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How can I reach my career goals?

I need to reach my career goals if i want to grow up and have a good job

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Thank you comment icon What are your goals? List them and set a priority LeAnn Starks
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Stan’s Answer

First and foremost - identify your interests and passions: Take some time to think about what you are truly interested in and what you enjoy doing. This can help you determine what career paths may be a good fit for you.

Research career options: Once you have a general idea of the types of careers that interest you, do some research to learn more about each one. Read job descriptions, talk to people who work in the field, and visit websites like LinkedIn and Glassdoor to learn about the typical responsibilities and requirements for each role.

Build a strong academic foundation: Most careers will require some form of post-secondary education, so it's important to focus on your studies and work hard to maintain good grades. Consider taking challenging courses that are relevant to your career goals and look for opportunities to get involved in extracurricular activities that align with your interests.

Gain relevant experience: Participating in internships, volunteer work, or part-time jobs can give you valuable hands-on experience in your chosen field and help you build a network of professionals who can provide support and guidance as you move forward in your career.

Network and make connections: Attend events, conferences, and networking opportunities to meet people who work in your field of interest. Building relationships with these individuals can be valuable in helping you learn more about the industry and potentially opening doors to future job opportunities.

Stay informed and continue to learn: The job market and requirements for different careers are constantly changing, so it's important to stay informed and continue to learn about your field of interest. This can involve taking courses, attending workshops and seminars, or simply staying up-to-date with news and trends in the industry.
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Vamshee’s Answer

In professional life, we are asked to Set SMART Goals and work towards it.

The SMART acronym stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. You can use this acronym to guide you as you add goals into your career statement. However, there are many other types of strategies you could use to write your goals. Here's what the SMART acronym means:

Specific: Goals that are clear and concise reduce confusion about exactly what you want to achieve.

Measurable: If you can, include a unit of measure in your goals. These benchmarks are important so you know when you have achieved your goal, or when you have made definitive steps toward your result.

Attainable: Career goals that are attainable and realistic can keep you on track to actually accomplish your goals. Think about the resources available to you and make sure these resources can help you meet your goals.

Relevant: After you've asked yourself the important questions, you can craft a career goal that's relevant to your passions, interests and long-term desires.

Time-bound: It's best to include a deadline or due date for career goal statements. This deadline may vary by the individual, so it's important to base the timeline on the effort and time it takes to complete a specific goal

Main thing is focus on goals and plan weekly schedule, review every week to see that you don't deviate from path.
its ok to have ups and downs, as long as you have fun while working on goals and pat yourself for making progress,

Good Luck
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Sanja’s Answer

Prioritize your goals. Find a mentor that can help you get where you need to be. Educate yourself. Attend as much training as possible, even if it's outside of your job scope.
In my experience what has helped me the most is reaching out across the board and helping coworkers that needed help and in the same time it has allowed me to learn something new and get better at different areas from my role.
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Neha’s Answer

Hey Austin,

The first thing I would suggest is always have a plan. Start by looking into your interests in daily life, which classes do you like the most and which topics of conversations arise curiosity in you. Once you zero down on a few options you can look out for the careers around them and start upskilling yourself. Hopefully this should be a good start and will help you get aligned to a career you like :)
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Jared’s Answer

Hi Austin,

I think the first question you want to ask yourself is what do you see yourself doing. It doesn't have to be something that everyone else has done either (i.e. Doctor, Lawyer, Teacher, Salesperson), because it may be something that doesn't currently exist yet. Think about something you'd love to do that can bring value to the world around you. What are you good at? It could be something basic, but fundamentally relevant to everyones' lives. Once you figure this out, then come back to this question above.
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Stephanie’s Answer

I think some basic ways to ensure you are prepared for the future job market is to practice self motivation, learn a lot of skills so you are versitile, and be flexible. Most careers are developed from an entry level position, which I love becuase it allows you to learn a business and see where within it you might enjoy working or work best.
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Mike’s Answer

The first step is to refine what those goals are! Try to pick 1-2 specific goals you want to achieve and then work on creating a plan for just those. Always remember nothing is set in stone!
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Aisha’s Answer

Take your career development at your own pace- there is no “Right way” or “One path” that you need to follow. What worked for someone else may not be a good fit for you, and that is OKAY! Take a deep breath, trust that you are absolutely capable of success, and good luck.
Thank you comment icon Thank you, this is really helpful. Austin
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david’s Answer

