When I talk to groups of young professionals, I often ask how many people believe in the power of written career goals. Most often, most hands go up immediately. Yet when I ask how many of them have written career goals, very few hands remain in the air.

Would it surprise you that most young professionals know that people who write their career goals down accomplish significantly more than those who do not write down their career goals?

You likely answered “no” to the above question. Most people do. However, it always surprises me that despite most people intuitively knowing this, along with great amounts of research to back this up, that most young professionals do not have career goals written down.

In my years as a corporate executive and now as a mentor, coach, and teacher for young professionals, I have come to realize that most young professionals have never been taught how to write effective career goals.

With that in mind, in this blog post, I’d like to offer an essential career goal-setting guide for young professionals. You can find plenty of career and goal-setting advice online, but here are five principles I follow in my corporate career planning:

Successful young professionals limit their career goals to the critical few. Productivity studies illustrate that you really can’t focus on more than five career goals at a time. Spreading your focus across more than five career goals at once will likely lead to you accomplishing very little. Instead, focus on a handful of career goals that you can take daily actions towards achieving.

Successful young professionals set S.M.A.R.T. career goals. You have probably heard the acronym “SMART” goals before. If not, allow me to explain. When I refer to SMART career goals, I mean they must meet five criteria. They must be:

Specific—your goals must identify what you want to accomplish in as much specificity as possible.

Don’t write your career goal as: “Get promoted.”

Do write your career goal as: “I’m promoted to Marketing Manager by May 29th of this year.”

Measurable—as the wise saying goes, “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.” If possible, try to quantify the result. Doing so will help you identify when and if you have hit your career goal.

Don’t write your career goal as: “Get paid more this year than last.”

Do write your career goal as: “I increased my based salary by $10,000 by January 1st of this year.”

Actionable—every goal should include a past tense action verb written in the first person (ex. “I earned,” “I eliminated,” “I finished,” etc.) rather than a to-be verb (ex. “am,” “be,” “have,” etc.) Writing your career goals in the first person makes it personal to you. Writing them in the past tense trains your mind to believe the career goal is possible. 

Don’t write your career goal as: “Be engaged in meetings.”

Do write your career goal as: “I’m engaged and make valuable contributions in my weekly staff meetings with my team and boss.”

Realistic—I want to challenge you here. A good career goal should stretch you, but you have to stay within reason at the same time. I want you to go right up to the edge of your comfort zone, and then step over it. If you are not out of your comfort zone, then you are not thinking big enough.

Don’t write your career goal as: “Get promoted from Marketing Manager to Chief Marketing Officer.”

Do write your career goal as: “I achieved an above-average performance review mark for this year and confirmed I am an attractive candidate for the next level role in my function.”

Time-bound—every career goal needs a date associated with it. It could be by year-end, or it could be more near-term. A career goal without a due date is just a dream. Make sure that every career goal ends with a by when due date.

Don’t write your career goal as: “Read a book on negotiation strategy.”

Do write your career goal as: “Read the negotiation book, ‘Getting To Yes’ by the end of this quarter.”

Successful young professionals write their career goals down. This is critical. There is huge power in writing your career goals down even if you never develop an action plan or do anything else – which I do not recommend. When you write your career goals down, you are stating your intention and setting things in motion. If your career goals are not committed to paper, you are likely not committed to your career goals.

Successful young professionals review their career goals frequently. While writing your career goals down is a powerful exercise in itself, the real power and benefit is in reviewing them regularly. Review and reaffirming your commitment is what turns your career goals into reality. Every time I consider my career goals, I ask myself, What’s the next step I need to take to move toward this career goal. You can review them daily, weekly, or monthly. I review my career goals weekly. The cadence is up to you. The key is to pick a frequency and stick with it and then make sure your daily action plans support your stated career goals.

Successful young professionals share their career goals selectively. I believe that you want to share your goals with the right people in your life to help drive accountability. I would not share your career goals with anyone who is not committed to helping you achieve them. Good people to consider sharing your career goals with include, your mentor, your boss, your trusted peers, a mastermind group, or business partner you trust.

The practice of career goal-setting is helpful and a necessary process for maximum happiness and achievement. Research studies suggest that people who make consistent progress toward meaningful goals live happier, more satisfying lives than those who don’t. This is no truer than with your career goals, among other types of goals you may set in your life as a young professional.

If you don’t have written career goals, I encourage you to make an appointment on your calendar to work on them. You can get a rough draft of your career goals completed in as little as an hour. Remember, it’s the little things in your career development that can end up making a big difference. 

Until next time, remember now is the time…

To take ownership, take charge, and take flight with your career advancement efforts!