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CAREER
What Are Your Goals? executive assistant to a director in the company.
To set attainable career goals, start by reflecting She’s still got a little way to go to achieve her
on the following: main aim, but she’s taken the first steps to
getting there.
• In 5 years time, I want to be...
• I want to be earning... The lesson...
• What skills will I need to do this? Determine your key strengths and make a list.
• Will I need to change my career to achieve this? Your strengths don’t necessarily need to be
work related, just include all of your strong
By asking yourself the simple questions above, points. You never know which strengths will fit
you’ll begin to get a clearer idea of what you into which position.
want from your career and what you’ll need to
do to achieve it. Once you know your skills, you’ll know what
you’re capable of achieving. Then take action to
WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS AND SKILLS? make the most of your strengths!
Sarah’s story... CHANGING CAREERS WITH YOUR
Sarah was a receptionist at a shipping firm, but CURRENT SKILLS
she wanted to be the executive assistant to the
company CEO one day. Sarah knew that she had Bill’s story...
the key strengths required to be an EA, but she Bill had been an accounts manager for almost
wasn’t sure how to land her dream role. 7 years but he needed a change. He liked his
company and got along well with his colleagues,
She began helping the other EAs with some but he wanted a more challenging role.
minor administrative tasks, but her extra work
was going unnoticed. In reflection, Bill decided that he wanted to
continue using his management skills and build
Sarah decided to take action to make sure upon them, but it was unlikely that this was going
her work was no longer ignored and told her to happen at his current job, so he decided to
manager about her goal. She also asked if there change his career.
were any in-house training programs she could
take to improve her current skills. He now works as a sales manager for a much
The manager put Sarah into a training program, larger corporation. His new target-based role
and in just three months she became the gives him the challenge he was looking for.
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