I like your question. Many people list goals and then nothing happens. That is because they fail to define the tasks to achieve the goal. My suggestion to you is to first define your goals. Don't be too specific, as you're still in discovery mode. For example, saying you want to be a doctor or an accountant jumps over the discovery process. A better goal might be "define several career areas of interest", as that is doable and moves you forward. Next, write down (seeing the words on paper is important, as you are more likely to commit to them) the tasks to do that. By 'tasks', I mean actual steps you will do and achieve, not just think about. For example, tasks might be:
- define activities that make you feel you accomplished something or feel valued. (Tasks such as 'reading books' or 'playing with the dog' are too open and do not qualify.
- investigate career areas that use similar activities. (for example, if you enjoy doing things with your hands, that also relates to surgery, carpentry, police work .)
- create a matrix of the activities and career areas and identify which ones have several of your defined interests.
- from that, become more selective and search internet (and talk with HS guidance counselor) for more awareness of options in those areas.

Now, the above may not fit your style, but by having defined tasks, you can monitor your progress as you actively do and write each one. Good luck in your pursuits.
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Molly’s Answer

You career development is mainly in your hands to drive, but look for Mentors, Career Coaches, and Sponsors to help you on your journey! Below are some great resources to get you started with goal setting:
-A great book to help with documenting and track goals is "Goals!: How to Get Everything You Want -- Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible": https://www.amazon.com/Goals-Everything-Faster-Thought-Possible/dp/1605094110.
-Article 1: Sponsors Need to Stop Acting Like Mentors: https://hbr.org/2019/02/sponsors-need-to-stop-acting-like-mentors
-Article 2: The Right Way to Find a Career Sponsor: https://hbr.org/2013/09/the-right-way-to-find-a-career-sponsor
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Vridhi’s Answer

Hi Austin,

In order to reach your career goals, please identify the following:

1) Career Interests - Education / Technology / Design
2) Specific companies to work in
3) Find a mentor who can guide you through your short-terms and long-term goals

Please make sure you try to be very clear about the specific career path you'd like to choose.
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Gary’s Answer

Hi Austin, I would create a list of what are some of my strongest and weakest skill sets. Then from there look for jobs that focus on those skill sets.
The reason I say that you may want to look at your weaker skills, you may want to build those skills up so that you can become a stronger candidate. In the end you may need to balance several skill sets to find the perfect job. Understanding your skill set will help you find the correct job to set you up for future sucess.
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Sebastian’s Answer

First of all, think about if you want to just step up in hierarchy of your company or if you are looking to learn and explore new skills.
Do great at your current job to get noticed by others inside your company.
Make sure to get feedback and improve on what you get from that feedback.
Look for networking opportunities (also outside your company) and talk with people who are already on the career path
you are aspiring.
Be aware of the opportunities around you and make sure you take advantage of a possible "shortcut" available.

Sebastian recommends the following next steps:

Ask yourself what excites and inspires you? What are your core values? Make sure that your career goals match with these.
Look what existing skills you have and what you can do with them already?
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Gus’s Answer

Hi Austin,

A great first step to a fulfilling career is looking at yourself! What are you interests? What are your hobbies? Are there any skills that you are good at. Once you answer these questions, you can begin researching careers that align with your personality and skills. A "Good" job is a fulfilling job and one that you take pride in. By researching careers that align with yourself as an individual, you are already on the right track!
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Jason’s Answer

First think about what you enjoy doing - what excites you? what doesn't excite you? what comes natural to you?
Second think about what you dream about, what do you aspire to be?
Third write down 1 or 2 goals to start with using what Vamsee provided above with a GOALs framework
Fourth is to review it daily and take action towards it every day.
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Amit’s Answer

Great question, and kudos for thinking ahead about what you want to do in life. I'd recommend taking the following steps:

1) Get a sense of what you're good at
2) Get a sense of what you enjoy doing
3) Get a sense of what types of jobs are looking to hire lots of new employees

If you can find any careers that satisfy all three of the criteria above, then you're already in good shape! The next step is to find people who work in the field(s) you're interested so you can network, learn more about what it's really like to work in that field, and hopefully get some help to break into the field.
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Elizabeth’s Answer

Reaching your career goal is important but keep your perspective open as your career path may not always be in a straight line. I personally thought I would be an accountant and retire as an accountant. I moved to Diversity & inclusion space and enjoy it every day. Start with what you enjoyed but be open for other areas you might be surprised. Volunteer in different areas to see if you may see yourself in career.
All the best! You will get there if many have before you. You will also.
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