How to Set Career Goals

Instructions

1. • 1
     Take inventory of your strengths and weaknesses. Personal strengths often flow from the attainment of earlier goals in life and indicate areas where a professional may easily succeed. Weaknesses provide insight as to which goals you've struggled to attain along with an indication of which goals may help overcome previous limitations.
   • 2
     Determine an overall goal. This typically takes the form of the question: "Where would I like to be in X number of years?" where "X" represents the desired length of the major goal. Consider financial improvement, family and personal development as well as other interests when setting this first goal.
   • 3
     Evaluate the actions needed to reach the overall goal in the specified period of time. Consider which of these pertain to your strengths and which may provide difficulty due to personal weaknesses. Decide which difficult goals require assistance to overcome, and where or how to find that assistance.
   • 4
     Create career goals to measure the progress of the overall goal. Each of these provides a milestone on the path to the overall goal as well as a sense of accomplishment upon attainment.
   • 5
     Write down the overall goal and the milestones. Provide specific details on each including the definition of the goal, how it pertains to career advancement and difficulties to overcome. Career goals gain much greater weight when written.