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4. Get Feedback on Your Next Career Goal



 Whomi Blog


 

By now, you should have updated your career plan with an initial goal for the next step in your career. Did you have a clear goal in mind? If so, congratulations! Did you struggle to come up with a good answer? Don't worry, you are definitely not alone!

Whether you believe you are 100% committed to your goal or you are still thinking about it, we strongly encourage you to get feedback on your goal. Why? Because our experience shows that many careers don't grow quickly because people set goals that are too small.
 


 
Bigger Goals drive Bigger Results

A mid-career finance manager at a tech company had a goal to become a senior manager and get a 10% promotion. After speaking with her advisors, she realized she should be positioning herself into a bigger role as a division CFO. She followed the Whomi process and tripled her income in a matter of months



 

Setting a bold, but achievable goal is critical to your career advancement. Advancement can be about compensation, seniority, work/life balance, or meaningful impact. However you define it, think BIG!

A great way to stretch your thinking is to get feedback from people you trust. To do that we have to start identifying your Trusted Advisors.

 

Identify Your Trusted Advisors

 
Being able to have an authentic dialog with people you trust is essential to growing your career. None of us do it alone.

To identify your Trusted Advisors, think about people you know and trust from your work history, school, family and friends. You are likely connected with these people in other social networks already.
 
 

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In each of these 4 groups (Work, School, Friends and Family) try to write down 1-3 names of people whose career opinions you trust and that you think care about you enough to share feedback. If you have official mentors, you can include them too. You can save these names in Step 1 of your Whomi Career Plan.
 

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Ask for Advice on Your Goal

 
To each of those potential advisors, send a personal message (direct message or email) using one of the sample structures below:
 
 


 
If you have a clear goal, use this:

Hi <Name>! I'm starting to think about my next career steps and was hoping you could share some advice. I am thinking about trying to become a <insert goal her> because <insert reasons why here>. Before I confirm this as my goal, I'd love to know if you have any other ideas that could help me take an even bigger step forward in my career. I'd very much value any input you can share to help me think more broadly. Thanks so much for your help!





 
If you don't have a clear goal, use this:

Hi <Name>! I'm starting to think about my next career steps and was hoping you could share some advice. My priorities are <insert priorities here>. I'd love to know if you have any ideas that you think I should consider as I determine my next career goal. I'd very much value any input you can share to help me think more broadly. Thanks so much for your help!



 
Write down and save all of the ideas you get back from your advisors in your Whomi Career Plan under "Your Next Career Goal" and save them. Hopefully you will get some new options to consider as your finalize your next career goal. Be sure to thank your Advisors for sharing their insights with you!

Next we will finalize your goal and begin defining the skills you need to have to earn your goal job.

If you are a Mentor or Advisor, challenge all of your mentees to go through this exercise. Helping your mentees expand their Trusted Advisor network and getting more input on their career goals will give you even more support as you help them with their careers.

Good luck and feel free to post to "Everyone" on Whomi if you have any questions!

Whomi Career Advancement Team
Posted in Whomi Blog on September 22 2022 at 10:34 AM

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