Professional enthusiasm and careerist mentality – these are two things that you will most definitely find among the youth of today. In fact the air of professionalism has not been restricted to the youth alone. Wherever you research, you will always find that people are striving to get ahead in their respective careers.

Do you want to fall behind in this rat race for professional amelioration? If not, then you certainly need to plan your career well and plan it well in advance. Planning is the most important factor that will help you go forward in your professional pursuits. And goal setting is a core aspect of your career planning.

Before you start your career, know yourself. You do not want to be in a position where after achieving 5 years of an industry experience, you change your sector and have to start off as a fresher after 5 years of rigorous hard work. Be very sure about the following. Who you are, what you want to do, what do you want from life, where do you want to go in life and how long do you choose to give yourself to achieve these goals of yours.

Set goals, which are realistically achievable. Do not set out with impractical and vague notions about your career. Nurturing vague ideas will never get you far in your career; in fact it may end before it even picks up speed. Allow yourself stipulated time to achieve each of your goals. Again, set realistic target with regards to time. Do not tell yourself that you want to become the VP of a company you joined as a fresher, in six month’s time.

You are the one that is going to decide what time you want to set yourself for crossing each hurdle in what you set out to achieve. You must take good care that even though you have to be practical in what you set out to achieve, it is important to be competitive as well in this flourishing market of competition. The moment you feel that you are happy and absolutely satisfied with what you have got, you will stop making progress.

So how do you really plan your career? Firstly, think ahead. It is the mantra to all responsible career planning. Many a time you will be faced with situations where you are offered better than current remuneration very early in your career. Should you switch? Judge carefully, if the raise is worth the experience you will lose, only then should you switch.

Be smart in your career planning. The road to success is testing and there are no shortcuts. Be pragmatic and also be confident. There are no substitutes to hard work and perseverance.