10 Steps to Set and Achieve a Long-Term Career Goal

Work days are filled with short-term projects, zoom calls, quick turn-around assignments. What about those long-term career goals? Writing KNOCK, my new career development book, was a BIG goal for me, and it turned into a 6+ year project, in fact. It was a long, winding road, filled with vision, re-visions, research, field-testing, putting together the publishing team, designing the book cover, and so much more. There were spurts of creative flow, and other segments of the journey where I was living life and finding inspiration, traveling, relaxing, and taking breaks. But, the long-term goal was still going on in the background, even when I wasn’t actively putting words on paper. Little by little, the finish line was within sight. The very full journey wasn’t without its setbacks, doubts, fears, and second-guessing. In a future post, I’ll write about how to overcome setbacks on the way to a long-term goal. Tips and advice like:

• – Keep your eye on the goal
• – Be patient when it takes time
• – Your timeline is the right timeline

In the meantime – how did accomplishing the long-term career goal go? What twists and turns were necessary to achieve the goal?

A couple helpful resources:

• 1. I did a bit of research and found some tips to help you reach long-term career goals. I compared it to my journey, and found that taking specific actions and being flexible were key in helping me reach the goal – even if it took a bit longer or the end result veered from the initial plan. In fact, being flexible allowed me to listen to feedback and advice, and revise my plan along the way for a more impactful outcome that I’m more proud of and that makes a bigger difference for my readers and The Knock Method community!
• 2. Check out this template on how to set long-term career goals by The Muse.

Looking back, here are the steps I took to accomplish this long-term career goal. Use the handy visual guide to follow along with the steps to accomplishing a long-term career goal.

1. Set your vision. What inspires you? What gets you excited? What problems have you identified that you’re uniquely qualified to solve? What’s fun for you?

2. Noodle on it. Notice which ideas keep coming back up in your mind. Which problems seem to persist that still need solutions? What is so much fun or energizing that you can’t get enough?

3. Ask around. Get feedback. Ask potential users of your idea what they think. What’s missing? What sticks? Find out where you can get more information or where they recommend you do some research.

4. Research. Conduct a formal or informal survey. Or, dive into credible sources online. Or, ask experts in the field. Read up on these topics. Who is already trying to tackle similar challenges or what competitors would you have when your vision comes to life? Know the landscape. Understand the barriers.

5. Prototype. If your idea has legs (your research may make you rethink your idea or let it go to find a new direction), create something super scrappy that gets the idea across. This helps you put your thoughts into action, into something tangible that you and others can react to.

6. Get more feedback. Shop around your prototype. Gather as much feedback as possible to determine where you’re on the right track, and where you’re lacking.

7. Get it into gear, set a timeline. If you’re still excited about your idea by this point and you have clarity on that goal and have refined your vision, get going!

8. Assemble your team, build your community. This doesn’t have to be a team of paid employees. Who is on your “board of advisors”? The people who will tell you the good, the bad, the ugly truth. What mentors do you have who can provide reassurance when you’re feeling moments of doubt? Which experts can you enlist or hire to help your idea come to life? Build a community of believers. Consider creating an email list, blog website, or social media channels that most resonate with you and your idea for you to share your progress and gain buy-in.

9. Create milestones, accountability, and build in breaks. Know that achieving hard goals takes discipline and sacrifice. Let your friends and family know of your dedication to meeting this goal and which activities and responsibilities will need to take a back burner during this priority. Ask for their support. Acknowledge your progress, learn from the failures and the “no’s”, and celebrate your wins.

10. Celebrate your success and share it! Whether you have a formal launch plan for a new idea, or you’ve achieved a major milestone, share your success with loved ones and the community you cultivated. Reflect on how you got to the finish line, and consider sharing what you learned along the way with others who can benefit. Feel all the feels! RELAX!

What BIG, long-term career goals are you working on? Where are you getting stuck, where can I help? Share in the comments below.

The feeling of holding your long-term career goal in your hand (physical product or not) is indescribable, yet so rewarding, especially when it makes a difference for others. Looking for career guidance, coaching, or a workshop on building high quality career relationships? Contact me to explore ways we can partner. And, don’t forget to grab your copy of KNOCK: How to Open Doors and Build Career Relationships that Matter!