10 Tips for Setting and Achieving Career Development Goals

It’s never too late, or too early, to map out your professional advancement and set career goals. Your career development goals may adapt and change over time, but they will nevertheless help keep you focused and moving in a positive direction. Knowing what you're working toward and breaking down the steps to get there makes it easier to stay motivated and prioritize tasks.

Career development goal setting outlines what you want to achieve professionally. Once you have your goals laid out, you can figure out what you need to do in order to make them happen. Breaking down goals into daily tasks that you can check off your list one by one makes them feel more achievable.

If you're ready to start thinking about your career path, here are our top 10 tips for setting and achieving career development goals:

1. Assess your current situation
2. Create specific goals
3. Prioritize your goals
4. Develop a plan of action
5. Seek feedback and support
6. Stay motivated and accountable
7. Be open to learning opportunities
8. Network and build relationships
9. Manage setbacks and obstacles
10. Embrace flexibility

1. Assess your current situation

Take time to look at where you are now and evaluate your current career status. Every situation has positives and negatives. Start by focusing on the positives and think about what you have going for you. Write down a list of your strengths and your biggest accomplishments.

Next, think about what you want to achieve in your professional life. These are your goals. Jot down as many ideas as you can. You can organize them once you have them listed.

If you get stuck, try separating your goals into timelines:

• 3 months
• 6 months
• 1 year
• 5 years
• 10 years

Studying the career of someone successful who you look up to can be helpful. This could be a mentor or even someone you don't know very well. See what past job titles they had, their education, and their accomplishments. Use these to guide your own plan.

Once you've taken stock of your strengths and outlined your goals, you can see where your weaknesses are. Everyone has areas that they can improve on. Identifying your weaknesses and skill gaps is just as important as determining your strengths. Weaknesses can suggest your order of operations and pinpoint any roadblocks that may prevent you from achieving a goal or moving on to your next step.

2. Create specific goals

One of the most common mistakes people make when goal setting, whether it's a career or personal goal, is not being specific enough. Goals that are too vague or big can be more intimidating than helpful.

Your goals should be clear and specific so you know exactly what you need to do to make them happen. One of the best ways to do this is using the SMART goal-setting framework.

SMART goals are:

• Specific. What exactly do you want to achieve? Check and see if you need to break it down into smaller goals.
• Measurable. How can you determine success? Try to make your goals quantifiable if possible.
• Actionable. Is your goal realistic and possible? Consider if you're being reasonable. If not, think about what smaller goals can help get you closer.
• Relevant. Do all of your individual goals work toward your overall goal? Each goal should be related and complement each other.
• Time-bound. What is your deadline? Adding a due date helps motivate and establish what should take priority.

SMART goal example: I want to meet my sales quota and onboard 30 new clients to our platform in the next 60 days.

3. Prioritize your goals

Prioritizing your goals can help you feel less overwhelmed. When you break down your goals into smaller steps with realistic deadlines, you’ll be able to more easily see what you should be working on right now. Think about what goals are the most important—these may be learning skills that you'll need to complete other goals or time-sensitive tasks like applying for a program with a cut-off date.

After you've taken a look at your goals and broken them down into manageable tasks, you can start creating a timeline and organizing. Rearrange your list of goals by highest to lowest priority. Your highest priority tasks are those with the closest deadline and that you need to finish before you can move on to other goals. Make sure you're realistic with your deadlines.

Once you've assigned due dates and reorganized by priority, you'll have a better idea of what you need to get started on. Use this as an organizational tool to keep you on-task and on track so you always know what you should be working on next.

4. Develop a plan of action

A career plan of action is a flowchart that maps out your strategy for achieving your goals, turning them into a list of steps you need to take. Once you have your SMART goals and objectives, you can add your specific action items and tasks to your calendar or planner—this is your plan of action.

Example: I want to attend three networking events in the next 60 days

• Step 1: Research local events near me | Due date: 7/6
• Step 2: Make a list of the events I qualify for | Due date: 7/7
• Step 3: Sign up for the events I want to attend | Due date: 7/14
• Step 4: Add events to my calendar | 7/16
• Step 5: Order more business cards | 7/17
• Step 6: Work on my elevator pitch | 7/20
• Step 7: Follow up with new connections on LinkedIn or email | Due date: 3 days after each event

Once you have the steps, you can see what resources and support you need. The resources may be an e-learning platform like Coursera or Udemy or support from a mentor or coworker. Problem solve and figure out how you'll get these resources.

