Goals give us a sense of purpose and something to aim for in life. Career goals can be especially valuable – they can set you on track to a change or new role that you find fulfilling and rewarding.
Plenty of us have career goals, but we’re often faced with stumbling blocks as we pursue them. Research for SEEK shows that 39% of Australians find setting career goals overwhelming and that 30% aren’t updating career goals as often as they’d like to.
It’s great to aim big, but if a goal isn’t realistic, it can be harder to stick to – and you might set yourself up to miss. A positive, realistic goal that you reach one step at a time will keep you motivated, and there’s no greater sense of achievement than reaching a hard-won goal.
Leah Lambart is a career coach with Relaunch Me and an expert in achieving career goals. Here are her five key tactics for setting realistic, achievable goals for your working life.
Think about what you value
The change you’re looking for might not simply be a different role or higher income – it could be greater flexibility, better work-life balance, or more meaningful and creative work, Lambart says.
For many people, there are things that matter more than money such as job security, and spending more time with family, so thinking about your values can help you find the work that suits you best.
And if you’re naturally cautious and wary of taking a risk, remember that there are risks worth taking when it comes to your career.
To help you stick to your goal, focus on the positive change the goal would bring to your life. “It could be more time spent with family, less weekend work, greater work satisfaction, more energy to play with the kids, or more time to take up hobbies,” Lambart says.
You’ll be more likely to see your career goals through if there’s meaning and value attached to them.
Be specific with your goals
Any major change takes time and several steps before achieving it, which can sometimes feel frustrating and overwhelming.
“One way to approach this is to break the change down into smaller steps and make them more specific,” Lambart says. “Then the change process will feel less overwhelming and you’ll be more likely to commit to it long-term.”
If you have a goal in mind, try using the SMART method. Ask yourself whether your goal is:
Specific – what do I want to accomplish, why, and how?
Measurable – what evidence is going to show that I’m making progress?
Achievable – is it something I can reasonably do, or do I need to break it down further?
Relevant – does the goal really matter to me? Is it the right time?
Time-bound – when can I achieve it by? What deadlines can I break it down into?
This approach can help you reassess your goals. For example, if you want to become Sales Manager this year, but you’ve just joined the company as a Junior Sales Associate, you may be putting too tight a time limit on yourself – it might take three years.
Or if you want to own your own catering business in eight months but haven’t worked in that industry before, you might make a goal to get hands-on experience first before getting a business loan.
Keep this timeline somewhere you see it often, so you’re reminded to stick to it. But if something throws your plans off course, give yourself the flexibility (and permission) to adjust, too.
If there’s something you want to achieve in your career, or a job you’ve always dreamed about, setting goals will help you get there. By breaking down your goals into clear, simple steps that are realistic, you’ll be less likely to feel overwhelmed. Be open to change, think about your values, and share your goal with your support network – that can be the boost you need.
Remember to stay open to adapting your goal and timeline if your circumstances change. That will help you avoid frustration – because you’re in this for the long haul.
By using these strategies you can set achievable goals that you can reach, one step at a time.
Source: Independent research conducted by Nature of behalf of SEEK, interviewing 4800 Australians annually. Published Februrary 2024.