Latest guide on how to write career goals in CV

Career objectives are the top factor to make a CV complete and make a good impression on the employer. So how to write career objectives in a CV correctly and have the opportunity to achieve your favorite job position? Let's follow 1C Vietnam right in the article below!

1. What is your career goal?

Career Objective in English is Career Objective, these are specific milestones that a person wants to achieve in his or her career journey. This is a short paragraph placed at the top of the CV, right after the personal information and general goals section. Career objectives can be a specific position that the candidate wants to achieve, a promotion or simply wanting to develop himself or herself and contribute to society. Based on the content stated in the career objective, the employer will have an overview of the candidate, helping them determine whether the candidate is suitable for the position or not.

2. The importance of defining career goals

A career objective in a CV helps candidates make an impression on employers. A clear objective that is relevant to the position applied for will help employers understand why candidates want to work at the company, determine whether candidates want to work in the short term or long term. From there, they can evaluate whether the candidate is suitable for the job position as well as has the potential for future development.

In addition, career objectives also demonstrate the candidate's determination, indicating the goals and plans to achieve those goals. A candidate who is truly dedicated to work and has a great attitude will be appreciated by the employer more than the other candidates.

3. How to define career goals

There are many ways to define career goals in a CV, one of the most effective ways is to use the SMART principle. In general, this model will be implemented based on the following 5 main keywords:

• Specific: Specificity

This is a principle that requires goals to be specific and clear so that candidates focus on what needs to be done to achieve that goal. In addition, candidates should not set goals that are too vague, but be specific such as: Earn 200 million before the age of 30, have 2000 followers on Instagram...

• Measurable: Measurable

The Measurable Principle requires that goals be clearly measurable, allowing candidates to track their progress toward achieving their goals. This allows candidates to identify progress to ensure they are getting closer to their goals.

• Attainable: Attainable

This principle requires that the goal must be feasible and achievable based on existing abilities or experience. In addition, career goals must be consistent with the candidate's abilities, and should not be too greedy to choose goals that are difficult to achieve.

• Relevant: Relevant

Relevant requires goals to be realistic and meaningful. Specifically, realistic goals are the type of goals that, if achieved, will have a positive impact on the individual, work, family, community and society. Therefore, candidates need to determine goals that are appropriate to the surrounding environment, avoiding setting goals that are too unrealistic.

• Time-Bound: Time-bound

This is a principle that requires goals to be clearly defined in terms of time. Candidates need to determine a specific time to complete the goal, thereby creating motivation to get closer to that goal.

4. 4 Popular Career Goals Today

In addition to short-term and long-term goals, career objectives in CVs can also be divided into 4 different types based on specific requirements. Below are the details of 4 common career objectives:

• Focus on professional advancement

These are goals that aim to improve the candidate's job performance, help them work better and faster, and quickly reach a higher position in their career.

Short-term example: A sales clerk at a milk store increases monthly sales by 30%.

Long term example: A person becomes a senior partner at a top law firm.

• Goals focus on advancement

When it comes to leadership roles, there are many opportunities for career advancement, this goal helps improve a candidate's management skills and moves towards positions with greater responsibilities.

Short term example: Quickly become a manager at company X.

Long term example: Become CEO at company Y.

• The goal focuses on progress in education

Whether you are a recent graduate or an experienced professional, there is always something to learn. These goals help you stay up to date with what is happening in your field or learn something new.

Short term example: Learn a programming language or a new skill.

Long term example: Get a PhD and become an inspiration to many students in college.

• Goals focus on personal development

These goals often emphasize self-improvement as well as teamwork skills. Once this goal is achieved, the candidate will have a positive outlook on life and work.

Short term example: Be more proactive in business.

Long term example: Improve my communication skills.

5. Instructions on how to write career goals in CV

For those who have no experience, writing a career objective will encounter many obstacles. Therefore, candidates need to carefully study the job description of the position they are applying for, thereby demonstrating the suitability between the candidate and the job position in their CV. Below are some criteria to know when writing a career objective that candidates should not ignore:

5.1 Short-term career goals

Short-term career goals are goals that can be achieved within a period of a few months to a year. In a CV, these goals often focus on developing the candidate's skills and experience. To write a short-term career goal, candidates need to identify specific goals that can be achieved within a certain period of time. At the same time, candidates can use the SMART principle to effectively set short-term goals. In addition, candidates also need to demonstrate their efforts and determination in achieving their goals to have the opportunity to apply.

5.2 Long-term career goals

Long-term career goals are goals that can be achieved within 5 years or more based on the candidate's personal development plan. Currently, long-term goals often focus on career development and achievements in the candidate's field.

5.3 Career goals for new graduates

For recent graduates, career goals will focus on finding their first job and starting their career. Therefore, this category will reflect exploration and learning in a real-world work environment, demonstrating determination and willingness to contribute to the success of the business.

6. Suggested career objective templates for each industry

The type of career objective you include in your CV will depend on the position you are applying for and your experience. Here are 9 sample career objectives for specific positions and industries:

6.1 Sample career objective for sales staff

Sample 1: After 2 years working in the technology business field, I always aim to improve my sales and communication skills. In the long term, I want to become a team manager to develop business strategies and create opportunities to contribute to the success of the business.

