Career Goals Are Dynamic Goals

What you choose to do with your life may depend on these factors: your family background and how you see family fit into your future, educational background, financial resources, your social network, available opportunities and personal ambitions. Before setting career goals, you should first consider your personal life interests.

Once you are clear on the type of life you want, your next step should be to familiarize yourself with the career options available to you. Select the ones that interest you most. The next step is to find a course that will take you to your goal, and the preparations you need to make to achieve that goal.

This may not be a clear course of action and this means two things:

First, seek out people who are having success in the career of your choosing, invite them to lunch and ask a lot of questions. Most people are happy to share about their career - especially if they are excited and passionate about it. And if they aren't excited, you may want to learn why and reconsider your options.

Second, your initial career interest areas may only suggest what you're really best suited for. I held no fewer than fifteen jobs before discovering my niche in business - and that working for someone else wasn't in my nature.

A career plan requires long-term and short-term goals. The short-term goals for a week (I'll conduct 2 informational interviews), a month (I'll take a weekend course to learn more about this interest area and network with some like-minded people) or even a year (I recognize the need for some specialized knowledge and I'm willing to take an evening course or two to get it). They are small steps that lead to your larger goal. Include in the steps, any necessary course work, training and preparation that might be required to achieve your main goal.

It is very possible that your goals may change as you grow and your life evolves. This is something to consider in your decision-making process. You can only make the best the decision based on the information you have right now. While it's good to have a set course of action, you also need to adapt your plan to new developments in your life.

You need to explore the alternatives available to you, keeping in mind your values, your commitments, your resources, and your constraints. After this take action. Work hard to get what you want and never underestimate what you are capable of achieving. If you fail, review your goals once again. The best part of decision-making process is that it makes you more confident about yourself and what you are doing. You are your own judge and wise choices can invariably lead to handsome rewards.