You might think that establishing long-term and short-term goals is a waste of time. However, this is a crucial part of the career planning process. Let’s explore how to set and achieve your objectives effectively.

Key Insights

• Create a career action plan that serves as a roadmap for achieving both short-term and long-term goals
• Make goals measurable, realistic, positive, and achievable
• Stay flexible — as your career progresses, goals may change, and that’s perfectly normal
• Review your progress every six months to a year to ensure you’re working toward goals that still serve you

How Goals Impact Career Success

Goal setting is an essential component of career planning. To build a successful and fulfilling career, you need to define your objectives and develop strategies to reach them. A roadmap guiding you from career selection to employment and advancement is called a career action plan.

Your career action plan should include both long-term and short-term goals.

Note: Since career plans and goals aren’t always achieved exactly as envisioned, it’s important to consider alternatives you can pursue if needed.

Short-Term Goals vs. Long-Term Goals

Short-Term Goals 

• Achieved within 6-36 months 
• Daily or weekly tasks help you reach these goals 

Long-Term Goals

• Achieved within 3-5 years
• Short-term goals are essential stepping stones

Build momentum toward larger objectives Represent your ultimate career aspirations
Goals fall into two categories: short-term and long-term. Sometimes you might achieve a short-term goal in under three months, while a long-term goal may require more than five years.

To reach each long-term goal, you must first accomplish a series of short-term and intermediate goals. For example, suppose you dream of becoming a physician. This represents your ultimate long-term goal. Before achieving it, you must reach several other objectives, such as completing a four-year undergraduate degree, followed by four years of medical school, then a three-year residency.

Along the path to these long-term goals, numerous short-term goals require your attention. These include excelling on entrance exams, gaining admission to medical school, and securing a residency position. Since grades matter for achieving these milestones, you need to break down your short-term goals even further — for instance, maintaining a high GPA throughout your studies.

Short-term goals demand action every day or every week. If you’re seeking new employment, you’ll need to update your resume, regularly review job boards, and submit applications weekly.

Setting Achievable Short-Term and Long-Term Goals

Your hard work will significantly contribute to your success. However, if you don’t formulate your goals properly, reaching them becomes much more difficult. Goals should meet the following criteria:

1. Be Specific. You might say, “I want to be successful.” But can you define what success means? For one person, success means becoming a CEO. For another, it means leaving work by 6 PM every day. Define success in concrete terms.
2. Make Goals Measurable. Establish timeframes for achieving goals and ways to determine when you’ve reached them. Break larger goals into smaller, measurable milestones you can track along the way.
3. Frame Goals Positively. Your goal should represent what you want to achieve, not what you want to avoid. It’s far better to say, “I want to develop my skills over the next four years to qualify for better opportunities,” than “I don’t want to be stuck in this job for another four years.”
4. Stay Realistic. Long-term goals should align with your abilities and skills. Aiming to win a Grammy when you don’t sing or play an instrument might not be an appropriate goal. Consider your capabilities and set goals that match your experience.
5. Take Small Steps. While you don’t absolutely need a deadline for every goal, having one can help you stay on track. Break long-term goals into smaller, manageable steps. It’s better to make consistent progress than attempt one giant leap.
6. Connect Each Goal to Action. Link every goal with concrete actions. For example, if your goal is to write a book, enroll in a writing workshop or commit to writing one chapter per week for a month.
7. Remain Flexible. Don’t give up when encountering obstacles that threaten your progress. Instead, adjust your goals. Flexibility also means being willing to abandon goals that no longer make sense and redirect your energy toward more relevant objectives.

Note: As you advance in your career, your goals may evolve — and that’s perfectly normal. Take time every six months to a year to reassess your career, education, experience, and skills.

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