The following is a summary of Episode 36 of my podcast, The Engineering Career Coach (TECC) Podcast. I will summarize the main points in this post; however, you can also listen to the show through the player below or by subscribing on iTunes. I offer a career-changing tip at the end of each podcast session.
In this session of the TECC Podcast, I interview Sandra Abdalian who is the founder of YourEngineerCareer.com. She graduated from the University of Florida with a degree In Industrial Engineering, went to work with a reputable engineering firm, but ultimately decided that coaching and mentoring engineers was her true passion.
- Balance – Look at your life from a holistic point of view according to the wheel of life, which Zig Ziglar coined. The wheel is a circle with spokes which represents the different categories of your life. These are: career, financial, social, family, physical, personal development, and spiritual. All of these spokes have the same size and together, they form a wheel. Take time to look at your life and rate each category and see what areas are out of balance that you need to improve on.
- Vision – Create that vision of what you think your life will look like in 3 to 5 years. Abdalian illustrates this using the analogy of steering a ship. You are the captain of that ship. You need to know your destination or vision. Doing this will give you an idea of where you want to be or where you want to go in your career and life in the next few years.
- Goal Setting – Take time to create a plan of how you can achieve that ideal vision. As a captain of your ship, you need a map to get to your destination. Be SMART with your goals, but most importantly, be specific on how you are going to get there.
Questions to consider during the goal setting process and the process of pursuing your goals:
- Why do you want to achieve the goal? – If you do not have a reason why you are pursuing the goal, you are not going to achieve it.
- What is at stake if I don’t achieve this goal? - Write down what would happen if you don't achieve a goal. This will determine the importance of the goal and if there is a big enough reason why you want to achieve it.
Share the goals with others for accountability. It is not enough to just write down your goals. Research has shown that you have a bigger chance of success when you write your goals down AND share them with others who will keep you accountable.
Are you living the career and life that you love or are you letting others steer your ship?
Anthony Fasano, PE, author of Engineer Your Own Success, found success as an engineer at a very early age and now writes and podcasts to help other engineers do the same. Visit Anthony’s website at EngineeringCareerCoach.com to access all of the free engineering career resources he has created to help engineers succeed.