Reward which happens to be the same technique casinos use to get people to gamble. Dr Huberman says, “When you succeed in reaching a milestone, sometimes enjoy that; other times (at random), just keep going.”
In the Huberman Lab podcast episode “How to Increase Your Willpower & Tenacity” , Dr Huberman?argues that you can increase tenacity and willpower by choosing to do things you don’t want to do. Are you someone who usually procrastinates washing the dishes? By washing them immediately after use, you can improve cognitive function and longevity by activating the area of the brain that’s responsible for tenacity and willpower.
We at Careers, Employability & Opportunity wish you the best this holiday season, including a happy new year, when it comes! Here’s to another year of building your future!
Other resources
"How to Develop SMART Goals (With Examples)" : Read this Indeed article to learn how to craft helpful career development goals
Our website : Start working towards your goals by browsing a plethora of careers resources, jobs and internships and careers events, including Masterclasses