Know Your
Career Goals
What
are your career goals? This is probably the most important
question you can ask and very few people can actually
answer it. It's amazing and a bit of a paradox that most
of us career people spend so much time with career
planning and working toward goals that we hardly can
specify.
In the
starting phase of a career, things don't always seem like
a big deal; in fact they are pretty easy. Most people
appreciate having a job, and when the job is new, almost
any assignment is challenging. Our employees record signs
of progress and assume that their employers are on track.
Many of us are promoted one or more times. But do we know
our ultimate destination?
When
we grow older and mature, promotions become less frequent,
relationships and politics means more while both pressure
and expectations escalate both at work and at home and
wisdom takes over. Your career or job goals are likely to
change more than one time in life. As you grow and develop
and learn more about yourself and your jobs, you may
change your mind.
So how
do you go ahead to discover your real career or
professional goals?
Know
what You really want - You need knowledge about yourself
as well as information about the career options that fit
your skills, values and interests.
Interest clarification - You must explore your work
interests or preferences. Try to recall what courses or
training you really enjoyed and which careers you've
considered pursuing.
Value
assessment - You must find out which of your values are
important to you in terms of job and career satisfaction.
Determine Your Skills - You must list the skills you
currently possess as well as skills you do not have and
wish to develop. Skills can originate from education, work
experiences as well as from experiences from your life in
general.
Explore the career options - Do not limit yourself to one
but look at various career fields. Find out what each of
them entails.
Set
Preliminary Goals - Summarize the results of your
self-assessment in a prioritized list or statement to
serve as a reference as you begin to identify and research
employers
If you
do a good and thorough research, you will be able to
uncover your real career or job goals; what you were meant
to do in your life.
Are
you looking for career coaching and career
counseling services in a "bottle?" Check out
our bookstore.
