How setting personal goals can help you land your dream job

How setting personal goals can help you land your dream job

Unemployment, underemployment, and dissatisfaction with current jobs are common problems all over the world. It can be tough to secure one’s dream job, and even if it’s achieved, the dream job may not live up to expectations. However, by setting personal goals, individuals can improve their chances of landing their dream job, and also find greater satisfaction once they succeed. This article explores how setting personal goals can help you land your dream job.

Understanding personal goals

Personal goals are individual objectives people set for themselves to achieve specific outcomes that will enhance their lives. Their creation requires a personal assessment of what one wants and what is realistically possible. Personal goals ideally come from a deep mental and emotional process and are unique to each individual. They could be in any area of life, such as health, education, career, hobbies, or relationships.

How personal goals help to land your dream job

Setting personal goals can help one land their dream job in several ways. Firstly, they help to provide clarity, focus, and direction for one’s career path. With well-established career goals, one can target specific job openings and tailor their resume to meet specific requirements. Employers prefer candidates who show enthusiasm and alignment with their company’s mission and goals.

Secondly, setting personal goals increases one’s professional visibility, network, and industry-related knowledge. As individuals attend events, meet-up groups, or conferences that connect them to other professionals who share their goals, they expand their network, learn about new trends in the industry and identify potential mentors. Recruiting managers prefer candidates who are well-connected and knowledgeable in their areas of interest.

Thirdly, personal goals enhance one’s self-awareness. By setting goals that push one beyond their comfort zone and acknowledging their strengths and weaknesses, individuals learn more about themselves. This helps to build confidence, which is attractive to recruiters.

Personal goals can improve job satisfaction

The benefits of personal goals do not stop once one lands their dream job. They continue after one begins the job. Personal goals bring clarity to one’s job expectations and values. They enable individuals to measure their job performance more accurately, based on their personal criteria and values. This enables one to recognize when they are making progress and when they are stagnating.

Moreover, personal goals provide motivation and a sense of accomplishment. When individuals set personal goals, they create incentives that drive their behavior and offer a sense of progress and achievement. This increases job satisfaction and reduces employee turnover.

Real-life examples

To illustrate the benefits of setting personal goals, Sarah is a recent college graduate who wanted to work in the finance industry. After researching job requirements and networking events, she developed a plan to connect with professionals and learn as much as possible. After attending several events, she was introduced to a reputable financial consulting firm that hired her as an intern. Being well-connected, she was able to distinguish herself and was offered a full-time position when one opened up. Sarah’s personal goals helped her to differentiate herself from other candidates and achieve her dream job.

Another example is John, who worked in the technology industry for several years. John was unhappy with his job and wanted to encourage more creativity in the work he was doing. He set a personal goal to develop his skills by incorporating new approaches to problem-solving and creative thinking. Eventually, this led to him assuming more creative roles in his department, and he found greater job satisfaction.

Conclusion

To conclude, setting personal goals can help individuals to land their dream jobs and find greater satisfaction in their work lives. The benefits of personal goals continue well beyond the job-seeking process and carry over into ever day work life. By setting personal goals, individuals create clarity, enhance their networks, boost their self-awareness and motivation, which makes them more attractive to prospective employers.