Career Goal Setting: the How, What,

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Career Goal Setting the How, What, Why

• Session Two of the Fall Series, Managing Your
  Career

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Key Takeaways Our Goals for tonight

• What Goals are and in particular Career
  Goals.
• Why goals are necessary
• how they help you manage your career now, and
  for the rest of your professional career.
• How you set goals

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Goals What are they?

• Varied There are lots of different types and/or
  definitions of goals
• Individual Everyones goals are unique to them
• Complex There is no one single right definition
  or way to experience goals.

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GOALS Definition

• The result or achievement toward which effort is
  directed
• -dictionary.com
• Implies movement a process a JOURNEY
• an aim an end a terminal point
• Implies an endpoint a final DESTINATION

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GOALS Illustration Steps on a Journey
Win the GAME
Join local tennis team
Win Local Title
Win Wimbledon!
Win the SET
Sign up for tennis lessons
Win Regional Title
Perfect my backhand
Win the MATCH
U.S. champion
Short Term
Long Term
Timeframe
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GOALS Illustration Steps on a Journey
Get hired by client
Submit B-school Application
Finish MBA with Honors
C-Suite!
Finish 5 years in Strategy Consulting
Short Term
Long Term
Timeframe
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Mapping Out Your Journey

• Begin with the end in mind

Get hired by client
Submit B-school Application
Finish MBA with Honors
C-Suite!
Finish 5 years in Strategy Consulting
Short Term
Long Term
Timeframe
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Mapping Out Your Journey

• But what if I dont know my long term goal?

Short Term
Long Term
Timeframe
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Journey Without a Guidepost
Lucky!
Likely
Uh Oh!
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Long-term Goals the Specificity Factor
Very Broad
Do work that I feel has meaning I can see where
it adds value and people respected me as a leader
I want to earn enough money so that my family can
enjoy a comfortable lifestyle
Level of Detail/Specificity
Senior leadership position in a mid-size company
where I have direct influence over company
strategy
CEO of my own wildly successful Private Wealth
Management Firm in New York
Very Detailed
Short Term
Long Term
Timeframe
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Long-term Goals How to Set Them

• Ask Questions of yourself and others
• Whats Inside (Self-Assessment)
• What is important to me? What do I value?
• Time, Money, Integrity, Altruism, Challenge,
  Variety, Ethics, etc.
• How can I find heroism in my work?
• What is my definition of hero.
• How important are my roots what got me here?
• What did I want to be when I grew up?
• What have I enjoyed/learned along the
• What are my strengths? Weaknesses?
• How can I leverage strengths and minimize
  roadblocks?

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Long-term Goals How to Set Them

• Ask Questions of yourself and others
• Whats Outside (Research)
• Functions
• The type of work role to fill
• Industries
• Content/context, product/service, customer
• Culture
• Nature of the work environment (e.g.
  collaborative, lone wolf, matrixed, heirarchical,
  decision-making process, etc.)

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Long-term Goals How to Set Them

• Integration identifying the intersection of
• Whats Inside (Self Assessment)
• with
• Whats Outside (Research)

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Long-term Goals How to Evaluate Them

• When you have some idea of the long term goal,
  ask
• Why
• - am I pursuing this goal?
• - is this goal appealing to me?
• How does this
• - honor my values?
• - leverage my strengths?
• - serve what I have learned about myself and
  whats important?
• What
• - keeps me from pursuing this?

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Long-term Goals Other Resources

• PT Career Resources Workshop on Self Assessment
  (Jan)
• LCS2 360 Feedback
• MORS courses (e.g. Managerial Leadership)
• PT Career Coaches
• Leadership Coaching course
• CareerLeader on-line assessment
• PT Career Resources web site
• Self-assessment section
• Resources section (for research)
• Plethora of readings/books

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Mapping Your Journey Goals to Actions
Very Broad

• Begin with the end in mind
• Build in interim steps
• Work back to specific actions
• Ideals
• Alternatives

Level of Detail/Specificity
Very Detailed
Short Term
Long Term
Timeframe
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Interim Goals How to Set Them

• Ask Questions of yourself and others
• Whats possible?
• Whats necessary?
• Whats reasonable?
• How have others done this?
• What are some alternatives?
• How does this leverage my past?
• What are possible gaps and how might I bridge
  them?

