Career goals are very specific targets that one sets their sights on, in order to reach a certain summit and be successful on the way, leaving no regrets behind.
Career goals may involve both long-term as well as short-term ones. It is preferable to streamline one’s focus on short time goals, as they serve as stepping stones to future prospects.
As one grows through life, goals undergo development and alterations, in fact, in some situations, they may completely shatter and get rebuilt into something entirely different.
Goals do not have to be very lofty and grand, they may be something as simple as endeavoring to obtain a job that will get a person through his days, his daily fare, and rent. While it is true that everyone tries to reach the sky, not everyone has the scope nor the ability to gaze upwards.
First and foremost, people need to set their sights on something achievable to begin with. One cannot think along the lines of ‘I would like to become the President of my nation’, which, frankly, is ludicrous.
Significance of Setting Goals
- Giving rise to incentives and stimuli
- Enhance adroitness
- Increasing mastery over a particular topic
How should one go about when setting goals for themselves
- Recognizing whence your true interest lies. Some people wish to pursue a career in academics, while others are more efficient in the software and networking field. Once recognized, you can endeavour to get better at it. For example, in the case of an educational career, you must try to qualify as many competitive examinations as possible, also, bag as many academic degrees as you can. In case of networking, try learning several computer languages such as java, php, C++, etc.
- Think of a time-frame for yourself and adhere to it strictly. Short term goals involve a time-window of a few months or a year or so. Long term ones are the goals you set for yourself over the span of five years or perhaps even ten. May the aim be quantifiable.
- Ponder over your long term goals as you sort out whether you seek to stay in your country or venture to another country. Think of all the necessary arrangements to be made, such as applying for a VISA, or passing tests like TOEFL. Then there are other things to be taken into consideration: credentials, authorization and certification; the amount of money you would like to have in the bank at the age of 60 and above. Think of what you would like to achieve before you retire.
- It is important to hold onto academic degrees, especially post-graduate ones. A NET or GATE qualified candidate is given greater preference whilst scouring for work.
Also Read : Career Options after BBA
Career Goals Examples for Students
1. Your Curriculum Vitae must be enriched. Keep upgrading it as you overcome every barrier. It may be yearly, half-yearly or quarterly. Those who are interested in business, ought to check their monetary conditions quite often to judge the range of success. Those who run an industry should do the same in order to enlarge the firm.
2. Getting a diploma apart from official degrees, including Master of Business Administration. MBA consists of auditing, financial strategies, statistical mathematics, computation, business and marketing, and venture capital.
3. Use Social Media to widen your horizon. LinkedIn happens to be the site to start.
- Resume must be very strong.
- Create a fairly decent profile on LinkedIn.
- Make sure the words used in the profile are not vague but extremely precise and distinct.
- Use a photograph of yourself that helps you stand out, a business-like one.
- The headline must be taken care of. It should neither be too big nor too small.
- Mention your accomplishments in particular.
- Using keywords to make sure people are interested in your profile.
- Be bold and dynamic. Comment on posts by other people to get noticed.
- Having a blog of your own helps.
- Write plenty of features and essays which can pique the interests of people.
- Form a lot of associates.
- Have a good understanding of LinkedIn and create handles on social media to interact with a large group of people with similar interests.
- You must update your profile on a daily basis and keep posting your recent developments.
4. Furtherance of correspondence abilities, which involves taking to other people on a daily basis during free periods, interacting with a lot of people during voluntarily undertaken projects, speaking to foreigners you have made friends with on social media.
5. Deeply analyse the kind of job that suits you best. It does not necessarily have to cater to what you have learned in graduation and post-graduation. It should be something you are comfortable with. Create a profile on sites where you can pick out fitting jobs.
6. Sit for tests and be present at interviews. For example, if you are a Mathematics graduate, you can still go for a job which involves animation if you have taken a course in it and are fairly confident in your skills. Or, if you have done a Masters in English, you can still be a teacher of French in international skills if you have studied French for a diploma.
7. Polishing your abilities on supervision. In the event you wish to be an executive officer in the future, your skills on orchestrating a group must be honed to perfection. You can opt for courses if there are any or train to be a leader in the company you work for.
8. Think of strategies you can use to compete with contemporary enterprises. Chalk out your positive and negative points and use it to your advantage to comprehend how businesses flourish. It ought to aid you in the future. Understand the monetary conditions of other contemporary industries in order to improve productivity and effectiveness.
9. Internships are vital. 85% of industries and firms recruit candidates solely on their performance in internships. Internships are a juncture offered to undergraduates or postgraduates by a high-ranking officer in a company to candidates they can possibly recruit in the near future.
Internships are done over a span of either six months or an entire year and the interns are paid a handsome stipend. Internships primarily provide a hands-on encounter with simulation projects that may be of use in their chosen area of academics. It can be considered the final stage of training for the industrial company you are aiming for.
You may consider starting a venture of your own. However, for that, you would need capital. That amount of money could be obtained through smaller, part-time jobs, like teaching younger students or being involved in university projects for a set period of time.
If you wish to be successful in your field, you must certainly brush up on novel and contemporary technology. You can learn python which is turning into a rapidly popular computer language. Or you can learn system management, security configuration management or device control and implementation of various operating systems like LINUX.
Also Read: Career Guidance, Courses and Career Options After 12
Frequently Asked Questions on Career Goal Examples
Some of the most pressing issues pertaining to career long-term and short-term goals are:
Q1: What are your interests when it comes to your career?
A: If you are asked what you envision as a career, your reply ought to be extremely apropos and germane to the firm or institution you are being interviewed for. Answers that are all over the place are generally not entertained and you will be considered a person who has no set aims or goals.
Q2: What are your career goals?
A: When asked about your goals, you should begin with your short-term ones and smoothly transit to your long-term intentions. It tells the interviewer that you are judicious and rational, not someone with their head in the clouds.
Q3: How do you plan on aiding our company?
A: Should a person inquire about your decisions to help the company you seek to join, you must meticulously tell them about a well-thought-out plan of execution. Answer as objectively as possible that will be favorable to your supervisor.
Q4: On what grounds should we hire you?
A: If asked something along the lines of ‘Tell me your reasons as to why you think we ought to hire you for our firm’, let them know about your strong suits and aptitude. Let them know about your noteworthy achievements in a renowned establishment.
Be not arrogant, but reply as humbly as possible, yet show them that you are confident enough in your field of expertise. Inform them about your previous experience and what you have garnered from them.
Q5: What can we expect from you in the event you are hired by our company?
A: Refining and rehearsing answers beforehand is essential. You can seek help from a peer who has already sat through an interview or you can read articles on what to do and what not to do in a questioning session. You can participate in mock interviews provided by your college or university or during your period of internship.
Talking about monetary benefits is not the proper way to conclude an interview. Instead, you can talk about how you wish to improve and learn more from them in the event you are presented with an opportunity. You must take part in more than one project and display your Master’s thesis for them to inspect.
More Resources:
