Setting Career Goals That Tell A Story

Whilst things may have been knocked off-kilter when it comes to a career within the past year, gradual steps are far better than thinking that the huge goals you set out to achieve have to be accomplished swiftly.

Sally Bennett recognises that every CV tells a story. “For any recruiter, or employer, show a direction that has a start, a middle but not necessarily an end. This helps to show how you are developing, the skills you are developing, the responsibilities you are growing.”

It’s not a case of reaching for the stars but making gradual steps to what you want to achieve.

Sally continues, “Even making a sideways move to another industry can help someone else see your progression. By working towards a vision that you have, you can end up taking so much more. For instance, self-esteem and your own happiness.”

Whilst you may have ambitious goals for what you want to achieve, it is good to be clear on what you want to achieve (and by no means are we saying mapping out a 25-year plan). For instance, it could be to understand what career fulfilment means to you. In the seminal book on work called Working author Studs Terkel said that work, ”is about a search…for daily meaning as well as daily bread, for recognition as well as cash, for astonishment rather than torpor.” An attribute for those people who enjoyed what they did, had, “a meaning to their work over and beyond the reward of the paycheck.”

Sally acknowledges that whilst there are pressures around us all, not to go full steam ahead within an industry you haven’t quite peaked within. “For instance, a person who has been in a senior role for one year, compared to someone else with five years senior experience, an employer could favour the leader who has more years and proof, not necessarily ability, within their senior career.”

We all need goals to work to and to get there can be a process of smaller goals and achievement. For instance, to become respected and known within your field of expertise, raising your visibility doesn’t happen overnight, it is a gradual process. 

It all comes down to choosing a path that you are comfortable with, is attainable and you can reach for. The goals that you can master can put you in a strong place for your own success.