Goal setting works! Research shows that there is a link between goals and enhanced performance in business, health, and sports. Goals are milestones to let you inspect progress; you know where you are going and if you have reached your destination. What are your career goals? Join this session to consider some things that can help you to design your career plan.

1. Where Are You Heading?
Consultant Lunch and Learn
May 2012
www.cohesion.com | 877.774.3001

2. Abstract
Goal setting works! Research shows that there is a link between goals and
enhanced performance in business, health, and sports. Goals are milestones to
let you inspect progress; you know where you are going and if you have
reached your destination.
What are your career goals? Where you want to be vs what you want to do can
be different. Join us to consider some things that can help you to design your
career plan.
www.cohesion.com | 877.774.3001

3. Overview
What we will focus on:
• Importance of career goals
• Considerations for your career plan
• Curves along the path
What we will not focus on:
• Here is your path; all paths are unique to the
individual
• Here are generic paths for different roles
www.cohesion.com | 877.774.3001

4. Do you like your career?
Ask yourself these questions …
• Willing to continue unchanged?
• For how long?
• Why?
Guess what … You are the only one
responsible for your career
What defines you today?
www.cohesion.com | 877.774.3001

5. Job Landscape
Are you continually
improving? You
don’t get anywhere
By 2018, over 45% just standing still
of jobs in America Are you showing
will require a success by the
minimum of a 4 client & industry
year college standards
degree*
More than 1.3 Are you
million Western jobs Do you have
will vanish by 2014 ready to transferable skills?
due to offshoring** compete?
* Harvard Business Review, March 2012
** Investors.com, Dec 2010
www.cohesion.com | 877.774.3001

6. What do you want to attain?
Want Considerations
Compensation Benefits
Responsibility Commute
Authority Geographic Location
Title Time Commitment
Travel
Geographic Location
Travel
HR Responsibility
Industry
Cool Work
Society Contributions
www.cohesion.com | 877.774.3001

7. Setting Goals
• Target
• Where you are aiming
• Inspectable to know if you are moving towards the target
• Focus
• Direct your limited time and effort to the proper areas, increasing potential
success
• Helps prioritize, reducing the potential feeling of being overwhelmed
• Motivation
• There will be roadblocks and curves along the path. Focus is great but need
motivation to carry me forward
• Helps remember “why” you are pursuing this path
• “I did not fail, I simply found 1001 ways it did not work.” Ben Franklin on
discovering electricity
Goals are a vehicle to help take you from where you are to where you want to be
www.cohesion.com | 877.774.3001

8. Corner of Opportunity & Career
• What are you Searching For
• Traditional next job
• Life changing
• How to look for a job
• How do employers look for personnel
• No one owes you a job. You have to go out and
look for it
www.cohesion.com | 877.774.3001

9. Expanding my Attractiveness
Education/Degree
Self learning
• Higher order skills Certifications
imply more value • Knowledge is
• Critical thinking • Compensate for lack potential; proficiency
of degree is power
• Oral and written
• Avoid being “filtered” • User Groups
communication
out • Participate in Linked
• Problem solving
• Show that experience In discussions
• Impression of well- in resume • getAbstract –
roundedness
Business Summaries
• Academic argument
Is this true
for all
disciplines?
Build up your expertise through a contract position
www.cohesion.com | 877.774.3001

10. People who like People
Sometimes it’s who you know paired with what you know
• Who will help you get there – relationships, groups, networking, mentors
• What skills are necessary – do these people model those or just know the
right people
• From those who have met your goals …
• Ask what it takes to excel
• Seek, find, and ask…but mostly listen
www.cohesion.com | 877.774.3001

11. Next Steps – Plan
A Chinese philosopher once said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a
single step.”
• If you don’t have a career plan, build one
• If you don’t know where to start, read What Color is Your Parachute
• If you have a career plan, review it
• Inspect your progress. Are you happy with your progress? What actions will you
do to drive towards your goals?
• Seek feedback. You might be blind to some aspects of your journey
www.cohesion.com | 877.774.3001

12. Next Steps - Do
A Chinese philosopher once said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a
single step.”
• What can I do within the next week
• Promote yourself; Toot your own horn
• Update your resume to show your competence. You are only as good as you look on
paper. Don’t forget to update Linked In also
• Join a professional organization. Go to the meetings to network and learn
• Subscribe and read a professional journal
• Join a LinkedIn group. Read and contribute to the discussions
• Within next couple months – stay marketable
• Expand your skill set and understanding of each project role
• Your work is your greatest accomplishment
• Consider speaking at networking events
• Request what you want
www.cohesion.com | 877.774.3001

13. Contact Us
• Troy Bitter
• tbitter@cohesion.com
• 513.407.9996
• www.cohesion.com
www.cohesion.com | 877.774.3001

14. Resources & References
• Childress, S. (March 2012). Rethinking School. Harvard Business Review, pp. 77 –
79. www.hbr.org
• Bolles, R. (2012). What color is your parachute?: A practical manual for job-hunters
and career-changes. Ten Speed Press. New York
• Goal Setting: Why Should I Set Goals?,
http://www.timethoughts.com/goalsetting/WhySetGoals.htm
• Grasser, K. (Winter 2011). A college education; what is it all worth?. Faculty Matters,
pp. 28 – 33. www.facultymatters.com
• Milway, K., Gregory, A., Davis-Peccoud, J., & Yazbak, K. (December 2011).
Managing yourself; get ready for your next assignment. Harvard Business Review,
pp. 125 – 128. www.hbr.org
• PM Network (Jan 2012). “Build up your expertise through a contract position”, pp.
59
• Sher, B. (1995). I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was: How to Discover
What You Really Want and How to Get It. Dell Publishing
www.cohesion.com | 877.774.3001