Set a deadline for each step and cross it off the list as you make progress. Adding simple steps that you know you can easily do can help you feel more accomplished.

5. Seek feedback and support

Receiving professional feedback from someone you trust and who understands your industry can be very helpful. Once you have your goals outlined and an action plan to guide you, you could share this with a mentor, manager, or trusted colleague. They have an objective point of view and may have valuable, constructive input.

When receiving feedback, be sure to be receptive and listen. You need to be in an open state of mind and not take criticism personally. Feedback is a gift and can be a powerful tool for growth. Take notes during feedback, and after processing the information, make any necessary changes to your plan.

Your mentor may have a different idea of what skills would be most worthwhile to focus on, or your manager may recommend another job title to work toward based on your overall goals.

Once you have someone that you trust, ask if they will help you stay accountable and let you update them as you make progress. You can check in with this person, share updates, and ask for advice. As you make headway, you can share your wins with them and get help troubleshooting problems and roadblocks as they arise.

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6. Stay motivated and accountable

Keeping up the willpower to meet long-term goals can be challenging. Studies suggest that when goal setting, we tend to start with the end in mind and feel optimistic. But as we begin working toward our goals, we shift the focus on the effort required of us and can lose steam and interest.

Researchers found that the participants in their study who didn't complete their goals failed to anticipate the amount of effort needed. After starting, they focused more on the effort it took them than on their ultimate reward. Once they lost sight of their target, they failed to refocus on their goals again. Another factor may have been intrinsic motivation—the participants in the study may not have been assigned goals that aligned with their real values.

Combining long and short-term goals and breaking them down into realistic steps can help with motivation and accountability. Being mindful that you're creating goals and milestones you care about at least enough to stick with can make it feel less tedious. Other ways to stay motivated include:

• Celebrating and rewarding yourself for small successes
• Holding yourself accountable with deadlines and regular check-ins
• Reviewing your plan often
• Visualizing your goals
• Creating daily to-do lists
• Practicing positive self-talk and coaching
• Designating time to work on your goals
• Finding a routine that incorporates balance
• Getting help from a Career Coach
• Scheduling breaks and fun non-work related activities to avoid burnout

7. Be open to learning opportunities

Advancing in your career may require upskilling. Depending on your personal goals and current strengths and weaknesses, you can determine which hard and soft skills to focus on and develop. Being open to learning opportunities and seeking out career development tools can help you stay competitive and allow you to get better at what you do.

If you want to move into a managerial role, you may need to focus on soft skills like leadership, communication, and project management. Those who want a promotion or to increase their freelance rate may need to take an online course and earn a certificate in a hard skill like SEO or data analytics.

Depending on where you work and the professional development resources they offer, you may be able to join a mentorship program, take free e-learning courses, or get reimbursed for going back to school. You can ask your manager or the human resources department about the professional development tools that your company offers to employees. If these aren't available, you'll need to find the resources you need on your own.

Learning opportunities that have helped many professionals upskill include:

• Industry conferences
• Seminars
• Online courses and certificates
• Advanced degree programs
• Employee professional development programs
• Mentorship programs
• Gaining experience in new skills by freelancing
• Career coaching

8. Network and build relationships

Networking and building relationships with others in your field can help advance your career through support and learning of new opportunities. You can network virtually by attending online events and connecting through email. Or you can find in-person events near you. If you freelance, you can create your own Upwork network, collaborate together, and refer clients back and forth.

Your network could be a tight-knit group of colleagues interested in career development that encourages each other at work. Collaborate on projects and look for new opportunities within your company. Create career development goals and plans together and help keep each other accountable.

Networking may also look like a group of professionals at different stages of their careers who meet once a month or even once a quarter for dinner and give each other advice as needed. Networking events can help you learn new skills, and if you're looking for a different job, you may be able to get referrals to help make it past the recruiter stage.

