6 Professional Goals to Advance your Career and Step Up in Life
Getting ahead in life is like planning a road trip. Getting packed and filling up the car doesn’t usually happen without a destination in mind. In the same breath, advancing your career and stepping up in life can only happen with a plan and goals in mind. To get there you need to know where you are going. These are your professional goals, and they are an opportunity to intentionally decide where you want to be and how you will get there.
What are professional goals?
These are concrete objectives that you want to achieve in your professional life. They can be short-term or long-term. A short-term goal might look like completing a short course to get to know a specific area of your job better or to add to your professional knowledge in general. They can also be long-term goals like getting a promotion. Regardless of their nature, setting professional goals means thinking critically about what you want to achieve in your career. We recommend setting SMART goals.
Get hired.
To start off, we know you want to get hired! This is where your roadmap comes in. You need to ask yourself “How am I going to make myself attractive to potential employers?”. Your answer, and the first few steps, might be updating your CV or writing a compelling cover letter. These small steps (or short-term goals) are your roadmap to your ultimate long-term goal: getting hired. An IMM Graduate School qualification can demonstrate that you have the required skills and knowledge for a job, and it can give you a competitive advantage over other candidates who do not have the same level of education.
Increase critical skills.
What are critical skills exactly? They refer to the skills needed to fulfill a professional post adequately. Some of these skills might be general management, communication, and customer handling or technology skills. Each occupation will require a unique skill set that can be built upon. In the short term, you might want to reflect on your skills using online aptitude tests or on your roles and performance at work and find gaps where you could upskill and find resources to do so. Your long-term goals might look like achieving a prestigious qualification or attending training and seminars like the ones offered by IMM Graduate School.
Expand your network.
‘It’s not what you know but who you know’ is a saying that gets thrown around a lot in the professional world, so expanding your network can only benefit your career’s growth potential. This goal can start with small wins (Short-term goals) like getting 20 new connections on LinkedIn or long-term goals like attending networking events. Expanding your network through the IMM Graduate School Alumni Network, for example, provides ongoing support, resources, and opportunities for professional development.
Specialise.
Have you found your passion and feel ready to specialise? This could take on many forms. This could mean seeking out new challenges within your current role or moving in a new direction entirely. Either way, it is a great opportunity to gain some new skills and breathe some new life into your job. The IMM Graduate School offers a range of qualifications, in Marketing, Supply Chain and Business Management, to help you to do so.
Get promoted.
If you’re looking to move up the ladder in your current company, an IMM qualification can help you achieve your goals. Are you ready to show what you are made of and get that promotion? Do it and back yourself up with quality qualifications like the marketing and supply chain qualifications offered by the IMM Graduate School.
Salary increase.
More skills mean more money and having upskilled can give you the confidence to ask for that raise. Doing this can mean many steps and micro-goals like doing your research to determine the market value of your skills or other offerings for your same qualification. It can also mean building up the confidence to ask for a raise.
In conclusion.
There are many goals to have when it comes to professional development. The above-mentioned are only a few. The main takeaway we wish for you today is to realise that at the core of reaching any professional goal is self-development and intent. Invest in yourself and reap the rewards of advancing your career and stepping up in life. Take the first step towards your career goals today by enrolling in an IMM Graduate School qualification.