Career success is that dream that everyone wishes for. The best way to know when you get there is to know where you are going.

To do that you need to set goals. According to Personal Plan over 80% of people do not set goals! Just think of how ahead of the game you will be if you take the time to not only set goals but achieve them?

Long-Term Goals

Think about your ultimate place in life. You won’t know you have succeeded if you don’t know where you are going. If you aren’t sure, think about the jobs you have held.

What did you like about each? What did you dislike?

Now think about the people you worked with. Was there someone who you envied or felt like you would like to be one day?

Talk to them about their path and how they made it to where they are today. Then you can plan out where you want to be long-term.

Goal Planning

Now that you know long-term where you want to end up, you need to take steps to get there. Just wishing it won’t make it happen.

Think about where you want to be and decide on the first thing you will need to do to get there.

Some things to think about are do you currently have the qualifications you need to do the role? What degree is required?

Are there any certifications that you will need to obtain?

Once you figure out what you need to have, map out a plan to work on obtaining the necessary skills.

Check out this article from Forbes on why you should be writing down your goals.

Be Flexible

It’s okay to deviate from the plan if an opportunity arises. Analyze the opportunities as they come up and determine if they will help you ultimately be closer to your goal.

Repel the idea that you only have one path. There are several ways to get to your ultimate goal and you don’t want to miss an option that can get you there sooner.

Reflect

It’s important to reflect on your journey. It will take time to reach career success and it can seem like you will never get there. To avoid burnout on your journey, take the time to see how far you have come.

To do this you should reflect on your goal plan to see where you were compared to where you are now. This pdf is a great example of questions you can ask yourself to see if you are on track with meeting your goals.