8 professional goals for work you need to know

Professional development has become increasingly important! The competition for talent is on the rise. If you are looking for professional goals for work, keep on reading if you wish to level up!

If you are looking for ways to professionally grow and develop, you’ve come to the right place! Professional development is extremely important! There are so many people out in the world right now who are striving to become their best selves. Are you one of them?

You are going to learn 8 professional growth goals, professional goals for work, and tips on how to plan your life and create goals for yourself.

This post is all about professional growth goals you need to know about.

What Are Professional Growth Goals?

Did you know that the main reason workers move to a new company or start their job search is due to a lack of professional development opportunities?

People want to be the best at what they do, especially the ambitious type of people! In fact, 87% of Millennials say that professional growth and career development are very important.

62% of Millennials and Gen X folks say professional development contributes to their job satisfaction. It’s one of the main ways people decide to stay in whatever work field they are in.

It’s worth knowing that 76% of employees are looking for opportunities to expand their careers, so if you are a manager or in charge of employees, keep this statistic in mind.

I always think it’s important for people to know the facts and statistics behind what’s going on in the world.

If you are interested in more statistics about employee development click here.

Why Are Professional Growth Goals Important?

Setting goals is such a western society type of thing. We’ve been told forever to set a goal and make a plan to achieve the goal.

Now, I’m not saying this mentality is good or bad. I’m just stating the game of western society. You can either play the game or not. The choice is yours. Just know that it’s important to always be ahead of the facts so that the game doesn’t play you.

Having great professional goals may teach you enough to apply for a promotion or give you the freedom to change careers based on your newly found abilities.

Personally, I always want to have a choice and the freedom to do what I want. I never want to get stuck or feel trapped in one profession. Some college degrees are so specific that it traps people in these careers that they later want to leave.

Create some space for your life!

How To Create Goals

1. Identify Your Goal

The first thing you must do is figure out what it is you want to work towards. A few examples are wanting to improve your productivity, wanting to learn something new, or personal development.

You can strive to improve yourself with communication. Having great communication skills can lead to networking with more people which is a great asset in regard to professional growth.

*Click here to learn how to communicate effectively.*

2. Outline Short-term Goals

Here is where you can make a list of actionable steps to reach your big goals. This includes small goals needed to meet your long-term goal.

What can you start doing today to get you where you’d like to be later?

3. S.M.A.R.T Method

This is a great acronym used to achieve goals and helps you discover if you have a good goal in the first place.

S: Specific: What exactly are you striving for?

M: Measurable: Can you track or monitor your progress?

A: Achievable: Is this goal actually something you are capable of doing?

R: Realistic: This is real life. Can you reach this goal within the year?

T: Timely: Are you able to set a date for when you plan to reach this goal?

Are you creating “SMART” goals? Using this acronym can really help you narrow down the goal. It’s one thing to dream and let your imagination soar when planning your future, but it’s also important to be reasonable with yourself.

Professional Growth Goals

1. Improve Your Time Management

Here are great tips and tricks to improve your time management.

2. Develop Great Communication Skills

Here are the 5 best practices to communicate effectively.

3. Enhance Networking Skills

You can enhance your networking skills by attending professional events where you can meet new people with similar interests.

4. Work Well on a Team

Working well with others can help you receive great recommendations from your colleagues. It works hand-in-hand with networking with others.

This can be a great goal!

5. Learn New Technology

Keeping up with new technology helps you stay current and also maximizes your productivity. You’re more likely to get hired somewhere if you are aware of the trends happening in the world.

6. Develop Emotional Intelligence

Being emotionally stable can help build the strength and resilience needed when it comes to putting yourself out there (networking, interviewing for jobs, or trying new things).

7. Listen Actively

Being a great listener is as equally important as communicating effectively. No one is going to want to work with you or communicate with you if you are a terrible listener.

8. Create Better Workplace Relationships

This works similarly with working well on a team, but if you don’t work on a team then maybe you just need to have better relationships with other people who are at the same place as you.

Remember that the competition for talent is very fierce! If you want to stand out from the crowd and do all of the things in your life that your heart desires then it starts with having great goals to get there.

Personally, I am a very ambitious person. Being ambitious doesn’t make you a bad person. It’s great to have a drive inside of you.

Do what is best for you always! It all starts with you. Don’t ever feel stuck or like you can’t do what you want to do in this precious life that we have been given. Go all out!