Before looking for an internship, job, or embarking on another course of study, it is essential that you

define your career plan.

What motivates you? Where would you like to work? In what kind of structure? What type of activity
would you like to do? What skills or assets do you already have? What do you still have to do before
reaching your goal? What skills do you need to develop? These are the kinds of questions we will help
you to answer here. The answers you come up with will play an important part in defining y‌our career
plan.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Identify the different components of a career plan

Understand the potential difficulties involved in a career plan

Follow a method to help you define your career plan

Visualize your career plan in the form of a mind map

What is a career plan?

The concept of a plan is generally associated with a goal, a strategy (or plan of action) and the means
and resources necessary to helping your plan advance according to the planning schedule set in
advance.

In terms of a career plan:

Your objective is the targeted career.

The strategy corresponds to the plan of action that you need to establish in order to obtain your
objective.
The means and resources refer to the time (and money) you will need to spend in order to achieve your
objective, as well as your studies, qualities, and skills, and your network of contacts, who may help you
reach your objective.

The planning schedule corresponds to the various actions and steps taken over time.

Your career plan should not be something that is fixed for life. It should evolve over time, as your career
develops and your situation (environment and opportunities) changes.

A career plan is personal in the sense that it corresponds to your motivations and goals for the future
and your professional life. However, it should be realistic (reflecting the reality of the job market) and
achievable (with regard to your abilities and expertise).

What is the purpose of a career plan?

Developing or defining a career plan will:

Provide a meaning to your studies, motivate you and give you confidence;

Help you to be more efficient in your job search by targeting the sectors of the market and opportunities
that correspond best to your training and skills;

Help recruiters or potential employers understand who you are and what your motivations are, thereby
guiding you towards a job that suits your interests and abilities;

Enable you to decide more easily and more quickly your choices in terms of further study/jobs;

Provide you with an overview or roadmap of the steps and actions to be taken in achieving your goals.

Defining a career plan, ok… but how do I do it?

What steps should I follow as part of my career planning strategy?

A career plan is something that is defined after careful consideration of your desires, tastes, ideas and
interests, and an evaluation of these in terms of the reality of the job market.

Below, we outline the process in four easy steps:

The first step consists of personal exploration

The second step consists of examining your professional i‌nterests and tastes

The third step consists of visualizing yourself in the professional context

The fourth step consists of assessing the feasibility of your career plan

Step 1: Personal exploration

Defining your career plan starts with looking at who you are and the type of person you would like to
become. Think about your interests, tastes, skills and talents. Think about how these could be put to use
in the current job market. Are there any opportunities that match your interests and abilities?

In order to discover who you really are, you should ask yourself the following questions:

What do I want to do in 5 years’ time, in 10 years?

Who are the professionals I admire (teachers, family members, public figures, etc.)?

What do I like? What don’t I like?

What is important to me? What are my values (money, helping others, the common good, etc.)?

Below are some ways to help you find the answers to the above questions:
Feedback from your entourage (how do others see me?)

Experiences (work experience, volunteer work, clubs and societies, travel, books, etc.)

Meetings with networks of professionals, teachers, career guidance counsellors, etc.

Personality quizzes and aptitude tests, workshops, etc.

Interview with the career guidance counsellor at your university or establishment.

To help you get to know your personality better, it is often a good idea to participate in student clubs
and societies. These are an ideal place for you to express your ideas, to test your capabilities and
limitations, to work as part of a team, to discover personal and collective responsibility, and even to
manage or oversee a project or event.

The same applies to any individual or collective experiences you may have outside of university: event
planning, budget management, etc.

Think about your research projects, thesis topic and papers … all of these may provide further clues
about your interests and tastes.

Finally, it is a good idea to take stock of your skills. To help you identify your skills, have a look at the
course Taking stock of your skills.

Over to you!