Sample 2: With experience in building a customer network and achieving sales targets, I wish to work for a large-scale company. My goal is to achieve sales worth 1 billion VND in the first year by finding and taking care of customers, improving the company's product promotion strategy.

6.2 Sample career objective for customer service staff

My goal in the next 5 years is to become a customer service manager, applying negotiation and problem solving skills with the aim of providing customers with the best quality products/services, bringing profits to the company.

6.3 Sample career objective for accounting profession

I am an accountant with 7 years of experience, I am specialized in accounting skills, auditing, financial analysis and using accounting software. My goal in the future is to become a chief accountant at a multinational company, using my knowledge and experience to help businesses manage their finances.

6.4 Marketing Career Objective Template

Sample 1: I am a Marketing Manager with 5 years of experience in the field of social media. My goal is to become a Marketing Director at a leading technology company in the next 1 year. I want to use my knowledge and experience to implement effective Marketing campaigns, increasing sales for the business.

Sample 2: With a passion for Marketing and Digital, I want to become a Digital Marketing expert. At the same time, I want to use my knowledge of SEO, social media advertising and data analysis to implement effective Marketing campaigns, improving business performance. I want to work in a creative environment where I can develop in the field of Digital Marketing.

6.5 Sample HR Career Objective

Sample 1: I am a human resources specialist with over 3 years of experience in recruitment, human resource development and implementation of human resources programs. My goal is to become a human resources manager at a leading company in Vietnam. I want to use my knowledge and expertise to build a quality human resources team to help the business develop sustainably.

Sample 2: I am a human resources professional with experience in developing human resources and training policies. My goal is to increase employee training participation by 70% within 1 year by designing and delivering engaging training programs that track performance and motivate employees to participate.

6.6 Banking Career Objective Sample

Sample 1: My goal is to become a professional banker. I want to achieve the target of increasing sales in the bank's transaction office by 20% within the first 12 months by consulting and providing appropriate financial services to customers.

Sample 2: My goal is to become a bank branch manager, improving customer satisfaction index above 90% within 12 months of the first year, through building close relationships with customers and solving problems that customers are facing.

6.7 Sample career objective for IT industry

Through my networking and hardware expertise, technical aptitude, and ability to manage challenging tasks, I seek an IT management position to help the business achieve its strategic goals and identify opportunities to implement new technology.

6.8 Educational Career Objective Template

With over 5 years of experience in teaching and foreign languages, I want to become a principal at an international high school. I will use my knowledge and experience to train the future talents of the country.

6.9 Insurance Career Objective Sample

With 2 years of experience in consulting and selling life insurance products, I wish to become a sales team leader to apply my knowledge and experience to develop business strategies for the company.

7. Some notes when writing career goals

Career objective is a very important part when writing a CV, helping candidates make a good impression on employers. However, not everyone knows how to write a standard career objective. Let's learn with 1C Vietnam some important notes when writing a career objective in the section below:

7.1 Present clearly and fully

A career objective that is too general will not create a good impression on the employer. This means that the CV will not be unique and distinctive about the writer as well as the goal for the job position. Many candidates will write a goal that can be applied to all industries and businesses. This will make the employer understand that the candidate is not really serious about learning about the job and future plans. Therefore, candidates need to update regularly, carefully research different career goal ideas, and then combine them with future orientations.

7.2 Aim to not be too wordy

A complete objective should not be too wordy, instead, it should be distilled to include the main ideas and core intentions. For employers, sending a CV with an objective that is too long will make them uncomfortable and not have time to look through other information of the candidate.

7.3 Objectives refer to the value that will be delivered to the business

Instead of focusing too much on big goals, candidates need to pay special attention to the common voice between themselves, the job and the business. Because no business will want to hire if they do not see the benefits that the candidate brings. Therefore, CV writers need to integrate their plans into the goals and benefits of the business to more easily catch the attention of employers.

7.4 Fully demonstrate short-term and long-term goals

Fully demonstrating short-term and long-term goals is one of the things that any candidate needs to pay attention to. Specifically, candidates need to clearly state their future orientations, achievements and benefits to the business. Only then will the employer feel the candidate's interest in the position to be recruited.

7.5 Polished sentences

Spelling errors and rambling sentences are problems that show the candidate is unprofessional and careless. Some employers will accept to ignore such errors, but others cannot accept the candidate making such a basic mistake. Therefore, candidates should not hesitate to spend a few minutes to polish their sentences and carefully check for spelling errors to increase the chance of getting the desired job.

7.6 Goals must be realistic

Candidates can freely express their views and ambitions for their career goals. However, the ambitions here should not be too unrealistic about distant things. Candidates must determine their own abilities as well as job requirements to set appropriate, realistic goals.

Above is information about career goals and instructions on how to write effective career goals in CV that 1C Vietnam has compiled. It can be seen that determining career goals is extremely important to make a good impression on employers, while increasing the chance of getting the dream job position. 1C Vietnam hopes that this article will be really useful for the process of setting career goals of candidates.