Goal setting is an important and highly essential part of the career planning process. For one, it allows you to remain focused and keep your sights set on the things that you want to achieve. Secondly, but just as important, it enables you to begin to establish a plan to work toward something meaningful. The SMART acronym is well known and will help you develop a guideline as part of establishing a plan of action to achieve your goal.

Specific

When you define a specific goal, it is laid out before you to help you understand what you want to achieve. From there, you can begin to develop your plan of action. A critical part of goal setting is writing down what your focus is. Unless you write it down, you will likely forget and move on to something else. Writing things down makes them real and allows you to focus your efforts on taking the necessary steps to achieve success.

Measureable

Measuring your progress is important to allow you to track your growth. Therefore, you should define a set of criteria that will enable you to evaluate your success. Consider setting milestones that will allow you to review your progress at different points to realize how far you have come. This will keep you motivated and interested in the process; and it will allow you to keep setting new benchmarks.

Attainable

It is important that you set goals that are realistic. You want to be challenged but need to understand the scope of your capabilities to attain success. This does not mean that you should lower your expectations. Set your sights on a goal that will engage you and allow you to explore things out of your comfort zone. Your sense of achievement after reaching your goal will be that much more rewarding.

Rewarding

Sometimes it’s hard to maintain a strong motivation level. When you are really working hard to achieve something, the process can be slow. This can hamper your desire to forge ahead. Consider what you are working toward and give yourself mini-rewards as you go. This will help keep you focused and committed to seeing the process through to the ultimate reward and success at the end of your journey.

Timely

I know in the past I have covered information relating to setting timelines for things and how to avoid procrastinating. Setting timelines will allow you to keep pace and avoid putting things aside to pick up ‘at a later time’. Keep your focus on what you want to achieve, keep notes, and plan accordingly so that you meet your goal. It will truly be gratifying to see the final and successful results of your efforts.

Following the guidance below even if you ever actually desire a new job or find yourself forced to look for one and at least you will remain sharp and agile. Career planning is something that you should look forward to doing because it allows you to set new goals and work towards achieving things that will make you productive and happy in your professional and personal life.

Below are guidelines to help you with a successful career planning strategy:

1. Review your career goals throughout the year.

This does not mean that you should be reviewing your plan continuously. Rather set aside time every three to six months to evaluate your needs and ensure you are fulfilled in your current position. Make a list of the things you really enjoy and the things that you would like to be doing as part of your professional life. This will give you a head start as you move forward and allow you to be better prepared for choices – those that you know about and those that might come as a surprise. Consider what you really want and make sure it matches what you are doing.

2. Create a career roadmap.

A career roadmap is something that I always talk about. This is the plan that you establish to create short- and medium-term goals. Evaluate potential opportunities and the skills and competencies you possess that will allow you to contribute in a future role. As I tell my children – “look where you are going, not where you are coming from.” This same concept applies to career planning and management. While you want to take lessons learned from past experiences, you don’t want to live in the past. The amalgamation of the things you have learned can be applied to new opportunities. Consider the path you want to take and formulate a skill map to help you along the path of your choosing.

3. Consider what you like to do and what you want to do.

Many of us do not have the luxury of working in an area that we truly feel passionate about. You might enjoy your work, but your true passion might be something entirely different. It is important that you work in an area that you enjoy and want to continue to make a contribution. Make a list (I like lists) of the things you enjoy doing in your professional life and the things that you don’t enjoy. This does not mean that in your next role you won’t find yourself doing things that you don’t like. All positions are filled with work that has both components. The value of this exercise though will allow you to pursue opportunities where the likes outweigh the dislikes. Think about how you would like to contribute in an organization and the things that motivate you to facilitate your happiness. As you explore new opportunities, you will be able to apply the things on your list when conducting a search. It will help you narrow your focus and choose something that will continue to inspire you to want to contribute and facilitate your growth.

4. Develop a plan B.

I know it sounds strange but you should have a back up plan. There are so many people who do other things on the side as a hobby without ever realizing that it could be (if necessary, and desired) a full-time opportunity. Since we all know that we cannot control the future, your Plan B will enable you to gain other opportunities without you even realizing it. It’s important to consider things, think about them as you go – you will be better prepared for change and more willing to embrace it should the time come.

5. Keep a journal of your achievements.

As you move throughout your career you will no doubt have a lot of things that you achieved. Perhaps you saved a company a lot of money, or created a system that improved performance. It could be anything! If you don’t write it down or keep some kind of record, when the time comes to draft a well-written and powerful résumé, you will be lost. A strong résumé is results-proven. This means that you have demonstrated achievements on there that you are sharing with your reader. It is critical to ensuring your résumé gets noticed – enough so that it gets you the interview where you can then secure the job on your own.