Use the mind map below to jot down your initial ideas and experiences. A mind map is a visual
representation of your ideas and actions yet to be taken. The easy-to-read layout allows you to have an
overview of the content in one quick glance.

Download our model and use it to get inspiration to create your own mind map. Fill in the bubbles with
your key words or ideas. You will be asked to return to the mind map as we progress through this path.
Step 2: Think about your professional interests and tastes (what job/sector appeals to me?)

Now that you’ve thought more about who you are, it’s time to explore your professional interests and
tastes, and consider these in relation to the opportunities that exist on the job market. Your professional
tastes refer to the interest or attraction you might have for a certain job, function, or sector. In order to
discover what you like best, you need to explore the job market.

In order to explore the job market, you should:

Endeavour to gain as much experience in the workforce as you can: work experiences, internships,
student jobs, group projects within a company etc., are all good ways of coming to grips with the reality
of the job market. If you are interested in doing an internship, have a look at the course Making the
most of your internship for advice on the steps to follow.
Go and meet professionals and ask them questions about their career/sector and/or go to forums or job
fairs to meet companies (see the course Discovering the job market and keeping track of job postings
and news for tips and advice).

Do plenty of research on the Internet (read about the job news in a sector or activity area, jobs of the
future, promising fields, etc.).

If you already know what sector or type of structure you would like to work in, fill out the mind map
below. If you are still unsure, or are uncertain as to the exact nature of the tasks and responsibilities
connected to a specific career, have a look at the course Discovering the job market and keeping track of
job postings and news to help you fill out the map.

Step 3: Visualize yourself in a professional context

The workplace consists of several components: the work environment, management style, the level of
expertise or specialization required for a certain job, opportunities for career development, etc. All of
these dimensions will have an influence on your work on a daily basis. Therefore, it is important to think
about these when you are defining your career plan.

For example, working as a lawyer specialized in social law for a consulting firm or large company is not
the same as starting out as the young assistant to a HR Manager. Therefore, you need to ask yourself the
following questions:

Do you need to broaden your skills or make them more specialized? Are you targeting a large
group/organization or a large consulting firm? (a law firm, engineering firm, etc.)

Do you need to identify with a brand or a recognized name? Have a look at well-known firms!

Do you need the support and structure of a company with its own decision-making policies in place? In
this case, it may be best to look for work with large, structured companies.
Do you enjoy flexibility, pressure and creativity? Then, you should consider start-ups or start-up style
companies, smaller structures, the smaller-sized branches of a larger group, SMBs, or why not try
opening your own company?

Do you prefer autonomy? Try smaller structures.

Do you want to put to use your customer service skills in the public sector in a structured environment?
The public service may be the right fit for you.

Do you like to work in the field, travel regularly and enjoy meeting clients and collaborators? Or do you
prefer working in a traditional office environment?

Do you want to work overseas? Depending on your country of choice, the professional opportunities
may not be the same as in France or other countries, so it is a good idea to carefully consider your
options before following this through. Have a look at the course Improving your knowledge of the
international job market.

If location is an essential criterion for you, be aware that this might limit your job options and
opportunities. Be open to the possibility of relocating to another city: mobility can have many benefits!

In order to help you anticipate the future, you should also think in terms of career plans: ‘if I choose this
career, what opportunities exist for career development?’ For example, you might decide to begin your
career working in a marketing role in the retail industry before moving towards a position with a brand
label, before ultimately moving into the specialized distribution sector where you could apply some of
the techniques and skills you learnt while working in the retail industry. Or, another example: you would
like to open your own tax consultancy agency, but you wish to find an initial experience working as a tax
expert in a company. What is important in terms of the evolution of your career is that there is a
common or guiding thread. It should allow you to be able to answer the following question: ‘what is the
liaison or connection—which may be understood by someone other than myself—that exists between
my current position, my last job, and what I want to do next?’