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Interim Goals How to Evaluate Them

• Ask
• Why
• - am I pursuing this goal?
• - is this goal appealing to me?
• How does this
• - honor my values?
• - leverage my strengths?
• - serve what I have learned about myself and
  whats important?
• - get me closer to my longer-term goal?
• What
• - keeps me from pursuing this?

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Short-term Goals How to Set Them

• Ask Questions of yourself and others
• What action can I take today/tomorrow to move in
  the direction of my next goal?

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Short-term Goals How to Evaluate Them

• Ask
• How does this get me closer to my next goal?
• Are they S. M. A. R. T. ?

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Navigating Your Path Its a Process!
Very Broad

• Take the first step, then STOP! Reflect
• -look back what have I learned
• -take stock where am I now
• -look forward where do I go now
• Reassess/Revise

Level of Detail/Specificity
STOP
Very Detailed
Short Term
Long Term
Timeframe
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Navigating Your Path Flexibility
Very Broad

• The importance of FLEXIBILITY
• so you can make choices

Strategy Role in Banking
I love my marketing classes! Who knew? !!
Level of Detail/Specificity
Get into B-school
?
Major in Finance
Very Detailed
Short Term
Long Term
Timeframe
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Navigating Your Path Flexibility
Very Broad

• The importance of FLEXIBILITY
• so you can make choices

Strategy Role in Banking
Ill take more marketing classes and if I still
like it, Ill add a Marketing major.
Level of Detail/Specificity
Get into B-school
Major in Finance AND Marketing
Very Detailed
Short Term
Long Term
Timeframe
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Navigating Your Path Flexibility
Very Broad

• The importance of FLEXIBILITY
• so you can make choices

Strategy Role in Banking
?
Now that Ive been promoted in my banking
industry job Im not sure its a good fit for
the long term.
Level of Detail/Specificity
Major in Finance AND Marketing
Get promoted
New MBA job at a bank
Very Detailed
Short Term
Long Term
Timeframe
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Navigating Your Path Flexibility
Very Broad

• The importance of FLEXIBILITY
• so you can make choices

I think Ill leverage my finance background and
training in marketing to switch industries
Level of Detail/Specificity
Strategy Role in a CPG company
Get promoted
Finance role at a CPG company
Very Detailed
Short Term
Long Term
Timeframe
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Navigating Your Path Flexibility
Very Broad

• The importance of FLEXIBILITY
• so you can adapt to external circumstances

My company went bankrupt I just lost my job the
economys in a recession jobs are scarce!
Retire in Tahiti and play golf every day
Level of Detail/Specificity
Become the leading turnaround firm
Start my own Turnaround consulting business
Very Detailed
Short Term
Long Term
Timeframe
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Navigating Your Career Complexity
Very Broad

• The fallacy of straight line progression
• The danger of assuming next steps
• Success v. Perfection

Level of Detail/Specificity
Very Detailed
Short Term
Long Term
Timeframe
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Summary Key Points

• Goals provide a path for your journey directions
  and guidelines to keep you focused on an outcome.
• Goals can be short term steps or long term
  visions and milestones in between
• Goals can be specific or broad related to
  timeframe
• Short specific long-term can be broad
• Begin with an end in mind, and work back into
  action steps
• Stop, reflect, assess, adjust, continue on
  purpose
• Flexibility/adaptability focusing too narrowly
  or lacking any focus can become roadblocks.
• Complexity no right or predictable journeys

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Upcoming PT CMC Events

• Upcoming Fall Series, Managing Your Career
  Events
• Nov. 10th Daniel Porot Event
• Nov. 12th Session Three Promote Yourself from
  Within
• Winter/Spring Career Development Series
• Questions?
• Email ptmba-careerservices_at_kellogg.northwestern.
  edu
• Call 312-503-8385 to schedule a coaching
  appointment