Developing Personal Goals for Career Development

Developing Personal Goals for Career Development Abstract Planning goals is one step towards the development of a career. To achieve a goal, one must plan on how to make this happen. You just dont wake up one day and decide that this is what I want to achieve without first of all considering the ways and means of achieving that and the possible hindrances on the way. It is important to break down your goals because it is through this that that you are setting reasonable goals as well as creating a long term plan. It is also important to make a plan to achieve the goals that you have set. A goal that has been set but does not have a plan remains just that. A goal. That is why people have visions, dreams, ideas and intentions but these never happen because they have not been planned. Goal planning helps when you want to advance your career and a good goal should not necessarily be time bound. One needs to select an area of specialization as a target to your goals. In this case I have chosen Nurse Consultant as my area of specialization. This is the role which I will focus during my masters degree in a nursing program. I have expounded on the areas that I am competent in, and the potential areas that are of interest to me. I have chosen to specialize in nurse consultancy because this is a new field that is not heavily crowded. Hence there is a greater chance of getting employment and if not, I can still employ myself by opening a nurse consultancy. Introduction There is a need for people to set their own goals in life. The first step is usually setting goals that are not too high but which all in all present a challenge. This means that goals must be reasonable, attainable and achievable. One must then develop a plan on how to achieve the set goals because goals with no plans are simply fantasies. Also the goals that one sets must have a challenge. This is because what you have already achieved does not pose a challenge at all. SMAART planning methods are a necessary guide to achieving goals. SMAART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Action Oriented, Results oriented and Time-phased. This means that you should say what you want to achieve clearly and concisely, you should have a unit of measure for your goals hence they should be objective rather than subjective, should be realistic, should be written in an active rather than a passive voice, one should focus on end results and at least one should set a deadline to achieve the stat ed goals. My main goal in life is to be a fully qualified and successful nurse and work with the best institution in the country so as to help all the people regardless of their backgrounds. I plan to achieve this by completing my BSN and then after attaining a MSN. Career goal. My goal in life is to be a senior nurse in the best institutions in this country. I want to be a highly qualified nurse with an MSN.This I want to achieve by obtaining a masters degree from a nursing institution. I am aiming to attain this after completing my BSN which I will this year on June. After this I want to get a good highly paying job at the best institution in this country and it is after this that I will consider myself successful. I am a registered nurse with the National Health Service (NHS). I am currently working two jobs one as a Childrens nurse and the other one as a tutor in a small business college. Professional short term goal My professional short term goals is to better my career by attaining the BSN. When I achieve this, my career will have improved in terms of services that I will offer because I will have improved my scope of knowledge Professional long term goal. My professional long-term goal is to be the head nurse of a National hospital. This I can achieve after attaining my MSN. Personal short term goal My personal short term goal is to work just one job that is well paying because taking two jobs is becoming cumbersome on my part. Personal long term goal I want to earn more money and change my lifestyle want to have a good life and a nice car. I also want to buy a better house in a more posh and safer neighborhood also want to move away from my current home which I have rented and into a new home that I own. Needed skills The skills needed to achieve the goals I have set for myself include personal skills, social skills, and professional skills, educational and thinking skills Personal skills I need Self awareness in order to identify my own needs, attitudes, feelings, strengths and weaknesses in order to achieve my goals. I will also actively identify and utilize a wide range of all the available resources and seek other viewpoints and opinions. I will consider actively the implications of my studies on my daily activities and my job. That is why I have come up with a well developed but dynamic plan. I will consistently motivate myself and assure myself that I can make it no matter what. I will listen to other peoples opinion share with them and ask their support whenever I need it. I will work closely with my colleagues both in campus and at the job. I will make sure that I achieve my MSN so that my long term goals can be achieved. Management of time. I will need to routinely use time well and ensure that I have not wasted any time on unnecessary activities. When I enroll for my masters, I will drop one job so that may concentrate more on my studies. Milestones for achieving the goals. Short term goals After completing my BSN degree. when I start working one well paying job Long-term goals when I become the head nurse of a National hospital When I build my own house. When I move out of my neighborhood into a better high class neighborhood. Hindrances Fear-this is one of the barriers that may prevent me from achieving the goals. This may be fear of not fairing well in my BSN which may inurn inhibit me from enrolling for my MSN. I am also afraid that my application for masters may be declined. I plan to work hard to ensure that such an occurrence will not happen. Unsupportive people-I have many friends and relatives who do not have the level of education that I have. They usually discourage me a lot and tell me to stop harassing myself with books and that I have two jobs. I plan to keep them off and to those that I cannot; I will simply ignore and /or assume them. Conclusion Personal commitment and dedication will be required to achieve the above goals. I will have to work with other people closely to achieve my long term and short term goals. This is because no man is an island. I will avoid negative thinking completely and work on being optimistic and motivated. I must have a strong drive and belief that I will achieve these goals. Though I have not stated a particular deadline, I plan to attain these goals in stages and to finally achieve my long term goals within the next 5years.i will also trust in God and pray unto him to make my plans come into fulfillment. Recommendations A personal goal plan should be realistic and attainable. There is need for each and every person to write up a personal goal plan. This will help one know what he is aiming in life and also what one has achieved so far. Goals may change and therefore one need to critically think what he/she wants in life before listing down the goals. Even after there is a change in goals one should not see him/herself as a failure. In that case, one should write up new goals and aim to achieve them. Change of short term goals does not necessarily mean a change in the long-term goals.   References Chapman, A. (2007). Goal Planning Templates for Personal and Organizational Aims. Retrieved February 09 http://www.businessballs.com/goal_planning.htm Mind tools ltd (2010).Essential Skills For an Excellent Career. Retrieved 09 February http://www.mindtools.com/ Peterson, D. (2008). How To Write SMAART Goals and Objectives. Retrieved February 09 http://adulted.about.com/od/personaldevelopment/ht/smaartgoals.htm Johansen, K. (1996). The Business Focus of HRD Leaders. Paper presented at the 1996 Academy of Human Resource Development Conference held in Minneapolis in February, 1996. Legge, M. Career tools retrieved February 4, 2010 from http://www.coaching-life.co.uk/career/index.html Rouda, H. Kusy, M. (1995) Career Development.Tappi Journal.