Exercise: Fill out another section of the mind map

Step 4: Assessing the feasibility of my career plan

This last step encourages you to ask yourself the following question: is my career plan realistic (does it
reflect the reality and opportunities of the job market?) and achievable (does it take into account my
skills and limitations?).

In order to discover whether your career plan is a realistic one, you should check the following:

is the career/sector that interests me in a healthy condition, or is it under threat (textile, printing
industries, etc.)? Observe the changes that are taking place on the job market, what are the promising
fields or professions? (consultancy roles, caring professions, IT, etc.).

the current situation and outlook for this particular job/sector in terms of the job market.
To help you with this, have a look at the course Discovering the job market and keeping track of job
postings and news.

To find out if your project is achievable, you should:

have a look at the ideal candidate profile for job adverts for your sector/career, and see if they are
recruiting people with your level of experience. Remember: you should be at this level of skill and
experience at the time of applying for the job.

Be honest with yourself and ask yourself the following questions: right now, what are my capabilities
and my limits? What would I be willing to give up or do without, if necessary? Does my profile
correspond to the professional demands and requirements of the targeted job? Do I have the
knowledge and ability to achieve my goals? If not, how can I do this?

Think in terms of a ‘career plan’. Let’s take the example of Julia, 22 years old, with a master’s in
communications, who is looking for a job as a communications manager in an agency. This position
requires at least five years’ experience. In order to be considered for the position, Julia needs more
experience. To cut her teeth, she accepts a position as communications assistant for a project with an
agency. She gains in experience and skills, and gradually moves into the role of project manager. After 2-
3 years in this role, she can now apply to jobs for a communications manager. Thinking about your
career development will help you define the stages in your professional advancement.

Changing your career plan after the first couple of years or having two different career plans is far from
ridiculous. You can very well have a main career plan and an alternative plan, which isn’t necessarily a
‘plan B’. Remember: nothing is set in stone! Over time, the more people you meet, the more reading
and research you do, and the more experience you gain, the more your original career plan is sure to
change, either in content or in form.

Exercise: Fill out another section of the mind map

Congratulations! You now have a first draft completed of your career plan or plans! Now, how can you
put it/them into action? Have a look at our other courses for tips and advice.

Taking stock of your skills

Improving your Microsoft Office skills

Discovering the job market and keeping track of job postings and news

Improving your knowledge of the international job market

Making the most of your internship

 ‌

This course was developed with the support of:

No certificate of achievement yet at the end of this course

Created by

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Sciences Po: the shortest route between thought and action

What Is a Career Goal?

In a nutshell, career goals are the milestones you hope to hit as you advance in your
chosen profession.
My goal is to make a ton of money. Isn’t that everyone’s career goal?
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Well, technically, yes. The primary driving motivator for any job is a steady
paycheck, but there’s more to life than just feeding your bank account, and that’s
where career goals come into play.
Think about your employment situation right now. Where do you see yourself in
five years? How about ten? What about when you retire? Do you have an image
in your head of where you want to be and who you want to be during those points
in your life? Congratulations, you just came up with three career goals! Wasn’t
that easy?
Of course it was!

And we’re about to tell you why it’s so important to have career goals, but before
we do, we wanted to give you an excellent free cheat sheet that is going to help
you answer the question “What are your career goals?”, but also, how to tackle
some of the other tough interview questions that you’re going to face in your next
interview.
Here it is:

Get Our Job Interview Questions & Answers Cheat Sheet!

FREE BONUS PDF CHEAT SHEET: Get our "Job Interview Questions & Answers
PDF Cheat Sheet" that gives you "word-word sample answers to the most common
job interview questions you'll face at your next interview.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE JOB INTERVIEW QUESTIONS CHEAT SHEET

Why is it Important to Have Career

Goals?
For many people a job is just that…a job. It’s something they do for 8 hours (or
so) a day in the hopes of getting that paycheck at the end of the week. It’s a bit
like living in the movie Groundhog Day. Every day is exactly like the day before
it…and exactly like the day after it. Sure, there might be some variety, and a
raise thrown in every now and again, but overall, it’s the same thing over and
over and over and over again.

