Career Development Goal
Introduction
Career goals are targets, positions, situations related to your professional life that you have
set your mind on achieving. It is a strategic approach that empowers individuals to take
charge of their professional lives. Having clear goals enables us to stay focused,
motivated, and proactive in our career journeys. By identifying where we want to go and
what we want to achieve, we can make informed decisions and take the necessary steps to
reach our desired outcomes. Career goals can be short-term or they can be long-term.
Long-term goals are usually large goals you want to achieve over several years. You will
use several milestones to achieve long-term goals, setting short-term goals to achieve along
the way. Below are some reasons why career goal setting is pivotal.
Provides a Sense of Direction
Fuels Motivation and Commitment
Enhances Focus and Efficiency
Shapes Your Career Trajectory
Long-term goals might include:
Landing a leadership position
Working within a specific company or industry
Earning a degree or certification
Publishing research, articles or a book
Short-term goals are more immediate goals you set for yourself to achieve your larger,
long-term goals. You can think of short-term goals as milestones or stepping stones.
Short-term goals usually exist in a short time frame, anywhere from days or months to one
or two years. Setting short-term goals helps you:
Realize what you can accomplish today and take actio
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Define deadlines
Manage and prioritize tasks
Examples of short-term goals might include:
Update your CV
Attend workshop
create link-in account
How to set goals
There are several ways to set goals and there are a few steps you can take to ensure the best
possibility of success. A goal should have five key elements to make them achievable.
These five elements make up what is known as the “SMART goal” framework. SMART
goals are a goal-setting technique that was originally created by business consultant Peter
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Drucker as part of his Management by Objectives concept outlined in his 1954 book, The
Practice of Management. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and
time-based.
Specific: Write your goal with as much detail as possible, while also respecting the fact
that you may not know certain aspects or challenges you may face. Goals that are specific
have a significantly greater chance of being accomplished. To make a goal specific, the
five “W” questions must be considered:
Who: Who is involved in this goal?
What: What do I want to accomplish?
Where: Where is this goal to be achieved?
When: When do I want to achieve this goal?
Why: Why do I want to achieve this goal?
For example a common goal among students is to “obtain an internship.” But that is too
vague to create a detailed plan of how to achieve it. To make that more specific you can
indicate in what field or industry and the geographical location you want the internship.
For instance, a more specific goal is: “To obtain an internship in baking sector located in
Khartoum.”
Measurable: How will you know if you have or have not achieved your goal? You have
to define how you will measure success. A SMART goal must have criteria for measuring
progress. If there are no criteria, you will not be able to determine your progress and if you
are on track to reach your goal. To make a goal measurable, ask yourself:
How many/much?
How do I know if I have reached my goal?
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What is my indicator of progress?
Example - "Increase annual revenue by 20% each year over the next five years.
Achievable: Do you have the resources, such as time, finances, and access to equipment,
to make this happen? For some of these resources, you may need to develop a plan to
acquire them because without them your goal may not be achievable. If you set unrealistic
goals without considering how achievable they are, you may get discouraged and
eventually give up.
Example: - "Complete a master's degree in finance while working full-time within the next
four years."
Relevant: Make sure your goal is aligned with your values and contribute toward your
long-term goals. Each goal you set should be relevant and meaningful to you, moving you
closer toward where you want to be.
For example, if the organization aims to enhance data security, an IT goal could be to
“implement multipactor authentication to enhance data protection measures.”
Timely: Your goal must have a deadline. Setting a timetable to achieve your goal can both
help keep you motivated and on-schedule. Before setting a goal end-date, be sure to
research all the milestones and possible.
Example: Gaining the skills to become head of marketing may require additional training
or experience, as we mentioned earlier. How long will it take you to acquire these skills?
Do you need further training, so that you're eligible for certain exams or qualifications? It's
important to give yourself a realistic time frame for accomplishing the smaller goals that
are necessary to achieving your final objective.
Depending on the focus, career goals can also be sorted into four categories. These
are:
Goals focused on personal development: These goals put emphasis on self-improvement
and skills like networking or teamwork. Achieving them has a positive impact on your
professional life, but they also show that you are more than just work work work.
Improving on skills like graphic design or public speaking
Increasing your knowledge about a certain topic or area of study
Focusing on building or improving relationships
Financial goals like saving for a certain purchase
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Goals focused on professional advancement: These goals are all about improving your
work performance and being more efficient; getting better and faster at what you do and
climbing higher up the ladder because of it. Examples:
Being promoted to a certain position
Completing a large project
Solving a complex problem
Improving certain soft or technical skills
Successfully switching careers or industries
Getting a certain award or recognition
Goals focused on leadership advancement: When it comes to leadership, there’s a lot of
room for career advancement. These goals are all about improving your management skills
and aiming for positions with more responsibilities. Examples
Goals focused on educational advancement: Whether you just graduated or you’re a
full-on professional, there’s always more to learn. These goals are about keeping you up to
date with the new developments in your field or just learning something new and different.
