Setting Realistic Career Goals for Your Next Promotion

Jump To: What Is a Realistic Career Goal? | Realistic Career Goal Examples | 5 Steps to Next Promotion | Career Goal Planner Worksheet | Reality Check Mini-Exercise |Compensation Clarity | Success Lesson | Next 7 Days | Putting Goals Into Action | Download eBook

What Is a Realistic Career Goal

When you’re setting career goals, it’s easy to think big - sometimes too big, too fast.

There’s nothing wrong with dreaming about your ultimate destination. However, long-term success comes from setting realistic career goals that you can actually achieve from where you are now.

A realistic career goal is:

• Ambitious enough to excite and stretch you
• Grounded enough that you can see a believable path to achieving it
• Aligned with your current skills, experience, and opportunities
• Achievable within a reasonable timeframe in your current or next environment

Consider these examples:

• Unrealistic: “Become CEO of a Fortune 100 company in two years” when you’re in your first leadership role.
• Realistic stretch: “Earn a promotion to senior manager within 18–24 months by leading a major project, mentoring two newer team members, and improving my team’s performance by 10%.”

The second goal is still bold, but you can see a path. You can map specific actions, build specific skills, and track specific results. That’s the power of setting realistic career goals.

There is always a balancing act between being “realistic” and being so conservative that you never truly grow. Your best career goals are reasonable stretch-goals - big enough that you’ll need to grow, but not so big that you become discouraged and quit.

Realistic Career Goal Examples for Different Roles and Stages

Once you understand what a realistic career goal looks like, the next step is to see concrete, real-world examples. Use these realistic career goal examples as inspiration as you begin setting realistic career goals for your own next promotion.

Each example is written as a SMART career goal - specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based - so you can see exactly how to turn a vague wish into a clear professional career goal.

Realistic Career Goals for Early-Career Professionals

If you’re in your first 1–5 years in the workforce, your realistic career goals should focus on building core skills, gaining visibility, and proving you can deliver results.

Examples:

• “Within the next 12 months, become the go-to person for [specific system or process] on my team by completing two advanced trainings, documenting our procedures, and reducing errors in this area by 15%.”
• “Over the next 18 months, earn a promotion from individual contributor to team lead by consistently hitting my performance targets, volunteering to lead at least one small project, and mentoring one new hire.”
• “Within 9 months, improve my communication and presentation skills by joining a speaking club, giving at least three short presentations at team meetings, and asking my manager for feedback after each one.”

Realistic Career Goals for New and Aspiring Leaders

As you move into leadership, your realistic career goals for promotion should focus on leading people, improving results, and modeling the values of your organization.

Examples:

• “Within 18–24 months, earn promotion from supervisor to manager by leading one cross-functional project, improving my team’s key performance metrics by 10%, and developing at least two team members for higher responsibility.”
• “Over the next 12 months, strengthen my leadership skills by completing a leadership development program, asking for quarterly 360° feedback, and implementing at least two specific improvements based on that feedback.”
• “Within 12 months, increase team engagement scores by 8 points by holding monthly 1:1s, recognizing team wins publicly each week, and involving my team in setting quarterly goals.”

Realistic Career Goals for Career Changers

If you’re changing careers or industries, setting realistic career goals means building a bridge between where you are now and where you want to go. You may need to gain new skills, certifications, or experience before aiming for a major promotion.

Examples:

• “Within the next 12 months, transition into an entry-level role in [new field] by completing one relevant certification, building a small portfolio of 3–5 projects, and having informational interviews with at least five professionals in that field.”
• “Over the next 18 months, move from an individual contributor role in [current field] to a client-facing role in [new field] by leveraging my existing relationship skills, completing job-shadowing opportunities, and applying for internal transfer opportunities.”
• “Within 24 months, secure a role that combines my previous experience in [old field] with my new training in [new field] so that I can offer a unique mix of skills and create a realistic career path for long-term growth.”

Realistic Career Goals for Solopreneurs and Small Business Owners

As a solopreneur or small business owner, your “promotion” may not be a new title — it may be higher revenue, more impact, or more freedom. You still benefit from setting realistic career goals that define the next level clearly.

Examples:

• “Within 12 months, increase my business revenue by 25% by clarifying my ideal client, raising my rates for new clients by 10%, and launching one new higher-value service package.”
• “Over the next 6 months, free up 5 hours per week for strategic work by delegating routine tasks to a virtual assistant and creating simple systems for client onboarding and follow-up.”
• “Within 18 months, position myself as a recognized expert in my niche by publishing one helpful article per month, sharing weekly leadership tips with my email list, and speaking at two small industry events.”

Use these realistic career goals examples as models, not as strict rules. Adjust the timelines, numbers, and details so they fit your current situation, your organization, and your own definition of success.

5 Steps to Set Realistic Career Goals for Your Next Promotion

You may already be familiar with the S.M.A.R.T. approach to goal setting - a classic framework for how to set career goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-based. In this chapter, we’ll put extra emphasis on “realistic” as it applies specifically to your career goals for promotion.

