3 Questions For Reassessing Your Career Goals

Maybe your day job isn’t doing it for you, but you’re too scared to readjust and choose a different path. It’s okay to be scared, but it’s not okay to live without exploring the possibilities and options. It’s a beautiful thing when a career and passion come together.

Jobs and careers are completely different in my opinion. A job is something that you go to every day to pay the bills and make a living. A career is something you’re passionate about and has longevity. Your career should be something you look forward to every day.

Go beyond the blog post with the free workbook companion:

If you’ve come to a point in your life where you are ready to make the change to something long-term that will encourage you to grow as a person, you can assess your career goals with these questions:

1. Is Your Current Job a Stepping Stone?

When you’re reassessing your goals, it’s important to consider your current job. Whether you’re fresh out of college and in your first role or have been in a field for the past couple years, your current position affects your future career path.

The bottom line is that your current job should be considered a stepping stone to your next job. It should not prevent your growth or have no room for advancement.

Here are some ways your current job might not be a stepping stone:

• Holding you back from learning more within your desired field.
• There isn’t any way to work your way up within the company.
• It’s nothing to do with what you’re actually interested in pursuing.
• You’ve not gotten a decent raise or promotion your entire time working there.

This is also a good time to consider how the people at your office might be holding you back. 

Is your boss not interested in providing you with feedback? Have your co-workers been in the same position for over three years? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, it’s time to reassess.

What to do now:

If you’ve recognized that your current job is not a stepping stone for your future career, you can take action this week by:

1. Reach out through email or LinkedIn and ask for an informational interview with someone in your field or desired field (here’s how.)
2. Begin revamping your resume.
3. Accelerate your learning process by signing up for classes on Udemy, CreativeLive or pick from this list.
4. Establish your career goals by aligning your talents and skills (full method here.)

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Can’t tell if your job is a stepping stone? Dig deeper in the free workbook:

2. Is it Worth Your Time and Pay?

Money isn’t everything, but when it comes to your career, it’s vital to assess what you’re making for what you’re putting in.

Women especially are grossly underpaid in their positions and it’s important that you address this early on in your career. Did you know that people who negotiate will earn an average of $1 million more dollars over the course of their careers?

Having your career goals in order plays a huge role when figuring out your finances. Most people will say that money doesn’t equal happiness, and I couldn’t agree more! But, there are things to put into perspective such as obligations that require money, and future plans and goals that you want out of life that also cost money.

Is your current salary able to:

• cover your student loan payments and living expenses?
• give you the ability to easily save 20 percent or more of your salary?
• plan for the future and retirement?

On the flip side, your time should be carefully examined as well. Most jobs aren’t strictly on a 9-5 schedule, especially for someone who is in their mid-twenties and “paying their dues.”

When you’re reassessing your career goals, it’s important that you assess the way you spend and allocate your time as well.

Depending on your career, it could require more work for what you want such as nights or weekends in order to get the job done right. Time is a precious thing in life, so you also don’t want to waste it on a career/ job that isn’t fulfilling. Money and time go hand-in-hand if you ask me.

What to do now:

If your time commitment to your job doesn’t seem to align with your compensation, here are a few steps you can take in the next month:

1. Begin preparing yourself for asking for a promotion and/or (five things to do before your next annual review period are here).
2. Look up your position and company on Glassdoor to see where you fit in.
3. Sketch out your weekly schedule and figure out just how many hours you dedicate to work each week versus what you dedicate to yourself. Our free self-care workbook can help you do this. Then, figure out what adjustments you can make in your schedule to be more balanced.

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3. Is Your Current Job Fulfilling Your Happiness?

You are not going to like or love 100 percent of your job, but if it’s not making you at least generally happy, then it’s time to reassess.

You might not always be passionate about your work, but choosing to make an impact with your work could be an even more powerful indicator of what your future career will look like.

What to do now:

Here are questions to ask yourself periodically to dig into your true goals:

1. What is the impact of my current position?
2. What are my non-negotiables at my job?
3. What about this project/position/etc. excites me? What am I dreading?
4. Is how I felt when I started this job the same way I feel now? What’s changed?
5. How have I grown since starting this position?

Take our free Career Needs Fulfillment Quiz here:

[clickToTweet tweet=”‘The goal is to be valuable. Once you’re valuable, instead of chasing success, it will attract itself to you.”” quote=”‘The goal is not to be successful, the goal is to be valuable. Once you’re valuable, instead of chasing success, it will attract itself to you.” – Boss Babe”]

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Your mid-20s is a great time to rethink your career goals. Is your career heading upward and in the right direction? Or do you have steer another way in order to make that dream come true?

All progress takes place outside of your comfort zone. It won’t get accomplished without reassessing your goals with the tips above!

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