Setting Career Goals

Class Location: The Internet.

Description: This course is designed to help students set career goals by examining their interests and skills.

Objective: Learn to come up with career goals and accomplish them.

Consider setting goals for your career like following a road map of your future. You wouldn't start a cross-country trip without bringing a map, so why would you move along through your career with no idea of where you want to go next or what you need to do to get there?

Self-assessment is the first step in determining your goals. By figuring out your interests, values, and skills, you can find a career that best suits your personality and desires. Ask yourself a long list of questions. For instance, what type of work environment most appeals to you? Do you work well under pressure? Do you prefer to work alone or in groups? The answers to these types of questions will help you determine a career that fits who you are. If you're having trouble with self-assessment, a career counselor can provide you with a variety of skills and interests tests that will help guide your career choice.

Once you've decided on a career, you need to outline your plan to reach your goals. Write down both your short-term and long-term goals. Start with your educational plans and continue through to your job goals. Short-term goals are those you can reach within about a year, such as taking the SATs, getting into a certain school, obtaining an internship, etc. Your long-term goals might be earning a bachelor's or master's degree or getting a job with a specific company.

Along with each goal, write down what action you need to take to accomplish it. Understand that some goals might take longer to reach than you expected, and anticipate setbacks. Review your goals to see whether they're realistic. You want to aim high, but you don't want to set yourself up for failure. Write down what obstacles you might expect, such as financial difficulties or family obligations.

Consider your plan a guide rather than a rule book. Stay flexible to give yourself the best chances for success. Pursue your goals wholeheartedly, but understand that sometimes forks in the road will require you to deviate from your plan. When this happens, realize that your goals may have changed, but you can still succeed at new ones.