You’ve heard the expression that when you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Your career is not exempt from this message. This is why it should be no surprise that individuals who are intentional about setting their career goals and creating a plan of action to accomplish them tend to be more successful than those who don’t plan at all. Simply put, when you fail to make your career a priority, you limit your own opportunities for progression and advancement. To have the career of your choice, you must invest your time and effort. Career success requires careful planning of goals and objectives.
So whether you’re just starting out in your career, at the midpoint of your career, or gearing up for the last few years before retirement, you need a plan.
Here are five proven tips to assist you with creating your goals and objectives:
- First, take inventory of the knowledge, skills, and abilities you currently possess and identify what more you need to acquire in order to accomplish your career pursuits.
- Second, write down every career goal that you would like to accomplish in 2018, no matter how big or small.
- Define approximately how much time it will take for you to accomplish each career goal and take into consideration factors such as qualifications, requirements, etc., that you must meet in order to be successful.
- Next, organize your goals according to a timetable you wish to accomplish them. Be realistic with yourself based on the time and effort that you can commit.
- Finally, execute, execute, and execute. Work smart, consistently, and with the willingness to make appropriate sacrifices to accomplish the career plan you created for yourself. And when things don’t go the way you planned, assess the situation quickly and develop an alternative plan of action to execute.