Tuesday 14 May 2013

The why of setting career goals



“Without goals and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.”
--- Fitzhugh Dodson
Where do you figure yourself after five years?
Where did you figure yourself today five years back?
What is that you like and detest about your present job?
What is your appreciation of an ideal job, to include the responsibilities you would like to shoulder, the setup you like to serve in and the remuneration you expect to receive that you think you are cut out for?
Having answered the above questions, what do you think are your eventual and definitive career goals? Imagine yourself at the zenith of your career and then ponder over the organization or field that you would like to be in, the appointment that you would like to hold and the pay packet that should ideally be given to you.
If you can find responses to the above, then you are heading in the right direction. You need to keep them at the back of your mind and move ahead with all the zeal at your command. This will help you to give a distinct shape to your career and become and achieve whatever you have been aspiring for.
It is essential that you take stock of where you stood in the past before you figuring out where you want to be. Glancing at your career and the times gone by will provide you a jump board to get to your career goals. You will thus be able to carve out a mosaic of your goals and discern their configuration vis-à-vis your present or future panoramas. You also need to reflect on what your immediate and long-term goals. If you have none, you will waste time and efforts; and resultantly suffer from perennial exasperation.
 In the light of the above, you must set goals for yourself and start making endeavours to realize them. In the centre of all the confusion and mess, away from all the impediments, out-of-the-way from all the inertia will be your goals. There will various issues that will impact your career goals and their realization. But you have to put your head down, do the best job possible, let all the hassles go by and work towards them.
There are five aspects that you ought to invariably mull over; they are:
·  Progress:  What is the type of professional advancement that you are looking for? Depending upon your answer, you will also need to identify the wherewithal that will be required to facilitate that.
·  Funds: At the end of the day, besides job satisfaction, it is the salary that you get that also matters. What is the pay package that you are seeking? If significant perks and privileges are offered to you, will you settle for anything less? These are significant questions, the answers to which will determine your goals.
·  Contentment:  A successful career implies derivation of a high degree of job satisfaction. Contentment is essential for attaining long-term objectives and is relevant in the context of everything related to your work and workplace. You should know various aspects that bring about contentment in you.
·  Familiarity & skills:  What is your disposition towards gaining new experiences and facing new confrontations? You need to be convinced about the type of experiences and skills that you want to seek and contribute.
·  Atmosphere:  Workplaces are an assortment of people with diverse backgrounds and inclinations. What are the types of people that you feel comfortable working with? What is the working environment that you are seeking so that you acquit yourself well?
Irrespective of the type of job you get into, your career goals have to be selected on the basis of your likes and dislikes; they have to be in harmony with your preferences. You should bear in mind that your career goals may change on account of the options you exercise and the advancement that you clock. This calls for a periodic evaluation of your career goals. You must set them high and should not come to a standstill till you achieve them. But remember that your goals are dreams with deadlines

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