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Growing within your career is a fulfilling process that can lead to higher job satisfaction and more career opportunities. Sometimes though, finding the path towards professional development can be unclear and stressful. In order to get the most out of your career and achieve your professional aspirations, you need to set professional development goals.
Setting professional goals will give you an objective to work towards and define the steps needed to achieve them. Let’s take a closer look at the importance of goal setting, what professional development goals are, and how you can achieve them.
Why Are Goals Important?
Setting goals will help you define what your aspirations are and help provide a roadmap for achieving them. With a clear destination in mind, you can narrow down the steps you need to take in order to get there. Defining your goals will also help you stay on track by allowing you to monitor your progress while you’re working towards them.
Setting and achieving goals are also beneficial to your personal growth. Goals help give your life purpose, and you can learn valuable skills while you are working towards them. Some of the skills you can learn while working towards your goals include:
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Strategizing
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Self-motivation
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Accountability
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Time and resource management
Achieving your goals will ultimately provide you with fulfillment and satisfaction. In addition to enjoying your accomplishment, you will also be better equipped for achieving future goals.
What Are Professional Development Goals?
Professional development goals are achievable objectives that will help you grow within your career. These goals lead to a professional growth in your knowledge, skills, and experience. Achieving your professional goals will enhance your current capabilities and help you work towards future opportunities. In addition to helping you achieve your aspirations, professional goals will help you stay relevant in your field and set you apart from the competition.
How to Set Professional Development Goals
The first step in setting a professional goal is assessing where you currently stand. This will help you determine what goals can be the most beneficial to your career growth. Also, a self-assessment will help you define your starting point so you can narrow down the steps needed to achieve your goals. Your self-assessment should identify your strengths and weaknesses to highlight which areas could benefit from professional development.
Define Your Goals
After you have determined where you currently stand, you need to set clear goals that align with your professional aspirations. Setting meaningful goals can be made easier by using the SMART method. The components of the SMART method include:
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Specific: Clearly define what you hope to achieve
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Measurable: Establish a way to monitor your progress
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Achievable: Your goals should be reasonable and able to be accomplished
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Relevant: Make sure your goals align with your aspirations
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Time-bound: Set a realistic timeframe to accomplish your goals to hold yourself accountable Using the SMART method will clarify your goals and help define the steps needed to accomplish them. After you have determined your goals, you need to develop a plan to accomplish them.
Taking the Steps to Achieve Your Professional Goals
Now that you have your goals clearly established, it is time to come up with a plan to accomplish them. If you are looking to enhance your career skills, professional development courses are a great place to start. There are a variety of courses that you can take to improve your hard and soft skills. Hard skills are technical knowledge that relates to your industry, while soft skills are personal skills that contribute to how you work by yourself and with others.
With the availability of online courses, it has never been easier to accomplish your professional development goals. Online courses can help you earn certifications, teach you necessary skills, and even gain additional degrees. If you feel like you don’t have enough time to achieve your professional goals, online courses may be the best option for you.
Examples of Professional Development Goals
One example of a professional development goal is advancing to a higher position within your career. To achieve a leadership position, someone will have to develop their technical and interpersonal skills. This can be done by earning certifications, working with established leaders in their career, and taking courses to hone in their soft skills. Critical thinking and emotional intelligence courses are great soft skill courses that contribute towards developing an effective leader.
In addition to online courses, REDC offers free Career Resources to help you accomplish your professional development goals.
Improving your job performance in your current role is another great professional goal to set. Industry standards are constantly evolving for many career fields, and improving your professional capabilities will allow you to keep up with the latest developments. Improving the quality of your work will also set you apart from the competition and may open up new opportunities for you. To improve your job performance, you can network with industry professionals, read articles on the latest industry trends, and further your formal education.
Achieving Your Professional Goals
Accomplishing your career goals will contribute to your professional and personal growth. By achieving your professional development goals, you will learn new skills, open up more opportunities, and set yourself apart from the competition. Setting and achieving your goals will also lead to personal fulfillment and higher job satisfaction.
REDC at Yavapai College offers a variety of career development courses to help you achieve your professional aspirations. Our online courses give you the flexibility to accomplish your professional development goals at your own pace. Growing in your career and achieving your goals is easier with REDC.
