Career Management: Career Goal
Setting a career goal is one of the most important steps you can take in realizing your professional aspirations. Successful people have almost always established well thought out goals for themselves. Having a career goal gives you something tangible to strive for.
Components of a Career Goal
You can start by setting a broad goal–this is what you ultimately want in your career. An example of a broad goal can be to hold a position as a marketing director for a Fortune 500 company making $100,000 per year. Of course, if you are just starting out, this may not happen for 15 years.
Having one broad career goal is not sufficient. You know what you want but have no direction on how to achieve it. Therefore, you should also set smaller objectives and a timeline for meeting them. What other positions must you hold before you reach marketing director? What else can you do to help you attain your broad goal? The more specific you are, the better.
A mentor or career counselor can assist you in goal planning. They can advise you on whether your objectives and goals are realistic and appropriate. Your career goal might change over time, and thats okay. Make the necessary revisions and keep moving forward.