Sounds horrible, doesn’t it? This scenario is exactly why you need career goals!
You need something to focus on… something to drive you forward and something to
motivate you to improve your situation and grow. Career goals are what will help
you get ahead in this world and help you go from just another day at the office to
another day closer to achieving what you ultimately want with your career.
So, now that we know what a career goals is…let’s talk about what your career
goals should be.

“Total world domination!”

Whoah, okay there, Pinky. The first thing we need to do is make sure our goals
are realistic and professional. We’re not saying you can’t dream big, but let’s
keep in mind this is an answer you’re going to give a hiring manager and with an
answer like total world domination, you’re less likely to get the job and more likely
to end up on some international watch list. 😉

Speaking of hiring managers, knowing why they ask this question will make it
much easier to know how to answer this question. When a hiring manager asks
you, “What are your career goals,” (or the ever-popular variation “Where do you
see yourself in five years,”) they’re trying to determine two primary things:

Are you a person who plans on making a long-term commitment to the

company? Most employers would prefer to avoid hiring anyone who sees the
position as a short-term stop, especially if it involves extensive training.

or
 Are you someone who is interested in both personal and professional
improvement and growth? Candidates who are motivated to improve are often
driven to succeed at the jobs they’re hired to do.
Hiring mangers are going to be interested in both your long-term and short-term
career goals, which is why, when you’re prepping your answers to this
question, you need to take both into consideration.

Long-term Versus Short-term Career

Goals
Long-term and short-term career goals are exactly what they sound like; long-
term goals apply to achievements you’d like to make in your future and short-
term goals are supportive, actionable items you can focus on right now that will
help move you closer to your long-term goal.

MIKE'S TIP: When it comes to a timeline, it’s reasonable to assume short-term goals are
achievable within 6-12 months and relate to improvements in performance and skills and long-term
goals usually extend out from 1-10 years and are generally focused on the final direction of your
ultimate career choice.

4 Common Types of Career Goals:

While goals are broken down into the two primary categories, long-term and
short-term, there are generally four common types of career goals:

1. Goals focused on productivity: Productivity refers to the results you are able

to produce for your employer or client within a given time frame.
2. Goals focused on efficiency: Similar to productivity, goals that focus on
efficiency refer to your ability to achieve results, but with a focus on not only
producing the desired results, but with the speed, accuracy, and consistency by
which you deliver those results.
3. Goals focused on education: Continuing your professional education helps
to ensure that you are always at the forefront of developments within your
chosen career. Seeking out opportunities to develop or improve your skills can
help put you ahead of the competition, ensuring you remain current and relevant
within your field.
4. Goals focused on personal development: Just as important as education,
continuing to improve yourself personally can only help you out in the long run.
Improving personal skills like communication,
networking, teamwork and leadership will make achieving both short-term and
long-term goals easier.
Within these four types of common career goal categories are the hundreds…no,
thousands of different types of career goals.

Overall Career Goal Examples Could Include:

 Improving your networking skills.

 Switching careers.

 Starting your own business.

 Getting a promotion.

 Becoming an expert in your field.

 Assuming a leadership position.

 Earning a degree or certificate.

 Closing more sales.

 Landing a huge account.

 Learning a new skill.

 Winning an award.

 Becoming a manager.

 Becoming a mentor.

 Improving the company bottom line.

 Becoming more proactive.

 Growing the size of your customer base.

We could seriously spend the rest of this article just listing possible career goals,
both long-term and short-term and still not come close to exhausting them all…so
let’s move on and focus on what matters the most…you!
 How to Set Career Goals
Whew! We’ve gone over a ton of stuff already but now we’re getting to the most
important part…how to set your career goals.
When it comes to setting your own career goals, it’s important to look first at the
big picture, and then focus in on the smaller steps you’ll need to accomplish in
order to achieve that end result. That means looking at the long-term and then the
short-term.
First identify exactly what you ultimately want to achieve with your career. Is it a
management position? Leadership role? CEO? Now is the time to think BIG! What
are your goals?
Next, start outlining what you’ll need to do in order to achieve this ultimate goal.
These are your short-term supporting goals and should include:

 Learning more about what it takes to achieve your long-term goal.

