As I took my long run this weekend I began to consider the idea of goals and objectives when it comes to both business ownership and the job world in general. For my website we are currently working on goals and objectives as mothers in business. So, we are thinking about what it is we want to see in our business lives in the next, say, six months, and then figuring out how we are going to get there. What are the tools that we need in order to accomplish these goals?
For me, obtaining and keeping clients is extremely important. I want to retain these clients so that I can continue to build a strong relationship with them, and so that when they have marketing needs they will return to me. In order to do this, I sat down and wrote out the things that I would need to offer as a business woman in order to make this happen.
If you are searching for a job, you are not far from where I am. You are looking for an employee with whom you can create a long-term relationship (hopefully), and a job in which you can begin to climb whatever ladder it is that you want to climb. Do you want to become a manager? An executive? Do you hope to find steady employment in the field that you have studied or that you are interested in pursuing?
Before you take the new job, make sure that you know where it is that you want to end up. Why? Because just as with running a business, or driving a car, or training for a marathon, if you don’t know where you are going you will never get there.
If you have not yet gone in for the job interview, take some time to jot out where it is you see yourself in that company in the next six months, one year, and five years. If you know that you want to wind up in management, don’t be shy when the employer asks where you want your career to be. They’ll remember this, and unless you want to replace them (which is information that you may not want to divulge at that time!), chances are this person will see that you have goals in place for your professional life and help you achieve those goals if they see that you are a right fit for the company.
You don’t need to write out a long plan; just keep a few notes about where it is you see yourself and the things that you need to do in order to get to that place, and then keep those goals by your bedside, and in your mind, as you go about doing business every day. By doing this you are furthering the chance that you will accomplish the goals you hope to achieve.