How to Set Career Goals and Plan Out Your Professional Future

Don’t wait for someone else (your boss or mentor) to ask you what your goals are. Take the initiative and draft your professional goals independently.

• Review your current status: evaluate where you are now in relation to the goals you set int the past. Did you meet those goals? Do they still align with your career path?Looking at your past objectives may help you set your next ones.
• Ask someone you trust, who also knows your professional strengths for help with your goal-setting.
• Ask your colleagues or people you admire what goals they have set and met in past years, to set some inspiration.

• Think about what you bring to the table. Knowing what you do well will also help you decide the things you should work on.
• Don't focus only on the skills that benefit you. Go for the intersection between goals that serve you and your employer or client.
• Keep you goals SMART. This technique helps you set goals that are specific (S), measurable (M), attainable (A), relevant (R) and timely (T).