Are you in charge of your career growth? While you could easily take a back seat and allow your employer to guide your development, here’s why it’s important to take a more proactive approach and set your own career goals.

Why set career development goals? 

Straight up – setting professional development goals leads to improved knowledge and skills in your desired field of expertise. And considering how quickly new technology and AI tools are disrupting the way we do work, committing to your ongoing development and ​​upskilling is a smart strategy to future proof your career! 

Setting and achieving your own goals can help you step up or sideways faster, increase your engagement and job satisfaction, and align you with your ikigai – your purpose for career and life. 

Examples of career-growing goals 

Knowing which goals you should set will depend on the end game you have in mind. Here are ten examples of small and big, short- and long-term professional goals to inspire your thinking. 

1. Communicate with influence and impact (to prepare for leadership) 
2. Develop your executive presence and confidence 
3. Give and ask for more feedback 
4. Get comfortable with uncomfortable conversations 
5. Ask for that promotion 
6. Seek a mentor (or mentee) 
7. Step into a leadership role 
8. Complete a professional qualification or course 
9. Expand your network and interactions with other departments 
10. Develop inclusive leadership skills and foster inclusivity and belonging across the organisation 

How to set your goals 

Safe to say, there’s a lot you can choose from. But to make sure your goals become reality, you’ll want to ​set intentional goals that are SMART – that is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. Here’s how: 

Step one: Know your end goal 

Where do you see yourself in one, five and ten years? How does your professional life support what you envisage for your personal life? When you are clear about what you want and where you need to go, you can set the smaller goals needed to help you get there. 

Step two: Create SMART goals 

Simplify what you need to do by creating manageable goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. For example: 

• Specific goal: I want to learn [skill or discipline] so I can change careers into [industry] 
• Measurable: I will complete an online course in [discipline] 
• Achievable: I will spend an hour per week completing the course content 
• Relevant: I will dedicate one lunch break per week to completing the course content 
• Timely:  I will complete the online course in three months. 

Step three: Review and evaluate your goals regularly 

Life can change course in an instant (remember the pandemic?), meaning what was once relevant is no more. Long-term goals especially can lose their appeal or importance the more we get bogged down in the day to day of life. Regularly checking in with yourself can help you stay motivated as you track progress and ongoing goal alignment. 

Even if your employer is big on learning and development, personal development should be self-directed because that’s the only way to ensure your career is heading in the right (desired) direction. Make sure you set SMART goals and regularly review your progress to make your long-term career goals a reality.