subject: Career Planning: Learning To Set Your Career Goals [print this page] One of the most important steps in achieving success in anything is setting goals. If you do not have a target, how would you know where to hit? You got to know that you have to hit the center and not the other areas of the board when playing a dart game. Only then you will be able to score a bull's eye in your career. This article helps you understand the process of setting goals when planning your career.
Long-term goals
The first thing you need to do is set up a long-term goal. To make it easier for you, set up a goal that you envisage to be able to achieve within five years. The goal could be based on salary or on achieving a post. For example, I want to earn $x per annum within 5 years. Or if you are yet to complete your education, then your goal could be to complete your graduation or post-graduation and get a break in your chosen field.
Short-term goals
Once you have understood your long-term goals, it is time to set short-term goals that would eventually help you achieve the long term goals. The short-term goals should be achievable in one to three years time frame. For example, if you are looking at a particular occupation that requires you to have a master's degree, then your short-term goal could be achieving that master's degree.
Characteristics of a goal
It is important to understand that a goal should not be vague. "I will buy a luxury car" is a desire but for it to qualify as a goal or to convert your desire into a goal, it should be something like "I will buy a Mercedes Class B car by 2020". This means you need to have a clearly defined, achievable target with clear timelines to qualify as a goal. But the most important thing is that you should believe that you will be able to achieve that goal. That's when it really becomes YOUR goal!
