Whether you are at the start or middle of your career path, it is always a good idea to plan out the goals you wish to achieve.
These career objectives can refer to skills or knowledge you wish to grow, job functions you wish to go into, and positions you want to achieve in the company.
With planning, it can help you set short- and long-term targets to meet your desired goals and realise the talents that you have.
Before you start, there are three questions you need to answer.
For the first and second, you need to ask yourself: Where are you now and where do you want to be? For the third question on how to get there, we can help guide you.
1. Career goals
Many of us would encounter a time in our lives where we are unsure of the next steps to take – be it whether to change a job, switch to a new career or move into a new industry.
Your career objective might be a director of a large firm or find fulfilling work.
No matter what your ultimate goal is having a framework to reach it is important.
And if you are unsure where to start – speak to someone who is already in that position or do some research.
With a wealth of information available online or in books, it is easy to be inspired by individuals who have already achieved the same goals that you want.
And with that, you can craft out a framework to reach them through learning, different job scopes or experiences.
2. Learning goals
You may have heard of this before, the best way to learn is through the 70-20-10 model.
This means, 70% of your professional growth will come from your work experiences, 20% will be derived from your interactions with people, and 10% will be from your formal education.
Learning is a cycle and to do it successfully, you will need to plan a well-round routine to cover the three main areas.
You can learn on the job, widen your network to include mentors or peers, and enroll in professional programmes through short-term or part-time courses.
Other than courses relating to your work, trying out classes outside your comfort zone can help you reach and explore more diversified areas.
To start, decide what your learning objective is and plan it out accordingly.
You may wish to take into consideration factors such as time, budget, commitments and if you have the mental capacity to take on the extra load.
As such, you will be able to focus better and successfully learn.
3. Share your goals
Feedback is a gift for us to re-assess our work.
With your learning and career goals decided, share them with your friends, family and trusted acquaintances or mentors.
By sharing, they will be able to advise or point out the potential pitfalls in your road map to success and direct you to leads that can help you achieve your goals.
Listen to their feedback with an open heart and see how it can be useful to you.
4. Do it and do it right
Even if everything is planned out, none of your dream goals will be realised if it is not executed.
With all the plans laid out, plan a calendar of activities so you can easily track your targets, manage your expectations, and not lose sight that these career goals are not going to happen overnight.
By regularly assessing your career timeline, you can make plans to accelerate or to just take a break. Whatever your ambitions are, planning ahead is the way to get started.
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