Effective Strategies for Career Goal Setting

Building your career can seem daunting, no matter where you are in the process or your goals. However, when it comes to advancing your career, setting goals is one of the most effective approaches you can take to help you get where you want to go.

Whether your goal is to make more money or oversee different tasks, setting career goals gives you something to keep your eye on and makes it easy to monitor your progress. Setting career goals is also an important component of developing a growth mindset.

Not sure where to start setting career goals? Join us as we explore effective strategies to help you create realistic and measurable goals for career success.

Understand and Establish SMART Goals

"SMART" is an acronym that can help guide you to create comprehensive goals. These types of goals are not specific to career goals — which means you may have heard about SMART goals in other settings. This acronym stands for:

S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Attainable
R - Relevant/Realistic
T - Timely/Time-bound

Each of these elements of the "SMART" structure is designed to help make it easier to create goals. To interpret this acronym, start with the "S," which stands for specific. This means your goals should be very detailed and specific instead of broad. The "M" for measurable means that each goal you write should be able to be measured to track your progress.

Goals should also be attainable and relevant, so you'll want to consider how realistic it is that you can achieve your goals. Lastly, consider the time required to achieve each goal you write. Setting a time frame for your goal makes it easier to stay on track and monitor your progress.

Browsing examples of SMART goals can help make it easier to visualize what your goals should look like. For example, "I want to get a promotion to lead manager by next spring" is a SMART goal, as it provides a timely goal that is specific, measurable, and relevant to career goals.

Be Realistic When Monitoring Goals

If you've followed the SMART method when creating your career goals, chances are you've already created goals that are attainable and relevant. However, it's still important to be realistic as you monitor your goals. Taking steps to advance your career can take time and depend on various factors, such as your skillset and opportunities available at your organization.

It is important to remember that the clearest goals do not always go to plan, so be prepared to adapt as time goes on. You may also find it helpful to create a backup plan or "plan B" route, which can guide your career if your original plan cannot be executed as intended.

Break Down Goals with Backward Planning

Setting your goals by “working backward" is another technique that some people find helpful. This method involves thinking about the "end goal" you want to achieve, such as a specific promotion or a pay raise. Once you have identified your "end goal," consider the smaller steps needed to achieve these goals. These smaller steps may include going back to schedule to achieve a higher degree or getting more field experience.

The "working backward" method makes it easier to break down a massive goal into smaller, more actionable goals. In addition, this method can help you to understand a realistic pathway to achieve your career goals and help you to manage expectations.

Get Started Working on Your Career Goals

With these effective strategies in mind, it's time to start working on your career goals! Browse the ChenMed Career Blog for more helpful tips and information to help support your career growth, such as these tips for developing strong leadership skills. Plus, subscribe to the Talent Talk community to stay in the know with the latest career news.