Goal Setting & Research

You can only set informed career goals if you acquire plenty of information about the career choices open to you. This will require research which can be conducted online or through a local library. You can also visit professional career planning offices to find out about the services they offer.

While goal setting, you should consider all possible alternatives available to you

Maybe some career that you never thought of before, will appear as the right choice for you.

Goal setting can give you the direction that ultimately leads you to achieving your desired career goals.

Job seekers looking for a transition into a new career need to take time to begin their goal setting process.

Types Of Goals

There are two types of goal setting, short term and long term. Short term goals are the things you want to accomplish before three years. Long term goals are the things you will be working to accomplish through many years.

Besides your professional goals, you should also take into account the personal goals you want to accomplish over a period of time .

Your personal goals may involve your family, relationships, travel, education you want to complete and leisure time you want to set aside. Your personal and professional goals are intertwined and are an important part of the goal setting process.

Decision Time...

After your research, you will have to make a decision. The decision should take into account not only the end goal but your path towards achieving that goal. You should write down the goals so you can map your way to achieving them.

Your goal setting exercises should help develop well defined goals, instead of general and imprecise ones

It is important that you realize your commitment to the goals you have set for yourself. You will be highly committed if the goals you set are something you really want to accomplish.

Make Your Goals Realistic

If your goals are too hard to accomplish, you will be constantly falling short.

You probably want to become CEO the first year you start working for a company. The goal might be highly tempting but probably not realistic.

You also need to set you goals to be fairly challenging, rather than just sticking to simple and easy to attain goals.

Be Flixible... Times Change

As previously stated, you will most likely need to update and change your goals as you go through life. Therefore it is important to be flexible in your career goals and to continue with the process to adjust your career goals over time.

Also remember to have a positive attitude about the goals you have set. Thus you will be encouraged with every step you take towards achieving your goals.

Goal Setting & Resumes

After you have gone through the process of setting your career goals, the next step is to construct your resume. Your resume may be one the most important documents you will ever create.

You can use the results you got from your career goal exercises to formulate an objective for your resume. Remember to make the objective section precise and to the point instead of creating wordy objectives that do not say much.

In the later sections of the resume you will have to list your education and experiences which will help you contribute to the company you are applying for and help you attain your goals.

The goal setting process will also help you devise your career plan

The career plan involves knowing where you want to go and how to get there. It involves matching your interests and skills with the right job type.

As you can see a lot depends on the goal setting process. Well defined goals can help you through your job search process, especially developing a resume and through the job interview process. It will also help you develop a long term career plan, that can provide you with guidance and help you avoid distractions.

Article courtesy of Top Career Resumes, where you can get the answers you need about writing winning resumes, cover letters and more. The author, Roger Clark (BSc) has over 25 years experience in career development & recruitment at a senior level through top management positions he has held with major international companies.

Career Articles - Advice on resumes, career planning, goal / objective setting & aptitude testing.