6. Evaluate and pursue educational opportunities.

It is always important to maintain a current understanding of the happenings in your industry or field. Pursuing training or continuing education will benefit you in numerous ways, including the opportunity to share ideas with others. Educational environments create camaraderie. You never know whom you will meet. Of course, though, you will continue to challenge your mind and explore new concepts related to your current career. It is a wonderful way to stay updated and continue to enhance your value.

7. Leverage your transferrable skills.

It is amazing how many people I do work for that want to change industries but do not see the forest through the trees. Within your role, there are many possibilities! You simply need to look for them. Over the course of your career, you will develop a lot of skills that can easily be used in another arena. Here’s another example why writing down accomplishments can really work in your favor! No doubt you are conducting research, writing, using communication skills, interacting with others in the workplace to gain consensus for new ideas – and many, many other things. These few things are just the tip of the iceberg. These skills are definitely valuable in many other areas. Apply them if you are considering a transition to something else.

8. Do the research.

It’s a wide, wide world out there with many opportunities. Unless you start conducting some research to determine what a particular career or job holds, you will never know. It is so easy too! You can simply turn the computer on and start typing in words or phrases. Use Stumbleupon (a great plug-in for the Firefox browser that will lead you to all kinds of cool and interesting places) or Wikipedia.com to follow your stream of consciousness! Research opens up so many doors. Evaluate your current position and consider your short- and medium-term goals. What skills would you like to use going forward? Of those skills which ones do you already possess? Where might you need additional training and education? Research regarding your interests and desires will help you see things that you otherwise would have missed.

9. Establish and maintain your personal brand.

Your personal brand is a very important component to ensuring you continue to do things that work in your favor. How you perceive yourself and how others perceive you are closely intertwined. Make sure that you always maintain a professional approach to job search, including posting information on social media and networking sites. Information is available everywhere. Nothing is a secret unless you are the only one who knows. So, in sharing information about yourself, be sure that it is positive and professional. When the time comes for you to review opportunities there should be nothing floating around out there that will cause doubt in the mind of a hiring company.

10. Understand the market and ongoing trends.

It is up to you to continue to expand your understanding and knowledge of where your industry is headed. Perhaps your industry is going through some changes. It would be in your best interest to understand the direction of the industry and plan accordingly. You don’t want to be caught without a secondary plan of action. Keep your finger on the pulse of your industry through networking and reading trade journals and other publications. This will also provide you with insight to potential openings.

Career planning is a valuable thing to do to ensure you maintain your knowledge and awareness of how you see yourself progressing in future roles. The tips above will help you prepare and establish a framework for ongoing success.

Here are the top reasons why people procrastinate and how to address the issues:

Fear of Failure or Success:

You’re thinking, why would someone be fearful of success? It seems pretty clear – success is a good thing. Yes, but within that there are big things at stake. With success comes failure. It takes time, perseverance, and in a lot of cases practice to be successful. When you get there, then what? How do you maintain the momentum to keep going? Once you succeed the expectation will be that success is the norm. Take things in steps. You cannot get everything accomplished at once; and it can certainly be overwhelming to think about all of the things that need to be done to be successful. Breaking things into elements makes it easier to manage and not as daunting.

Unpleasant Projects:

How many times have you moved a project to the end of the list because it was something you really didn’t want to do? I am sure too many times to count. I am guilty as charged. Ultimately it has to be done though. Not everything you do is going to be a task that you are looking forward to. Moving it around to different spots will not make it go away. Consider doing something nice for yourself when you complete a project that you are simply dreading. Write down something you would like to do for yourself and put it in a prominent spot. It will serve as a reminder to encourage you to move ahead.

Overwhelming Tasks:

Sometimes don’t you just feel that there is so much to do; and you simply cannot begin to wrap your mind around it all? You make lists – but they never end. Tasks are crossed off and others take their place. It is easy to become overwhelmed, and then simply do nothing at all. This, of course, makes things worse; then you have more things to do and seemingly no end in sight. Consider breaking your list into pieces. You can then manage the different parts. If you simplify things into smaller components, they become easier to understand and handle.

Disorganization:

A long time ago – in my former life when I worked for a big corporation I had a co-worker who made the disorganized look like they were the pictures of Franklin Covey. She had piles – I mean piles of papers, folders, and I don’t know what else around and on her desk. If she lived in a castle, the stuff could have very well formed a moat – no doubt to ensure organization did not creep in. It did not allow her to complete things on time, that much I could tell you. Disorganization breeds poor planning, which leads to an inability to deliver on time. Keep things organized; if this means you need to keep a notebook or containers to manage ‘stuff’ – then do that. Identify a way to allow yourself to maintain order.

