What Is a Career Goal? How to Write Career Goals and Crush Them in 2023

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You have big aspirations, but you're not sure how to make them a reality.

Or perhaps you’re struggling to commit to the career goals you’ve set in the past.

It’s easy to find yourself in this kind of predicament when it comes to setting and achieving career goals that will truly help you succeed in the long run.

Don’t worry—I’m here to help you navigate career goal-setting and make sure you stay on track until the end.

I’ll dive deep into the art of writing effective career goals and, more importantly, how to stick to them like glue.

But first, let’s define what a career goal is:

What Is a Career Goal?

A career goal is a specific objective or target that you set for your professional life.

It could be anything from getting a promotion to learning a new skill—so long as your plan to get there is clear and measurable.

Now, you might be thinking: "Why bother setting career goals? I'm doing just fine without them."

That's where you're wrong.

Career goals are crucial for a number of reasons:

• They give you direction — without a clear goal in mind, you’ll find yourself feeling lost or aimless in your career. Setting a goal helps you define what you want to achieve and gives you a roadmap for how to get there.
• Career goals help you stay motivated — when you have a clear objective in mind, you're more likely to stay focused and driven in your work.
• Setting career goals helps you take control of your professional life — instead of letting things happen to you, you're actively working toward a goal that you've chosen for yourself.

In short: career goals empower and lead to a greater sense of fulfilment in your work.

How to Write Career Goals That Will Make You Successful

Now that we've established what a career goal is and why it's important to set one, let's talk about how to actually write effective career goals.

1. Be Clear with Your (SMART) Goals

Let's face it: twiddling your thumbs won’t make you successful.

This is why it's crucial to have clear goals in mind.

But not just any goals will do.

I’m talking about specific, actionable goals that will take you from Point A to Point B.

This means you need to know exactly what you want to achieve and what steps you need to take to get there.

It also means you need to have a realistic perception of where you are and how quickly you can get to where you want to go.

If you're currently making minimum wage, it's probably not realistic to set a goal of becoming a billionaire in a year.

So how do you know if your goal is reasonable?

One of the many strategies that you can use is the SMART strategy. It stands for Specific-Measurable-Achievable-Relevant-Time-bound.

Here's an example of a SMART goal:

• Specific: I want to increase my website traffic.
• Measurable: I want to increase my website traffic by 20% within the next 6 months.
• Achievable: Based on my current website traffic and the marketing strategies I have in place, increasing my website traffic by 20% within the next 6 months is achievable.
• Relevant: Increasing my website traffic will help me reach my business goals of generating more leads and increasing sales.
• Time-bound: I want to achieve this goal within the next 6 months.

So, a SMART goal for me would be: I want to increase my website traffic by 20% within the next 6 months to generate more leads and increase sales.

In short, this strategy suggests that you should be realistic with your goals. It’s a useful outline that you can use to make incremental progress.

Because no matter how big or small it is, that’s the thing that matters—progress.

2. Prioritise Tasks

Now it's time to focus on the tasks that will help you achieve your goals.

But not all tasks are created equal.

Some are more important than others, and some are more urgent. That's why it's crucial to prioritise your tasks based on their importance and urgency.

This means focusing on the most critical tasks first and avoiding distractions that can derail your progress.

Spending hours on social media, responding to unimportant emails, or getting lost in unproductive meetings can all take away from the larger goal at hand.

Prioritising the wrong tasks can eat up your time and energy—leaving you with little progress toward your actual goals.

Evaluate your tasks based on their importance and align them with your goals to ensure that you're focusing on the right tasks that will truly drive your success.

If you want to become successful, you need to stay focused on the tasks that matter.

3. Use Your Time Wisely

Time is money.

When you're working toward your career goals, time management is crucial for productivity.

This might mean sacrificing time that you might otherwise spend on social media, binge-watching TV shows, or hanging out with friends and family.

But don't worry—you don't have to become a robot who never takes a break. You just need to use your time wisely. This might mean setting aside certain hours of the day for focused work or breaking up your day into smaller, more manageable chunks.

