Long-Term Career Goals: What Is Your Answer?
Introduction
Do You Want A Goal?
No-Goal Organic Growth
Moderate Progress with Some Goals
Aggressive Growth With Big Goals
What Do You Want To Do?
Make Measurable Goals
Write Down Your Long-Term Career Goal
Create Short-Term Goals To Reach Your Long-Term Goal
Assess Where You Are Now
Recruit Your Tribe and Work With a Mentor
Create Your Plan Of Action
Conclusion
What are your long-term career goals? Do you know what you want to do when you retire? Have you given thought to how you want to spend your time? If you’re not sure, that’s okay. It’s not a bad thing not to have all the answers. But before you start making decisions that will affect your future, it’s important to take some time to think about what you want.
Do You Want A Goal?
As a mid-career professional, you’ve probably been asked the question “What are your long – term career goals?” And while it’s a good question to ask yourself, it’s also important to know how to answer it. The first step is to think about what you want from your career and what type of person you want to be when it’s all said and done.
You’re probably at one of three stages of figuring it out.
aggressive
- you are happy with organic progress … no goals
- you want moderate progress, so some goals
- you want aggressive growth, so big goals
Once you have an idea of what your goals are, it’s time to start taking action steps toward achieving them. This article has given you some ideas about what actions you can take to get closer to reaching your goals. Take these suggestions into consideration when making decisions about where you want to go in life; they might just help lead you there.
No-Goal Organic Growth
You may be happy with your career. You love your work, your colleagues your employer. You figure all this will lead to a natural progression, so you’re not worried.
You’re probably thinking along these lines. Why do I have to think about my career goals? I don’t care about my career goals.
The thing is, life changes. You may suddenly have a family, or have to relocate, or worse case, become redundant.
Having a contingency plan could save you from misery. You may have to meet an emergency like finding a new job quickly.
So, however happy you are with your current situation, take minimal precautionary steps:
- Keep your resume or CV up to date
- Add skills and accomplishments
- Network in your industry
You may be right. You don’t need to set goals, but keep that cushion in place.
Moderate Progress with Some Goals
You may be just starting out in your profession. Your goals might be getting the experience or certification you need to match your objectives.
If you are in the academic world, your goal may be to become a tenured professor. You’ll need both degrees and experience to reach your desired goal.
Or, you may want to be a deep-sea diver. Once again, you need a combination of experience and certification to maintain a level of expertise to grow your career.
Or you have a gift for sales. You may not need certification, but you need a lot of real-world experience to get results.
For moderate progress you need to be in the game.
- Keep your resume up to date
- Create and maintain a LinkedIn profile
- Network and exchange ideas with people in your industry
In this career situation, you’ll need specific goals to achieve the qualifications you need to continue and boost your career.
Aggressive Growth With Big Goals
Aggressive career growth doesn’t happen without goals. There’s no skating to the top. If you have big career growth ambitions, you need to set measurable goals, determine the actions you need to take to meet them, and take action.
If you’re in the middle of your career, it can be hard to know where you want to go. But don’t worry! We have some tips for helping you set goals and take action steps that will get you closer to where you want to be.
You can meet your objectives. That takes being out there. Of course, you have a stellar resume and a LinkedIn profile, but you need to aggressively promote yourself.
You want to be a leader in your field. You need to let the world know who you are.
- Create and maintain a YouTube channel
- Attend trade shows and conferences
- Give talks and presentations
You need to share your message with your industry so you become well-known.
Wherever you are in your career, setting goals will help you get the most out of not just work but life.
Let’s look at steps you can take to create solid, actionable goals for your career.
What Do You Want To Do?
Identify the specific long-term career goals.
Now break down the goals and how you will accomplish them. Also, decide how aggressive you want to get in achieving these plans.
It’s important to understand that this is a personal decision, and everyone should not set aggressive goals.
Goal setting gives you a direction and an understanding of the long-term steps you will be taking to pursue your goals. Setting your goals clarifies not only what you want but where you are now. And you’re able to identify the gaps between your current situation and where you want to be.
Make Measurable Goals
You want to set goals that are measurable. Without being able to measure your accomplishments, you’ll be in an endless loop of wondering what to do next.
It’s important to understand the priorities of your personal situation so you can achieve your important goals and prioritize your assignments, projects, and other tasks.
You want to figure out how to fit productive tasks into your schedule and interact with others. You want to overcome apparent limits by doing what you’ve previously failed to do. You want to get rid of the stresses and frustrations that make your life harder to manage.
Your goal should be something you can accomplish in a single year, rather than a life-changing goal. What is the nature of your problem? What do you want to change? Your main concern should be eliminating the most onerous of to-do items. Which tasks give you the most trouble?
When you are feeling low or overwhelmed by deadlines, know that you are experiencing the same things experienced by successful people like Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill. Because they dealt effectively with the events they were dealt, they never lost sight of what was behind their failures or defeats.
Goals shouldn’t be a goal in themselves. This ensures that they don’t put you in a rigid, stifling, or constricting situation but encourages you to become flexible, resilient, and willing to engage in the activities which will help you accomplish the goal.
That’s why you want to be able to measure your outcome for each goal you set. When you achieve a goal, you create a positive feedback loop that encourages you to achieve your next goal successfully.
