What's Your Career Goal ?

What is more important to you? Planning your next vacation or your career?  

If you want to be satisfied in life it is important to take a step towards defining your career Goals. Planning Career Goals is like building bridges. Without them you may not be able to cross the rivers or may fall back and stop short of your journey. With bridges there is a safety and direction and not forgetting the ease and quick access across a big obstacle.

Career planning is an ever- changing and evolving process involving real choices, decisions and plans. In career planning “Goal Setting " can mean many things. But the Goals which you can actually achieve are the ones which are feasible or realistic goals and those are the ones to be planned.  Today youngsters fall short of energy, aptitude and interest to develop career paths due to lack of time which is constant. You feel discouraged with so much to do and yet not being able to achieve it just because you haven't set practicable targets for yourself.

Barriers to Career: In order to keep your career vision simple, you need to free yourself from career barriers. Procrastination, Pressure Prompted, Apathy, Low Motivation, Laziness is all personal career barriers. Then there are pressures from the family, your friends. Expectations to follow a certain path or to take up the family business. Sometimes a barrier is a mind-set where you want to avoid taking up a career path which you feel is below your status or stature.

Do you know yourself: You need to make an honest assessment of your aspirations? A good idea is to share your dreams with family and friends who know you well. It’s true that no one knows you better than yourself, but it’s always advisable to have an outside perspective on such an important decision. A career assessment done with a professional career councillor could really work for you. As you plan your career path it is important to understand your personality, your aptitude, and your interest areas while working on your “transferable skills”.  There is no good or bad personality. According to studies you could be grouped into sixteen different types of personalities. Are you an extravert or an introvert? Do you like thinking or doing? Do you like routines or change? Do you like to plan or u act on impulse? A good way to understand you is to get a personality assessment done.  

Questions for Career Goal Setting: There are a few questions that you would always need to answer while planning your career for realistic goals. What is the time frame available with you? Are you willing to commit yourself to your career path that you have set for yourself for that whole duration? Does your current education level and the courses you are pursuing in line with your path? If you are too young and yet to choose these paths are you willing to learn these? Who is going to provide you with the funding of your career goals? Do you have the resources available? Will the achievement of these goals make you a much happier person and will it enhance your personality? What are the key characteristics of the lifestyle that you hope to have? Is money important, then how much money you are able to make? Do your goals conflict or complement one another? How big is the market for your chosen field? Do you want to stay close to your home or willing to move out anywhere geographically?

While you need to find the answers to these questions, you need to work on your natural talents which are the key to your transferable skills required for any job. 

Analysing yourself: You would need to analyse your likes and dislikes. What kind of activities both at work and play do you enjoy and what are the activities you tend to avoid. Make a list of both types of activities. Reflect on the times and situations in which you feel most passionate, most energetic, most engaged - and see if you can develop a common profile of these situations. Develop a list of your passions and analyse them. What does success mean to you? Is it power, control, money or just being happy? A realistic self-assessment is looking at your key strengths and weaknesses. Be good at praising yourself (“I am Great at maths and physics “) but don’t forget your humility (“I am really not good at working with people”).

The time is now: A career plan in short term ranges from the coming year to the next few years depending upon what you seek to achieve. The key to your being successful on your career path would be developing realistic Goals and objectives that you could accomplish in the near future.  It’s never too soon (or too late) to start planning. Whether you are in school and trying to figure out what stream or courses you should take or you are in college and looking forward to get your first job, a professional seeking advancement in the career path or someone who wants to change careers.  We all have different ambitions and targets. The road can be sometimes tough and long .It’s all about focusing on your Goals and moving in the right direction since “If you do not know where to go, any road will take you there”.