Setting Career Goals Early

Something that I feel very passionate about, is not becoming complacent in life. I feel this way with both my personal and professional life, which is why I think it's so important to set career goals early and re-evaluate those goals frequently. I try to keep thinking about goals in terms of 6 months, 1 year and 5 years. By doing this, it helps keep me motivated to work hard in the present and by checking in on my goals I keep myself in check for moving forward in the future.

Before I graduated, one of our professors gave us an assignment that I think every PT school should make their students do and it was called a "Professional Development Plan". It forced every single one of my classmates to think about what they wanted to accomplish, professionally, in the next 3-7 years. I feel like when you're in PT school, the end goal is graduation. The end goal is to get that DPT. The end goal is to survive. Right? Well, I found myself, after graduating and passing the boards, having a short moment of, "Now what?" For the past 4-5 years I had been so focused on setting goals of going back to school to take pre-reqs, getting accepted, getting through school, passing the boards, and landing a job that I hadn't spent much time thinking BEYOND that point. 

So, I was actually really glad that one of my professors forced me to think about life beyond that first job, and then to record down some goals in WRITTEN FORMAT, to hold myself accountable. And, now that I'm roughly 6-7 months into my first position and things are starting to normalize, I feel that I've been thinking a lot more about "the future" and what my next steps should be to get there. 

For this reason, I wanted to post the thought process that my professor enstiled in me, and the thought process that I currently use when I'm thinking about the future and what moves to make next. 

Here is a somewhat simple five step process to make your own professional development plan that is actually more than just saying, "Someday I'd like to..." (Underneath each step, I am going to share with you, one of my personal goals as an example.)

Step 1: Choose a goal that is something you'd like to do and choose a TIMEFRAME to achieve this goal

• Become a successful clinical instructor at my place of employment (Summer 2016)

Step 2: Consider what your reasoning is for this and what the potential benefits could be

• Important to the continuation of this profession
• Valuable learning experience for the student and myself
• Background and interest in education

 Step 3: What strategies are you going to utilize to get to this goal... specifically?

•  When interviewing, discuss opportunities for becoming a clinical instructor, the guidelines that the company employs and how to meet those guidelines
• Observe colleagues that are clinical instructors to gain knowledge
• Continuously practice in a professional and ethical manner
• Complete the APTA Clinical Instructor Education and Credentialing Course

 Step 4: What resources and support are necessary for you to meet this goal?

•   Lecture from Principles of Practice V (my course at school) regarding becoming a clinical instructor
• Information available on the APTA website
• Continuing education courses from APTA on clinical instruction
• Using colleagues that are currently clinical instructors as a resource

 Step 5: What challenges or problems may occur that would impede reaching the goal?

•  Ensuring that I find a place of employment that will support me in this goal and help me achieve my goal in a timely manner
• Being able to manage time effectively with the additional requirements that will be required with taking on a student
• Receiving appropriate preparation and resources from place of employment and academic institution

By placing this much thought into a goal, it turns that goal into a plan rather than a wish. And when you have a plan, and you have a guideline and you have thought about what you may encounter en-route to your goal, then, in my opinion, you are more likely to succeed and reach that goal.