Write Down Your Long-Term Career Goal
Setting and achieving goals is essential to success in any area of life. Studies have shown that people who write down their goals are more likely to achieve them than those who don’t.
There are a few things you can do to set yourself up for success when it comes to writing down your goals. First, be specific about what you want to achieve. Vague goals are harder to track and assess progress towards than specific ones. Second, make sure your goals are challenging but achievable. If your goal is too easy, you won’t feel motivated to achieve it; if it’s too difficult, you may get discouraged and give up before you reach it. Finally, set a deadline for each goal so that you have a sense of urgency and can stay on track.
By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to writing down – and achieving – your career goals!
A study published in the Harvard Business Review found that people who wrote down their goals were more likely to achieve them.
The study found that those who set specific, difficult goals and wrote them down were more than twice as likely to achieve their goals as those who did not set any goals at all.
So, if you’re looking to increase your chances of career success, start by writing down your goals.
Create Short-Term Goals To Reach Your Long-Term Goal
Short-term goals are the stepping stones to success. Without short-term goals, it can be difficult to achieve your long-term goal. Here are four tips to help you create short-term goals that will lead you to career success:
1. Define your long-term goal.
What do you want to achieve in your career? Once you have a clear understanding of your long-term goal, you can start creating realistic and achievable short-term goals that will help you get there.
2. Set timelines for each goal.
Giving yourself a timeline for each goal will help you stay on track and motivated. Make sure your timelines are realistic and allow enough time for any unforeseen circumstances that may arise.
3. Identify what steps need to be taken to reach each goal.
You can’t just wing it when it comes to achieving your goals—you need a plan! Outline what needs to be done in order to accomplish each short and long-term goal so you know exactly what needs to be done along the way.
4. Hold yourself accountable.
It’s important that you stay on track with reaching your goals—otherwise, all of your hard work will go to waste.
Assess Where You Are Now
In order to get to where you want to be, you need to know your starting point. That’s where you are now.
You have probably read or heard about people who have very aggressive career goals. They want to be the CEO of a company by age 30, or make a million dollars by 35. And while there is nothing wrong with having ambitious goals, you also need to be realistic about where you are currently in your career. It is important to evaluate where you are now and how likely it is that you will achieve your goals.
One way to do this is to look at your past successes and failures. What have you been able to accomplish so far in your career? Are there any patterns in what has worked for you and what has not? If you have had trouble achieving certain goals, why do you think that is? This can help give you some insight into whether or not your current goals are achievable.
Another thing to consider is your current skill set and knowledge base. Do you have the skills and expertise necessary to achieve your goals? If not, what do you need to learn or improve upon? Sometimes our goals seem out of reach because we lack the necessary skills. But if we’re willing to put in the work to learn new things, our chances of success increase dramatically.
Finally, take a look at the resources at your disposal: money, advice, equipment and opportunities. Take a look at what you have and make sure you’re maximizing every tool at your disposal. If not, what’s missing that could make your long-term plans come true? Review your long-term goals and how they fit into your resources. Do you have what it takes to make them a reality?
Recruit Your Tribe and Work With a Mentor
In order to achieve your career goals, it’s important to recruit your tribe and work with a mentor. By surrounding yourself with people who will support and encourage you, you’ll be more likely to succeed. Use LinkedIn to seek out your tribe or ask your network how they can support you. Have them share your job postings with other connections. Set up monthly mastermind sessions where you check in and find out what they’re working on.
A mentor can provide guidance and advice as you pursue your goals. Find someone whose success you admire and who is willing to help you achieve your own. With the right support system in place, anything is possible!
Create Your Plan Of Action
No matter what your career goals may be, it is important to have a plan of action in place to help you achieve success. When setting aggressive goals, it is especially crucial to break them down into smaller, more manageable steps so that you can stay on track and motivated. Here are a few tips to get you started:
1. Define your goals clearly and specifically. The more specific your goals are, the easier it will be to create a plan to achieve them.
2. Set deadlines for yourself and make sure they are realistic. Giving yourself deadlines will help you stay on track and accountable.
3. Make a list of action items required to reach your goal. This will ensure that you don’t forget any important steps along the way.
4. Take things one step at a time and celebrate each accomplishment along the way. Achieving your goals is a marathon, not a sprint, so enjoy the process!
Focus Your Passion
No matter what your career goals may be, it is important to stay focused and driven in order to achieve them. This can be difficult, especially when there are so many distractions and other things vying for your attention. However, if you are able to focus your passion on your goals, you will be much more likely to succeed.
There are a few things that you can do in order to focus on your goals and stay motivated. First, it is important to have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve. What are your long-term and short-term goals? Once you know what you want, it will be easier to stay focused on the steps that you need to take in order to reach those goals.
In addition, it is important to keep track of your progress. As you take steps toward your goal, make sure to keep track of how far you have come. This can help motivate you by showing you how close you are to reaching your goal. Finally, don’t forget to celebrate your accomplishments along the way! Celebrating each milestone will help keep you motivated and focused on the next step ahead.
At elevanation, we know the challenges of setting the right career goals. We’ve even helped people discover their true passion in order to set new career goals. If the future looks hazy, we can help you clarify your true career goals.
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