Use this simple process to start setting realistic career goals for your next promotion.

1. Define Your Next Role

First, decide what “next step” really means for you.

• Is it a promotion in your current organization?
• A shift into leadership for the first time?
• A move from employee to solopreneur or small business owner?

Write it down: “My next role is…” and be as specific as possible. If you don’t know where you’re going, how can you expect to get there?

2. Understand What That Role Requires

Next, get clear on what success looks like in that role.

• What skills and responsibilities does it require?
• What kind of results do high performers in that role deliver?
• What leadership behaviors, attitudes, and values are expected?

Talk to people who already hold that role. Study job descriptions. Review your organization’s leadership competencies. The more clearly you understand the role, the easier it becomes to set realistic career goals that actually lead there.

3. Assess Where You Are Today

Now compare your current reality to the requirements of your desired role.

Ask yourself:

• What skills do I already have that are strong enough for that role?
• Where are my biggest gaps (skills, experience, relationships)?
• How supportive is my current environment of promotion and growth?

This honest self-assessment is not about beating yourself up. It’s about understanding the starting point so you can plan realistic steps forward.

4. Set 1–3 Realistic Career Goals Using S.M.A.R.T.

With your next role defined and your current reality assessed, choose 1–3 realistic career goals for promotion.

Each goal should be SMART:

•  Specific: Clearly describe the promotion or milestone (e.g., “Senior Manager,” “Project Lead”).
•  Measurable: Define how you’ll know you’ve achieved it (title, responsibilities, pay, impact).
•  Achievable and Realistic: Challenging, but believable given time, support, and effort.
•  Time-based: Include a reasonable timeframe (e.g., 12–24 months).

Example:

“Within 18 months, earn promotion to Senior Manager by successfully leading one cross-functional project, mentoring two junior team members, and improving my team’s quarterly performance metrics by at least 10%.”

5. Break Each Goal into Action Steps

Realistic career goals become powerful when you break them into specific tasks.

For each goal, list:

• Skills you must develop or strengthen
• Projects or responsibilities you must take on
• Relationships you must build (mentors, leaders, peers)
• Training, coaching, or education you need
• Milestones you can hit within the next 30, 60, and 90 days

When you break a realistic stretch-goal into steps you can take this month, you transform it from a wish into a clear, workable plan.

Career Goal Planner Worksheet (On-Page Checklist)

To make setting realistic career goals easier, turn the ideas in this chapter into a simple, practical checklist you can use right now.

You can print this page, copy it into your journal, or use it as a template in your favorite note-taking app. The key is to get your thoughts out of your head and into a clear structure so you can see, at a glance, where you are and where you’re going.

Instead of keeping your next promotion as a vague wish, this worksheet will help you define your next role, clarify what success really looks like, and identify the specific strengths and gaps that matter most.

By walking through each step, you’ll move from “I’d like to move up someday” to “Here’s exactly what I’m aiming for, and here’s what I’ll do over the next 90 days.” That’s what turns realistic career goals into daily action instead of occasional frustration.

Use this Career Goal Planner Worksheet to design realistic career goals for your next promotion. Come back to it regularly - each time you review and update your answers, you’ll be refining your direction, building confidence, and making it much easier for your manager (and you) to see that you’re truly ready for the next step.

Step 1: Clarify Your Next Role

My next role is:

[Write the exact title or description of the next role you want - for example, “Senior Manager,” “Team Lead,” “Project Manager,” or “Full-time Solopreneur.”]

Step 2: Define What Success Looks Like

In this next role, success looks like:

• Key responsibilities: [List the main things you will own or lead.]
• Key results: [List the most important outcomes you’re expected to deliver.]
• Key leadership behaviors: [List 3–5 behaviors or values you must model consistently.]

Step 3: Assess Where You Are Today

Current reality check:

• Strengths that already fit the next role: [List skills, experiences, and relationships you already have.]
• Gaps to close: [List skills, experiences, or relationships you need to build.]
• Support and resources available: [List mentors, training, tools, or programs you can use.]

Step 4: Write 1–3 SMART Career Goals for Promotion

Now write 1–3 realistic, SMART career goals for your next promotion. Each goal should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based.

• Career Goal #1 (SMART): [Write your first realistic career goal for promotion here.]
• Career Goal #2 (optional): [Write your second goal here.]
• Career Goal #3 (optional): [Write your third goal here.]

Step 5: Break Each Goal into 30–90 Day Actions

For each goal, list the concrete actions you’ll take in the next 30, 60, and 90 days. This is where realistic career goals turn into daily and weekly habits.

For Career Goal #1:

• Next 30 days: [List specific actions you will take in the next month.]
• Next 60 days: [List the next set of actions or milestones.]
• Next 90 days: [List actions that move you closer to promotion or your next role.]

