A useful career goal gives you direction without pretending you can predict the next ten years. Choose a direction, define evidence of progress and plan the next experiment. Review it as you learn more about the work and yourself.
Arianna originally wrote this guide after using specific goals to pursue a PhD, learn to code, start a company, blog and develop research projects for her post-PhD career. Her history belongs to her, but the method is widely applicable: goals work best when they connect to something you genuinely value and can influence. Her longer personal account of leaving an unsustainable job and reassessing what mattered is preserved in Five Steps to Finding Your Life Purpose.
Start with a direction, not a job title
A title such as “data scientist” or “professor” can hide several different working lives. Begin by describing the qualities you want more of:
- problems you want to work on
- skills you want to use frequently
- the amount of collaboration or independent work you prefer
- location, flexibility and income requirements
- values or impacts that matter to you
- constraints involving health, caring or immigration
These criteria help you compare options without treating one prestigious role as the only acceptable outcome.
Choose one 90-day career goal
Long-term direction is useful, but action needs a shorter horizon. A 90-day goal might be:
- complete and publish one small portfolio project
- interview three people doing roles you are considering
- learn the core skill required for a particular internship
- prepare and submit two carefully matched applications
- analyse job descriptions to identify a genuine skills gap
Do not pursue five equally important transformations at once. Arianna has written candidly about being inspired by many goals and needing to focus. The ability to defer a good idea is part of goal setting.
Turn the goal into evidence
Ask what would exist if you made progress. “Improve my coding” is difficult to evaluate. “Build a small application that reads an API and explain the design choices” produces evidence. “Network more” can become “have four useful conversations and follow up with notes.”
If coding is the direction you are testing, use the beginner coding plan to choose a small project instead of collecting more courses.
Plan actions you control
You cannot guarantee a promotion, job offer or funded PhD place. You can schedule conversations, request feedback, develop a relevant sample and submit thoughtful applications. Separate the desired outcome from the repeatable actions that improve its likelihood.
| Outcome goal | Action you control |
|---|---|
| Get a technology internship | Analyse ten suitable adverts and build one missing portfolio example |
| Move into research | Speak to two researchers and read three representative papers |
| Earn a promotion | Ask what evidence is required and document relevant results |
| Change field | Run one low-cost project before paying for a major qualification |
Identify the obstacle before making the schedule
The WOOP approach asks you to define a wish, imagine the outcome, identify the internal obstacle and make a plan. That obstacle may be avoidance, perfectionism, an unrealistic workload or uncertainty about where to begin.
An if–then plan makes the response concrete: “If I start comparing five different courses, then I will return to the one skill listed in my target job descriptions.”
Use people for information, not only opportunities
Ask people what the work is actually like, which skills matter and what they wish they had known. Arianna found that sharing goals with supportive friends and asking for help produced more support than she expected. If initiating those conversations feels draining, use the guide to networking as an introvert.
Review the goal without treating change as failure
Every four weeks, ask:
- What evidence of progress now exists?
- What have I learned about the work?
- Is the goal still mine, or something I feel I should want?
- Which action produced useful information?
- What should I stop, continue or change?
Arianna once tried to make regular yoga a goal before admitting she did not enjoy or value it enough. Letting go of a borrowed goal freed attention for goals she genuinely cared about. Career plans deserve the same honesty.
A simple career-goal template
- Direction: I want work involving…
- 90-day result: By [date], I will produce or learn…
- Evidence: Progress will be visible as…
- Weekly action: Each week I will…
- Likely obstacle: I tend to…
- Response: If that happens, I will…
- Review date: I will reassess this on…
If the number of goals itself has become paralysing, start with what to do when your goals feel overwhelming. A career goal should reduce uncertainty enough to support action—not become another standard with which to punish yourself.
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