It is the first month of the new year (albeit almost over!) and we all have gone gung-ho on setting and resetting our goals or intentions – whatever terms you choose to use. Goal setting can be fun, creative, and energizing – even better when we achieve them.
This year, you have decided that you need to earnestly achieve a particular career goal. Kudos! For other people career goals tend to feature very low on the goals list, it all.
While career goal setting may seem like a simple task, achieving these goals isn’t always as easy as putting pen to paper. Perhaps one of the biggest limitations is the idealism most people have when they begin their journey to find meaning and fulfilment in their careers.
Each of us faces career-related decisions at some point – yet making considered choices can be challenging and overwhelming. It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that you simply need to find a job, any job. You may even convince yourself that it doesn’t matter what role you take on or where you work—as long as it pays the bills, right? Unfortunately, this mindset is short-sighted and will likely lead to dissatisfaction.
When seeking a new career, changing companies, or applying for jobs, it’s important to be clear about what matters most professionally. To make a decision that reflects your values and priorities, it is essential to know what you want from your career.
To take a simplistic view in order to ease the overwhelm, here are some basic questions you can start with when setting your career goals:
- What is the most important thing I want out of my career?
- What do I value most in life?
Most people don’t think about this until they are forced to do so – when their job becomes untenable.
This is the part most people miss at the goal setting stage – when you create a roadmap for your career. It is not just about identifying the ideal role or job, it is also about being clear in what you do not want and why.
We call these career deal breakers.
A deal-breaker is a specific non-negotiable requirement that you absolutely must have or absolutely cannot tolerate in a job. When you know what your deal breakers are, it becomes easier for you to make informed decisions about whether a career opportunity is right for you.
The deal-breaker can be a job function, specific responsibilities, or the organization itself. It could be something you don’t like about your current role that you want to change in future jobs.
Furthermore, if your deal breakers are too broad or generic, you will end up with an unfulfilling career that does not meet your needs. For example, if you say “I want to work at a place where I can make a difference”, this is too vague to be useful. It could mean anything from working for charity or government to being an entrepreneur.
Take time to clearly outline your deal breakers – make them as specific as you possibly can.
The deal breakers can be anything from salary to commute time, but they typically include things like:
- A requirement to travel more than 10% of the time.
- A job that requires you to move away from your family or friends.
- Having to work on weekends.
- Working in an environment where there is a lot of drama or backstabbing going on.
The biggest mistake I see people make is skipping this step. You need to be pro-active in defining what you want, don’t want and why, otherwise you will end up settling for a fancy job title without fully understanding what it comes with.
The most important thing is that when it comes down to it, these non-negotiables must be met for you to accept a new career opportunity.
When you identify and outline your career deal breakers:
- you can calibrate your career trajectory to focus on the job opportunities that will lead you towards your ideal career.
- you become aware of what you are and are not willing to compromise on, allowing you to make confident career decisions.
- it makes compromising on lesser-valued aspects of a job a much simpler task. For example, if you realize that flexible working hours are one of your top priorities, then compromising on other, less important elements will be easier
How do you identify the deal breakers?
There are four key elements to consider in discovering your career deal-breakers, so you can highlight the aspects of your work-life that are most important, gain clarity about what you want professionally, and make career-related decisions with ease
- Identify important factors in your career.
- Outline your non-negotiable career deal-breakers.
- Analyse and reflect.
- Recalibrate.
The Career Deal Breakers exercise takes you through the process in detail. Download the worksheet here
The year 2023 – tagged as Twenty Twenty Free – is the year we take ownership of our careers, be deliberate on our growth and breakthrough career stagnation so we can make even greater impact through our vocations…