Ducking the Easy Win:

This one may sound counterintuitive. Why would you delay completing a task that will be easy for you? The thought process runs like this – I need to do X but I also need to do Y and Z; X is so easy I can wrap it up in five minutes, whereas Y and Z are much harder – so let me focus on Y and Z and then I can do X right at the end of the day and accomplish a whole bunch today. This is great logic except for the fact that you never get to Y or Z and by default X still remains on the list. If you have something easy to do, and it is important, then do it – it will give you a sense of accomplishment and give you much needed momentum.

I have another 5-10 examples, but I will get to them at another time …

The moderator, Ted, has given over 6,000 public speaking engagements. So, it’s safe to say that he is well spoken and engages his audience. He did not have business cards and indicated early on that we were not there to give those out. I figured out why shortly thereafter. Ted’s position was this: Don’t go to meetings to network and try to gain business by delivering a lame sales or elevator pitch. Interact with people; find out what they NEED. Engage people to talk about themselves; and then, figure out how YOU can HELP THEM.

Indeed I understood even better when Ted began randomly selecting people from the group to stand and speak for about 10 minutes. They were not to speak about what they did or what they wanted you to get from them – but rather, they were to present information about how they could help the Group, and those people (not present) who others in the group might know. This was an interesting tactic because each person that spoke had a business; they had something to sell. However, each presentation was not a sales pitch but useful information about how a member of the group could benefit from the speaker’s help. Is this a sales pitch? Absolutely.

After listening to all of this, Ted moved on and selected me to give a speech. Undaunted, I stood in front of the crowd and presented my fear of never arriving to the place; getting hopelessly lost; and sobbing in my car waiting for help despite my GPS. This didn’t happen, of course. Even if I was lost, I am not sure I would be found sobbing. I segued into explaining that I use a sort of GPS when working with others; something that I call the CPS (Career Positioning System) to help people learn about their competencies, professional and personal aspirations, and dreams, in some cases to realize short- and medium-term goals. At no time did I mention my company’s name or ‘pitch’ to the group that I am definitely looking for business. My presentation was about how I could help and the things I do to provide that help.

So the takeaway is this: it’s the spin you put on things. All of the presentations were delivered because the people attending the event were looking for business. However, their delivery was how they could help others – genuinely help, which in the current economy is not only desired but also necessary. In helping others, you help yourself and that sharing can and will present benefits in your professional and personal life.

It’s interesting; you would think that companies would train their management – at least those that are conducting interviews to know the appropriate way to conduct the interview. The questions asked of you must be totally related to the job – whether you can perform the essential functions of the role. When asked an illegal question you can decline to answer (this will probably result in not being called back); answer (and risk of giving the ‘wrong’ answer); or simply respond that you can meet the job requirements as stipulated.

Here are some questions that you should be wary of:

Are you a citizen of the United States? Employers are not allowed to ask this question. This has nothing to do with ability. They can ask if you are authorized to work in the U.S. since being a legal resident or citizen is required to be employed here.

How old are you? This is a definite no-no. How old you are has nothing whatsoever to do with whether you can perform the job. If you are qualified and can fulfill the job requirements – then that is all they need to know.

Are you married? How many children do you have? Who will care for your children when you are working? These questions and other similar questions are asked to determine whether you will be able to commit to the job and spend the required time at the office or traveling. This information is private; again, having nothing to do with the job. If the job requires overtime or travel, the potential employer can ask about your ability to meet a travel schedule or work overtime.

Do you have an illnesses / disabilities? A disability or illness that does not hamper your ability to perform in a role does not need to be mentioned to a potential employer.

Have you been arrested? What they can ask is: have you ever been convicted of a crime? Depending on the level of severity, this can adversely affect your application.

There are many other questions that a potential employer is not allowed to ask – this is merely a sample. The best way to be prepared to perform well during the interview is to make sure you are fully acquainted with your background and have an understanding of what you should and should not be asked. Do some research to uncover those questions that are – well, questionable. You need to serve as your own advocate during the search. Information and knowledge will enable you to uncover opportunities and ensure that you are aware of your rights during the process.

While the questions above are off limits, it is possible that you might encounter someone who will ask one or more of these questions. So, what do you do in this case? As I mentioned above, it is inadvisable to point out the error of the interviewer’s ways. Simply state that you don’t have any issues performing the role as described; you can meet the job requirements, and possess the confidence, skills, and dedication necessary to contribute as a valued member of the organization.