Every day you read stories of successful people. They inspire you; they motivate you. But do you know how they become successful in the first place? There might be tons of reasons behind their success, but one main reason is that they set realistic goals. 

So, what are your career goals? Haven’t you decided yet? It’s time to know how you can set some realistic goals for your career and then learn how to achieve them. 

What is Meant by Realistic Career Goal?

It is a goal that you can achieve in reality. 

Like, if you are a writer and want to get a freelance writing job in Pakistan in a good company. It’s possible and realistic.

You know nothing about development, and your career goal is to develop a website, then it’s an unrealistic goal. To tap the digital market, you must be done with some IT skills and courses in Pakistan.

Understand 6 Main Characteristics of Realistic Career Goals

If your career goal has the following traits, then it would fall under a career goal that you can achieve in reality. 

1. It must have Clear TIME- FRAME

It would be best if you decided on the exact time frame of your career goal.Sometimes, when an interviewer asks you a question where you see yourself in five or ten years, then it’s undoubtedly the first time you start wondering about the best answer. 

The answer to that question is required not only for ace a job interview, but also to become successful in your life.

Decide where you want to be in your career ladder in next five or ten years. 

Some career goal examples are as follow:

• I will get promoted to an executive position in the upcoming five years.
• I will earn 30-40 percent more salary than my current one in five years.
• In the next three years, I will start my writing agency.

Now break long terms into short term one. For example:

If I will start my writing agency in 3 years, then my short term career goal is to work as a writer or digital marketer and build up my savings account. 

A time frame makes you accountable and puts a deadline on your task and performance. This feature of your career goal is a requisite to do better in the future.

2. It must be MEASURABLE

So, what does it exactly means to have a measurable career goal? 

Let’s compare two career goal examples. 

Example 1: I want to increase my income. Okay, it’s your goal. But how much boost do you need here? Any idea?

Example 2: I will increase my income by 20 percent in two years. Now, this is a goal you can easily keep check on. 

3. It Must be ATTAINABLE

You don’t have to set unrealistic goals like I will become a president, or I will join the army while you know that you are an older adult who can’t join the military or show some excellent performance.

For example, if my career goal is to become a featured writer in a fashion or style magazine, then it’s a kind of purpose that I can achieve.

Yes, this goal requires some new skills and learning. But it’s possible. 

4. It Must be CHALLENGING

Your career goal must add some challenges in your life. If you set a career goal that I will become an expert web developer in five years while you are doing great at the moment, then yes, you won’t feel much excited about it.

As a web developer, you can set a goal like I will have my Development agency for National and International clients.

Must Learn: How to become a Front-End Web Developer in 9 Easy Steps

Now it’s a challenging career goal that is realistic, attainable, and measurable—every time you take a step toward it. You will feel great. 

5. It Must Be MOTIVATING

Another characteristic of your career goal is that it should motivate you. You need to ask yourself what is the value of that specific goal for me. Does it excite me? How amazing will I feel when I achieve it?

If you don’t give enough value to a goal, then it means you don’t care about it. Set a goal that makes you excited, and achieving it is like winning a gold medal or Nobel-prize.

6. It must be SPECIFIC

Many of us set some career goals that have a broad scope. Like most of us often say

• I want to be Rich
• I want to be Successful
• I want to be Famous 

Yes, these are common goals. Many of us feel the same way. Deep down, we want to have a big home where we can spend a luxurious life. 

However, your goal must have some specific details.

For example, I want to be Rich. Ask yourself, “to what extent”.

1.  For some people, owning their own home and living a good quality life is enough to feel like a rich person. 
2. For other people, the productive means of having a lot of cars, homes, and bundles of money through which they can travel around the world. 

The fact is that both goals are possible, though the second goal requires more than 10-20 years, especially when you start from ZERO.

So, try to add some minor and major details. A functional specification will offer you clarity about your career goal. This clarity lets you make a plan that would work.

Bottom-line

If you want to follow a footprint of successful people, then you need to set some realistic career goals. The most common attribute of your career goals are:

1. Measurability
2. Time-bound
3. Attainability
4. Specifications
5. Motivation 
6. Challenging 

Now it’s time to take a pen and paper. Think about what you want to achieve in your professional life and start writing your short term and long term career goals one-by-one.