was at an event recently where I spoke to a group of accomplished professionals about how to accelerate their careers.

After the event, I had a number of brief conversations with some of the audience members.

I asked each person – what was their career goal and what they were working towards.

A few people knew exactly where they were heading, while many others admitted that they were either struggling with career clarity or had no solid goals

Here is what’s wrong with having no solid career goals

Without goals, you are likely to find yourself drifting.

• In a company that doesn’t align with your values
• In an industry you no longer love
• In a role that pays well but isn’t fulfilling
• Staying too long in a company
• Staying too long in a role
• Becoming complacent
• Being overlooked

Missing out on financial rewards “If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.” ~ Lawrence J. Peter

The benefit of having clear career goals is that it provides direction, inspiration and purpose.

For some executives, the career goal is to reach the C-Suite, hold board positions, or eventually leave corporate and start their own consultancy,

Let’s face you don’t have time to drift.

So how do you get career clarity and set goals that inspire you?

Try these exercises if you struggle with career clarity and identifying your goals

5 Strategies to help you gain career clarity

1. Reflect

• What were you doing 5 years ago?
• What have you achieved in that time?
• What are you most proud of?

2. Start with 5 years

• What does your life look like in 5 years?
• Where are you working, and what is your role?
• What are you earning?
• What will you be most proud of in 5 years time?

3. Write your resume for 2028

• What have you achieved?
• What role do you have now?
• What roles have you done?
• What have you studied?
• What experiences have you had?

4. Create your perfect day.

• What do you do?
• What do you not do?
• What do you achieve at the end of the day
• How do you feel at the end of the day?

5. Find others who’ve done it before

• Identify people you admire who are where you want to be in 5 years.
• Success leaves clues, so discover their journeys, learnings, and insights.

Having a clear career goal is the first step in creating a credible and relevant personal brand and a long and successful career.

Question: Which of the 5 strategies do you like best?