Building relationships with colleagues and networking with other professionals becomes increasingly important as you advance in your career. Networking can help you:

• Find mentors
• Learn of new job postings
• Get support from others in your field
• Explore opportunities at your company
• Help and mentor those with less experience

9. Manage setbacks and obstacles

As you start working on your career development goals, you may have to manage setbacks and obstacles. Even if you have a solid plan, certain elements that are out of your control, like industry changes and layoffs, could throw a wrench in things.

Problem-solving is a fundamental skill at any career level and becomes a key to success as you work your way up. You can learn how to stay calm and quickly pivot. You only have control over certain aspects of your career, like upskilling or applying for a job. The rest is choosing how you respond, whether you let a setback stop you or come up with a creative solution to move past it.

Even if you follow every step of the plan, your manager may choose someone else for the promotion. You may make it to the final stages of an interview and not get an offer—and this is okay. While you'll be disappointed, learn how to not focus on setbacks and instead push forward and figure out how to adapt and restrategize.

What to do when obstacles arise:

• Take a deep breath and try to remain objective
• Stay positive
• Look at the problem from an outsider's point of view
• Think about what advice you'd give to someone else in your situation
• Focus on what you have control over
• Brainstorm and problem-solve possible solutions
• Devise a plan, breaking it down into doable steps and tasks
• Ask a mentor for advice
• Get support from a colleague
• Take a short break if you feel overwhelmed
• Revisit your career plan and see if you need to make adjustments
• Develop a plan to overcome future obstacles

10. Embrace flexibility

An important part of adapting to change is flexibility. Your career development goals should be adaptable. You may need to modify your goals based on new opportunities. How you picture success and what you want to accomplish in five years may shift based on unexpected factors, like changes in your personal life, industry, or technology. This is where you need to be flexible and make adjustments to your plan.

Your career development goals are meant to lead you, and your plan for achieving them is just a guideline. Review your career development goals and milestones often to see if you need to make any modifications. Changing your mind is normal. You may decide to switch careers entirely next year and have to reset your goals or make smaller adjustments based on an opportunity that comes knocking at your door.

Being open to change is how you stay flexible. Change can be scary. Many people feel secure once they have a plan and are uneasy if they need to rethink it. If you're too focused on the plan, you may miss out on an opportunity that could be a game-changer and set you on an important path.

Be willing to adjust your plan. Schedule regular check-ins with yourself to evaluate your career development goals and make sure they still align with your overall values and core beliefs.

Career development goal examples

What do career development goals look like? It depends on where you are in your career and what you want to accomplish in the short and long term. Most career goals fall into these categories:

• Upskilling and education
• Obtaining promotions and raises
• Changing jobs or industries
• Increasing productivity and efficiency
• Improving leadership skills
• Networking
• Finding mentors

If you need help coming up with ideas or ways to break your goals down, you can use these career development goal examples to help brainstorm:

• Learn new skills. Figure out how to close skills gaps by developing the hard and soft skills you need to advance. You could take online courses, attend workshops, or get on-the-job training at work or through freelancing.
• Earn a certification. Offer new services to clients and become more marketable by adding relevant and in-demand certifications to your resume. Depending on your current position, you could take the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) course and earn the certificate.
• Take on more responsibility. Let your manager know you're interested in career development and are looking for opportunities to take on additional responsibilities and build skills in your current role. This could look like leading a project, mentoring a junior team member, or offering to be a part of a cross-functional team project.
• Become more productive. Try out different tools to help increase efficiency and processes. Consider using independent professionals to help with projects at work.
• Grow your network. Work on attending networking events and meet people who can give you advice and support you on your journey. You could find a mentor with the type of career you want or colleagues at your same level who can encourage you.

Your goals may not look just like your coworkers’ or your friends’; they should be personalized based on what you want to achieve. Work backward by visualizing your realistic dream job, and then figure out the smaller goals and steps you can take to get there.

Set your career development goals

The first step to getting what you want from your career is knowing what you want. Advancing your career doesn't happen overnight. It helps to start by outlining your career development goals and then devising a plan for making them happen.

Think about what success means to you in both the short and long term, then create SMART goals and come up with a plan that you can start on right now. Assign yourself small tasks that you can work on in the short term to make your goals more manageable. You can get the help you need from independent professionals on Upwork or become a freelancer yourself and start gaining experience in the skills you want to develop.