5 Ways To Actually Achieve Your Long Term Career Goals And Become Successful

By Michelle Wanjiku
You want to become a CEO in the next 10 years, you want to be a consultant in your industry, you want to earn a six-figure salary or you want to work for a multinational company. Whatever your career goals are, you need to make an effort to actually achieve them.
Career success doesn’t just happen, you need to put in the hard work and have the passion to succeed. However, achieving these long-term goals can be tricky at times. In this article, see tips to help you achieve your long-term career goals faster.
1. Know what you want
This might seem like an obvious thing, but do you know where you want your career to be in the next 10 years? Do you know what industry you want to work in?
SEE ALSO >>> 7 Reasons Other People Get Ahead In Their Careers Yet You Don’t
These are important questions you need to ask yourself so that you know where you are going and what you should be working towards.
You don’t want to be one of those people who accept jobs in industries they don’t have any interest in and end up hating their jobs.
If you want to achieve career success, you actually have to know where you are going and have a guide to help you stay on track. Otherwise, you will find yourself getting distracted and losing focus on achieving your goals.
2. Ask yourself: What skills are you lacking?
Skills are very different from educational qualifications, it doesn’t matter how many degrees’ you have if you lack practical work experience it will be very difficult for you to achieve any career growth.
This is why it is very important that after you figure out where you want your career to go, you also find out what skills you need to get there and which of these you don’t have.
After knowing what you need but don’t have, you should then make an effort to gain these skills. Find courses that teach the skills and ensure you put what you learn into practice.
This will give you an edge over everyone else who doesn’t possess the same skills. Not to mention it makes getting the kind of job you want easier.
SEE ALSO >>> All Unsuccessful People Have These 7 Things In Common
3. Know that success leaves a path
In every industry, there are examples of people who started at the bottom and worked their way to the top. These are people you need to learn from. Try and find out how they did it and if you can do the same to get a similar result.
For example, Cytonn CEO started as an intern and took the chance to learn everything he could about the company. This is what set him on the course to becoming CEO. What can you learn from him?
Whatever company you work for, there will always be someone who began at the bottom and is now a top-level manager. Find that person and figure out how they did it and learn from it.
4. Gossiping will not help your career
Being labeled the ‘office gossip’ will kill your career really fast. The time you spend gossiping about your boss or other colleagues could be spent finishing your work.
Time wasting will kill your productivity which will, in turn, hurt your chances of getting a promotion or achieving any career growth.
You can talk to your co-workers but ensure you are not spending a lot of time gossiping. You can talk about more productive things.
5. Have a ‘how can I do it better?’ mindset
Just because you did something well, doesn’t mean there is no room for improvement. Every successful person looks for ways to improve. They are always asking how they can do their work better.
You should be doing the same thing. You need to cultivate a mindset of self-improvement, this way; you show your boss that you are serious about your work which is how you earn promotions.
Looking to grow your career? The C.S.S Career Mentorship Program is to help you 
Lastly,
There is no such thing as overnight success. Successful people didn’t just become that way out of nowhere. You need to put in the work and effort if you want to achieve career growth. Look for ways you can improve your productivity at work and get rid of habits that could be holding you back.
The writer is a Communication Officer/Digital marketer at Career Point Kenya. Email: michelle@www.careerpointkenya.co.ke