 Getting the education and training you need.

 Gaining the experience and developing the associated skills related to your
long-term goal.

 Making the connections and networking with the people in your chosen
field who can help you achieve your goal.

That’s it! Simple, right?

Of course, career goals don’t have to be limited to just one final end result. It’s
perfectly acceptable to have multiple long-term career goals. The important thing
is to have a reasonable, actionable plan of attack that will help you achieve those
goals.

Mistakes to Avoid When Answering

“What Are Your Career Goals.”
We briefly touched on this above when we told you that “total world domination”
probably wasn’t a career goal you wanted to share with a hiring manager, but
there are several other pitfalls you will want to avoid as well including:
1. Relaying goals that have nothing to do with the job you’re
applying to:
This one falls under the ‘no duh,’ category of dumb interview answers. The last
thing you want to do is tell a hiring manager in an interview for that your goal is to
do something totally unrelated to the job you’re applying for right
now. Remember, hiring managers would much rather bring someone on board they
feel will have a future with the company, not someone who views the position as a
temporary landing spot on their journey in life.
2. Relaying goals that aren’t professional:
Remember to always keep your answers on topic and while it’s tempting to throw
personal goals into your answer, you need to make sure you stay focused on the
ultimate immediate goal which is to get the job you’re interviewing for.
Remember, while the interview is about you, it’s also ultimately about the
company and finding the right employee to fill the spot. Make sure your answer
focuses on your professional goals.
3. Relaying goals that aren’t realistic:
Again, world domination isn’t an acceptable answer. Neither is becoming the
CEO or insisting that you’ll be running the show in five years. While we’re not
saying these things can’t happen, try to maintain a level of realism when doing
your interview. Confidence in an applicant is a good thing. Overconfidence can
make you come off as arrogant and cocky, two personality traits that are more
likely to get you shown the door than the corner office.

How to Answer the Interview

Question “What Are Your Career
Goals?”
We’ll give you an example answer here in a minute, but before we do, here are a
few quick tips:

Start with your short-term goals and then roll into your long-term goals.
 Briefly outline your steps to achieve those goals. This will help
demonstrate you are thinking about these goals in a logical manner and can help
show a hiring manger how your goals align with the needs of the company.

 Keep your goals focused on your employer and the job you’re applying for
and how your goals will ultimately add value to the company.

 Keep your answer focused on your final achievements rather than salary
or compensation.

 Focus on generalized goals without getting too specific. This allows you to
maintain some flexibility and gives you the ability to adjust your goals as you
learn more about the company and position you’re applying for

And now, here is an example of how to answer this question:

“My immediate goal is to secure a position at a company like this one where I can continue to grow and
improve myself both personally and professionally. I enjoy challenges and look forward to opportunities
where I will be able to assume more responsibilities. Ultimately, I’d like to move into management with a
focus on strategy and development and work my way into a long-term position where I can build a solid
career. Right now, I’m focusing on improving my communication skills through continuing education
programs outside of work. I’m very interested in leadership positions and know effective communication is
critical. While I’m very happy as a member of any team I’m on, I’m looking forward to being able to take on
small leadership roles, eventually working my way into a position as a manager and team-leader. I have been
so lucky to have been surrounded by manager and team leaders who have been generous with their knowledge
and I look forward to an opportunity to become a mentor for others like me within this field.”

So there you have it. We’ve covered what are career goals, why they’re
important to have, how to set your own career goals, why a hiring manager is
going to ask you about what your career goals are, and how to answer the
question “What are your career goals?”