How to Do a Career Inventory & Gain a Better Sense of Professional Goals   

Are you stuck in a career rut? Doing the bare minimum not to get fired? Has the term “blue collar” (or white collar”) taken on a whole new meaning – i.e. as something that seems to be choking your professional life? Or do you show up to work wishing you were somewhere else? Do you wake up dreading the rest of the day each morning? Has your life become monotonous and out of sync? In short, has the job you once loved become boring and predictable? Well, for those of us who are tethering on the brink of career suicide, here is the answer: R³(R-cubed): Reflect, Reset, Refocus!

Reflect
No one wants to be unhappy or feel as if his/her career is going nowhere.  Therefore, regularly reflecting on set goals is paramount; if not, it is easy to become sidetracked. The act of assessing yourself is a powerful tool that can be used to recalibrate your career. So, armed with a pen and paper, take a few moments to plan a road-map to your career destination; along this road, identify the milestone that marks each accomplishment that would get you to your goal.

4 Steps to Create Your Roadmap for Career Destination:

• Why – Write down a list of reasons why you want to make a change!
• When – Pick a few dates in the future from the calendar!
• What  – Write a list of Your “whats”.  These are tangible achievements that you strive for. Be specific, for example, “Do a Ted Talk!”
• How – Start breaking down all of the steps for each “What” that you listed above. The more the detail the better!

Now it’s time to put it all together!

• Get a pen and paper out and fill in the blanks based on your items you wrote down:
• I will achieve____(what)_____, by this date____(when)_____, by taking these actions____(how)_____, for this reason_____(why)_____.

Also, consider if your career path is the right one for you.  If not, which career do you consider to be most useful at your present level? Writing down your plans will transform abstract thoughts into concrete ideas. In other words, seeing your plans on paper will give you the boost to take much-needed action.

Reset
Hit the reset button. This is the easiest, least time-consuming step, and needs to be taken only if necessary. It is time to hit the reset button when a gap appears between your diligent efforts and the attainment of your goals – in other words, if your goals seem to be getting farther and farther out of reach, despite your best efforts, it is time to reset.

Re-Focus
It may feel as if you are doing everything you can – working overtime and attending conferences, but at the end of the day – are you making traction in your career? Are you seeing results? Seeing results from your hard work can come in various forms, monetary or otherwise, but most of all, a successful result is a measurable, productive outcome.

To get to that result, think about the acronym S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-framed), a methodology used in goal-setting to help align objectives and short- or long-term goals.  Here’s a summary of how it works:

• Your goals must be Specific – As in precise, unambiguous. There must be clarity in what you want to get done.
• Your goals must be Measurable – As in concrete.
• Your goals must be Achievable – As in “attainable” and “possible.” Are they within reach?
• Your goals must be Realistic – Are you able to make them happen?
• Your goals must be Time-framed – Otherwise, your goals may never get accomplished because you have nothing to work towards within a specific time period.

When refocusing, one should bear the following points in mind:

• Re: your short-term goals (daily/monthly targets) and long-term goals (accomplishments in 1-5 years):
  • Make sure they are accessible within the time that you specify.
  • Create milestones you can focus on as you work towards your goals. Once each milestone is reached, celebrate – treat yourself to your favorite snack, go out with friends, or visit the spa.
  • Identify obstacles that will prevent you from achieving your goals — and then eliminate them quickly.
  • Make important tasks a priority; delegate the rest.
  • Work within your comfort zone – don’t frustrate yourself by creating unattainable, unrealistic goals. You know yourself better than anyone, so work within your limits.

Realize
A bonus R, now realize how far you’ve come. Do appreciate your efforts in getting your career back on track, and give yourself a little credit for the effort you are making. Most of all, stick with it; as TED speaker and Harvard Business School associate professor Amy Cuddy put it: “Tiny tweaks can lead to big changes.”