One strategy you can use is time-blocking.

Time blocking is a time management technique that involves you dividing your day into specific blocks of time, usually ranging from 15 minutes to a few hours, and assigning each block to a specific task or activity.

Here’s a guide to time-blocking from Todoist.

This can help you prioritise tasks, manage your time more efficiently, and stay focused on the task at hand.

It can also help reduce distractions and interruptions, and give you a clear idea of how much time you’re spending on each activity throughout the day.

4. Don't Just Dream About It, Do It!

All the planning and prioritising in the world won't help you without action.

To get out of the “planning mindset,” you can:

• Set realistic deadlines: Break down your big goals into smaller, achievable tasks and give yourself a deadline to complete each one.
• Start with small steps: Don't try to tackle everything at once. Start with small steps that will help you build momentum and gain confidence.
• Embrace imperfection: Don't wait for everything to be perfect before you take action. It's better to start imperfectly than to not start at all.
• Celebrate every win: Take time to acknowledge and celebrate your progress along the way.

There's no magic pill that will make you successful overnight.

It takes hard work, dedication, and a willingness to take risks. But if you're willing to do the work, the rewards can be enormous.

How to Stay Consistent With the Career Goals You Set

In a world where progress is a rollercoaster ride, consistency is the seat belt that keeps you strapped in for the ride.

Let’s go over a few tips to help you stay buckled in.

1. Know What You Want

Let's face it: figuring out what you want in a world full of options is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

With globalisation, the internet, social media, and Web 2.0, the possibilities are endless. It's like being at a buffet with a million dishes.

But that doesn’t mean you should load up your plate with everything in sight. Take the time to really understand what you want and narrow it down.

Here are a few exercises to help you determine what you want:

• Make a list of your passions: Write down everything you're interested in, even if it’s not related to your career. Then, look for patterns and themes that emerge. Do you see any common threads that could guide you toward a particular career path?
• Take a personality test: There are plenty of free online tests that can help you understand your strengths, weaknesses, and preferences. This can be a useful starting point for figuring out what kind of work would be a good fit for you.
• Conduct informational interviews: Reach out to people who work in fields you're interested in and ask them about their experiences. This can give you valuable insights into what it's really like to work in a particular industry.
• Try job shadowing: If you're not sure whether a particular job is right for you, try shadowing someone who does your ideal job. This can give you a better sense of the day-to-day realities of the work and help you decide whether it's a good fit for you.

2. Avoid the Shiny Object Syndrome

TikTok stars, crypto millionaires, the latest fads and trends—they all seem so tempting (and promising).

But chasing after every shiny object that comes your way will only leave you exhausted and scattered.

Instead, stick with one career path and give it your all. Like sales, for example.

Test the waters, take risks, and stay committed even when things get tough.

Remember, it's not the shiny objects that make your career great: it's your unwavering commitment to the journey that counts.

3. Don’t Listen to Naysayers

Naysayers and haters—they're all part of the package deal when it comes to pursuing your career goals.

People might doubt you, criticise you, or rain on your parade. But don't let their negativity bring you down.

In fact, take it as a sign that you're onto something big.

Listen only to those who have the lifestyle that you aspire to. Surround yourself with people who lift you up, encourage you, and believe in your dreams. After all, why would you take career advice from someone who's not where you want to be?

Staying consistent with your career goals requires focus and determination to navigate the twists and turns along the way.

Remember, progress may not always be a straight line, but with a clear vision and unwavering commitment, you'll be well on your way to achieving the career success you deserve.

Set Your Sights to Career Success

Are you hitting the snooze button every morning and hoping you magically receive that promotion you’ve been dreaming of?

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. The truth is, if you want to progress in your career, you need to set clear goals and work consistently towards them.

So stop wishing and start planning. You can use the advice above to write and execute your own successful career goals.

Author Bio

Max Tornow is the founder of Freedom Business Mentoring–a program that helps people start thriving coaching and consulting businesses and achieve both financial and time freedom.