Setting career goals and objectives is an important part of reaching for your dreams. After all, how will you get someplace if you don’t know where you want to go? Without deciding on your career goals, even if you suspect that your goals may change over time, you may have a stagnant work life.

Career Goal Setting
Setting your career goals is a little more complicated than asking yourself what you want to do when you grow up, although that really isn’t a bad start. Ask yourself what you would want to do if you could do anything in the world. Your ideas could include a specific job position or a general idea. Make a list of several options that you like. Then, put the list away. Repeat this process once a week for another few weeks. Compare your lists. Is there a theme that runs through several of your ideas? Does one jump out at you more than others?

Do some research to find out what it takes to reach your career goal, and then ask if you can handle it. You must be realistic. This means understanding what your strengths and weaknesses are. For example, if you want to be a professor at a major university, you may have to look elsewhere to teach if you can’t deal with the “publish or perish” attitude that many major universities have. This doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to teach at the college level; you just have to find an institution where your job requirements do not include publishing periodically.

Long-Term Career Goals Versus Short-Term Career Goals
Once you have decided on a long-term career goal, how are you going to get there? The whole process may seem overwhelming. To help with this, you need to set short-term goals that will lead you to your long-term goal.

Your research should already have told you about most of the requirements that you will have to fulfill in order to reach your long-term goal. For example, if you decide that you want to be the Vice-President of Marketing in a medium-sized company, you may need to have a Master’s Degree in Marketing. Getting a Master’s Degree goes into your “requirements” pot. After you know the requirements to reaching your goal, prioritize them from least important to most important and from least time required to most time required.

Now, write out a list of your short-term goals. Make sure that the goals are achievable and reasonable. For example, no matter how much you would like it to be true, you probably won’t be able to work full-time and get a college degree in one year. When you achieve a short-term goal, cross it off of the list.

Just because your goals are in writing does not mean that they are “The Law.” It is perfectly normal to find yourself re-evaluating both your long-term career goals and the short-term goals that will get you there at different points in time. What is important is having a plan in writing with which you can work.