It’s a new year and many of us are setting our personal and professional goals for the next 12 months.
Your list might include things like going to the gym, saving money, spending more time with loved ones, or going after that promotion. But sometimes life happens and keeping up with these resolutions becomes challenging without a plan to follow. This is why it is so important to have clearly defined goals. In fact, a Harvard University study found that individuals with explicit goals are ten times more likely to succeed than those without.
Here are three easy steps to set — and achieve — your career goals this year.
Step 1: Self-Assessment
Begin by reflecting on your skills, interests, values, and experiences. This helps in understanding where you are currently in your career and what you need to do to get closer to your broader professional goals.
A SWOT analysis is one of many effective tools for self-reflection, focusing on analyzing your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. A comprehensive self-assessment will help you craft realistic goals that align with your capabilities and the external professional environment.
To conduct a SWOT analysis create a two-by-two grid and write the following in each section:
- Strengths: List your unique skills, qualifications, and experiences that enhance your career. Recognizing these strengths guides you in leveraging them for future roles.
- Weaknesses: Identify skills gaps or limited experiences. Be brutally honest about areas needing improvement. This awareness is essential for setting goals and career growth.
- Opportunities: Jot down external factors like market trends or new technologies that could advance your career. Consider networking and educational opportunities for growth.
- Threats: Write down both internal issues like resistance to change and external factors like market competition. Identifying these threats helps you plan and overcome potential obstacles.
Step 2: Setting Realistic Goals
Then it’s time to set realistic and impactful career goals using the S-M-A-R-T goals framework, which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
For instance, instead of vague goals like “improve networking,” choose something more specific like: “attend two industry networking events monthly.” Make your goals measurable, like tracking the number of networking events attended monthly to clearly see if you meet your goals. Your goals should be challenging but attainable. It’s important to balance ambition with your current resources and constraints. Finally, your goals should be relevant and aligned with your broader career aspirations. All in all, this framework can transform your vague goals into clear, attainable objectives.
(Learn more: Personal Loan Calculator)
Step 3: Monitor Your Progress and Stay Flexible
Once you’ve locked in your goals, remember to track your progress, but also be ready to pivot if your goals or circumstances change. Digital tools can help you stay organized, set reminders and visualize your progress.
Bonus Tip: Overcoming Challenges and Staying Motivated
New Year’s resolutions often don’t last long. Here are a few tips to keep you motivated:
- Break larger goals into smaller milestones and celebrate the small wins
- Build a support network to provide encouragement and accountability
- Regularly revisit your ‘why’ to stay committed
Remember, reaching your career goals takes thoughtful planning, setting relevant and achievable objectives, and frequently monitoring your progress. Embrace the journey, learn from others, and stay adaptable. It’s about putting in the effort consistently, celebrating the small wins, and being ready to adapt. Your future self will thank you.
This article originally appeared on SoFi.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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The average American debt by age
You may hear this term being batted around in conversations surrounding billionaires, but in reality, everyone has a net worth. It’s simply a total of all your assets minus any debts you have.
Those assets can include cash, real estate, intellectual property, and other items like jewelry, stocks, insurance policies, and bonds. The cash may come from a job you have or from unearned income, such as your Social Security payment
Having a lot of assets does not necessarily mean you have a high net worth, particularly if you also carry a lot of debt. For example, you may have a million-dollar mansion, but if you have debts of $500,000, your net worth dwindles rapidly.
Jinda Noipho/istockphoto
There are many personal net worth calculators available online, though you don’t need one to calculate your net worth. Just take the total amount of all your assets and subtract the total amount of your liabilities:
Assets – liabilities = net worth
Some calculators will also factor in future growth so you can understand what your net worth will be in the future, as the value of your assets grows.
(Learn more: Personal Loan Calculator)
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As you can see, it’s fairly easy to calculate your net worth, though it may take time to gather the values of all your assets, such as the current value of a piece of high-end jewelry. But once you do, you can add up all your assets and then subtract your liabilities to calculate your net worth.
wutwhanfoto/istockphoto
Knowing your own net worth is one thing, but where does it stand against other people in your age bracket? Generally, people see an increase in their net worth the older they get, and it can be helpful to use a net worth percentile calculator by age to see your percentile rank.
For example, if your net worth was $100,000, you would be in the 46.92 percentile for people between the ages of 18 to 100. The median net worth for this age bracket is $121,760.
Here’s the average net worth by different age groups, according to the most recent data available from the Federal Reserve.
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Average Net Worth: $112, 104
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Average Net Worth: $120,183
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Average Net Worth: $258,075
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Average Net Worth: $501,295
Drazen Zigic/istockphoto
Average Net Worth: $590,710
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Average Net Worth: $781,936
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Average Net Worth: $1,132,497
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Average Net Worth: $1,441,987
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Average Net Worth: $1,675,294
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Average Net Worth: $1,836,884
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Average Net Worth: $1,714,085
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Average Net Worth: $1,629,275
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Average Net Worth: $1,611,984
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Calculating your net worth is smart because it can help you understand where you’re strong financially (maybe you have little debt) and where you’re weak (maybe you’ve overextended your credit to buy your home).
It may also help you make plans for the future. For example, if your net worth is high, you might explore strategies for reducing taxable income, such as contributing more to a tax-deductible retirement account. And if your net worth isn’t where you’d like it, you can take steps to improve it.
Diversity Studio/istockphoto
If you’ve used a liquid net worth calculator, or compared your net worth to the table above and don’t feel like your numbers are as high as you’d like them to be, you can do a few things to increase your net worth.
If your debt levels are high, you can increase your net worth by decreasing that debt. Get a plan for paying off credit cards, student loans, car loans, and home mortgages. Consider increasing the amount you pay on each slightly to shorten your repayment period and decrease the amount of interest you pay on these loans and credit cards.
Creating a budget is one way to keep tabs on your finances as you’re paying off debt. A money tracker app can help make the job easier.
If you don’t have an abnormally high amount of debt but want to increase your assets, you might explore making more money. If you’re still in the workforce and have the ability to make a career change, you might consider cultivating potential high-income skills that could help you command a higher salary.
If you’re retired, you could take on part-time flexible work.
Evheniia Vasylenko/istockphoto
Not that you need to compare yourself to celebrities when it comes to net worth, but it can be fun to see how the other half lives. Keep in mind that while A-list celebrities often command millions of dollars for their work, they’re usually also smart with their money. They don’t typically blow their money on sports cars and mansions (though certainly some do). Many are financially responsible, investing in multiple income streams and spending responsibly.
Let’s look at the net worth of a few celebrities.
Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon didn’t limit her career to acting. She also founded a lifestyle brand called Draper James and a media brand called Hello Sunshine. Today her net worth is about $300 million.
J.K. Rowling
The well-known author of the Harry Potter books has an estimated net worth of $1 billion, and she’s the first author in history to reach this height. Before she was published, however, she struggled financially, which makes hers a true rags-to-riches story.
Jay-Z and Beyoncé
Superstar artists Jay-Z and Beyoncé reign supreme when it comes to net worth. Thanks to touring, albums, clothing lines, movies, endorsements, merchandise, and more, the couple’s combined net worth is $3 billion.
You may not be able to match the likes of Jay-Z and Beyoncé when it comes to net worth, but knowing yours can help you make smart financial decisions for the future. To figure out your net worth, you can subtract the total amount of your liabilities from the total amount of your assets. You can also use a personal net worth calculator; some will even factor in future growth.
This article originally appeared on SoFi.comand was syndicated byMediaFeed.org.
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