At Behavioral Health Jobs, our mission is to give job candidates the tools they need to succeed in their job search and find a rewarding career. Our website is continuously updated with new jobs at treatment centers, private practices, government facilities, K-12 schools and universities, and other organizations. Job seekers will also find helpful tips for improving their chances of landing a job that aligns with their career goals. To find new jobs in behavioral health where you will make a big difference in people’s lives, browse through the Behavioral Health Jobs website today to start a new career search.
Defining Your Career Goals
Setting your career goals is an important step as you begin planning your future. Taking the time to map out what you need to do to reach those goals will help keep you dedicated and avoid dead-end jobs. Here are seven steps on how to define your career goals:
- Learn about potential career opportunities – High school and college students can work with their career counselors about potential positions within their areas of study.
- Discover growing job markets – The healthcare industry is one of the fastest-growing job markets, with an expected 13% growth by 2030, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Identify careers that match your skills – Find the job titles of positions that you want to apply for and the types of organizations that offer those positions.
- Understand career qualifications – Talk to recruiters or hiring managers about the education and experience they are looking for in your chosen field.
- Assess salaries and other benefits – There are several websites that list salary ranges and average benefits that companies offer.
- Compare possible career paths – Be open to other potential career opportunities within your field of study. After a few years of working, you may realize you are happier in another position.
- Develop a career timeline – Map out your career path with specific dates and goals in a reasonable amount of time. Be realistic with your timeline. If you create one with unattainable goals, it will only hinder your progress.
Setting your career goals is for more than just students finishing their degrees and looking for their first entry-level position. Career goals can change drastically over the years, and the job you have today may not be the job you want to have in five, ten, or twenty years.
Building a Career Timeline
Having a career timeline can help you stay focused on your career goals throughout your entire working career. This will give you a checklist of actions you need to accomplish by a specific date that you can modify as you progress through your career.
Here is an example of a career timeline from college to retirement:
- College – Depending on the type of degree you need, it can take 4-8 years to complete this stage in your career.
- First job – Companies prefer to hire from within, and your first job should be in an organization that fits your career aspirations. Plan on spending no more than three to five years at this stage.
- Early career – As a young professional, it can take anywhere from 5-10 years to gain enough practical experience to advance to managerial or clinical roles where you have more responsibilities and begin managing individuals and teams or treating and diagnosing patients.
- Mid to late career – At this point in your career, you should be near where you want to be and can sit back and enjoy the success of all of your hard work. You can spend the next 30-40 years working for a company while preparing for the final career stage.
- Retirement – Having a retirement plan set up early is a smart financial option and can make your retirement years more comfortable. If you invest well in a retirement plan, you may be able to retire early and enjoy a longer retirement.
Setting career goals is very beneficial for anyone who wants to be happy where they work and earn a livable wage. Writing down your goals and reviewing them as you progress through your career will help you stay on track to reach your goals and build a successful and rewarding career.
The Importance of Redefining Your Goals and Reassessing Your Timeline Routinely
Remember, a career timeline is not about confining yourself to a predetermined box. It’s a tool to help steer the wheel. The landscape of the job market is constantly shifting, and so should your timeline and goals. This doesn’t mean abandoning them at the first sign of trouble but rather reassessing and altering their path in response to changes in your industry or personal life.
Periodically take time to reflect on how far you’ve come and to visualize where you’re headed. Have you outgrown your current timeline? What should the next chapter of your career look like? It’s through these reflections and the continuous tweaking of your timeline that you will stay on course for meaningful professional evolution.
Embracing the concept of lifelong learning is the thread that runs through any successful career. The skills that got you where you are today may not be the ones that carry you to where you want to be tomorrow. Your timeline should be fraught with points of education, whether formal or experiential, to keep your knowledge fresh and relevant.
Stay on Your Career Timeline with the Help of Behavioral Health Jobs
At Behavioral Health Jobs, our website is dedicated to aiding students and professionals in finding new careers in the behavioral health industry. Our job board is updated daily with new entry-level, mid-, and senior-level positions in various organizations. Job candidates can filter their job search by experience and education level and search through our career advice tips to improve their chances of getting a job offer.
If you are interested in finding new career opportunities in the behavioral health field, check out all of the available jobs on the Behavioral Health Jobs website today.