For Career Goal #2 (if you have one):

• Next 30 days: [Actions]
• Next 60 days: [Actions]
• Next 90 days: [Actions]

For Career Goal #3 (if you have one):

• Next 30 days: [Actions]
• Next 60 days: [Actions]
• Next 90 days: [Actions]

Step 6: Set a Review Date

Realistic career goals are living documents. Set a date to review and update your goals based on what you learn along the way.

• Review date: [Choose a date 60–90 days from now.]
• On that day, ask yourself: “What has changed? What progress have I made? What needs to be adjusted to keep my career goals realistic and motivating?”

Use this simple worksheet whenever you are setting realistic career goals for a new role, promotion, or major career change. The more often you review and refine your goals, the more confident and prepared you’ll feel for your next step.

Reality-Check Your Career Goal (Mini Exercise)

Take one of your current career goals and quickly test how realistic it is.

Write down the goal, then answer:

• Is this goal clearly defined, or is it still vague?
• Given my current role and organization, could someone reasonably reach this goal in the next 12–36 months?
• What skills, results, or relationships would I need to build to make this realistic?
• What is one way I can break this goal into a smaller, achievable step this quarter?

If you struggle to see a believable path, that’s a sign to adjust the goal - either change the timeframe, scale it slightly, or add in a few smaller stepping-stone goals that will get you ready.

This quick exercise keeps your goals grounded so you’re always working with realistic professional goals instead of wishful thinking.

Compensation Clarity: Know Your Value Before You Set Money Goals

The first thing you might think of when setting realistic career goals is how much you want to increase your wage or annual salary. That’s natural, and you should be thinking about how much money you will make.

However, if you only focus on salary and ignore the rest of your compensation, you may set goals that look good on the surface but leave you worse off overall.

As your career grows, your “total compensation” may include:

• Base salary or hourly wage
• Bonuses and commissions
• Insurance and health benefits
• Retirement contributions or employer matches
• Stock options or profit sharing
• Paid time off, flexibility, and work-life balance

Before you set aggressive money goals or decide that a promotion or job change is “worth it,” take the time to understand your current total compensation.

In our tools, you’ll find a Total Compensation Worksheet that helps you calculate your real value today. Use it. Many people are surprised to discover that what they thought was a low-paying job is actually quite competitive once all the benefits are added up.

For example, you might be offered a promotion with a higher salary but fewer benefits, less flexibility, and more stress. On paper, it looks like a win. In real life, it may pay you less when you factor in everything.

Here’s a practical way to use compensation clarity when setting realistic career goals:

• Step 1: Calculate your current total compensation (salary, benefits, time off, flexibility).
• Step 2: Decide how much you’d need to improve that total number to make a promotion or new role truly worthwhile.
• Step 3: Use that information to shape realistic career goals for promotion that improve your overall life, not just your paycheck.

Example scenario:

Jordan is a frontline manager who wants to “move up fast.” After completing the Total Compensation Worksheet, Jordan realizes his current total package is already strong. Instead of blindly jumping to a different company, Jordan sets a realistic career goal: “Within two years, increase my total compensation by 15% by earning promotion to Senior Manager here, leading one major cross-functional project, and developing two new leaders on my team.”

This goal is ambitious, but realistic in Jordan’s current environment - and it’s based on a clear understanding of true value.

When you know your current value, you can set realistic career goals for your next promotion that genuinely moves you forward rather than accidentally taking you backward.

Why Clear Direction Matters in Your Career Goals

Before you can decide what’s realistic, you must know where you’re headed.

If your career direction is vague, your goals will be vague. You’ll drift from job to job, hoping that something better will come along. However, when you choose a clear direction (even if it changes later) you can start aligning your actions, skills, and relationships with that destination.

Ask yourself:

• What kind of work do I want to be doing more of in five years?
• What kind of leader do I want to become?
• What kind of life do I want my career to support outside of work?

Your answers don’t have to be perfect. They just need to be honest. From there, you can set realistic, directional career goals that move you steadily closer to that vision.

"If you don't know where you are going.
How can you expect to get there?"

- Basil Walsh

Success Lesson #9: Self-Confidence and Your Career Goals

Realistic career goals still require bold self-belief. If you don’t truly believe you’re worthy of a higher role, you’ll unconsciously set the bar too low - or give up too soon.

On the other hand, if your self-image is wildly inflated, you may set goals you’re not ready for and be crushed when reality pushes back.

Your achievement will never rise higher than your self-image.

This doesn’t mean you’re stuck where you are. It means your inner picture of yourself - your self-confidence - needs to rise along with your goals. As you’re setting realistic career goals, pay attention to what you believe about your own potential.

• Do you quietly believe that “people like you” don’t become leaders?
• Do you feel like an imposter when you picture yourself in a higher role?
• Do you doubt that you deserve better pay, more responsibility, or more respect?

Those beliefs will shape the goals you choose and the effort you’re willing to invest.

Your job is to grow your self-confidence in step with your skills and experience:

• Celebrate small wins and progress toward your goals.
• Surround yourself with people who believe in your potential.
• Learn from mentors who have already achieved what you want.
• Remind yourself that every great leader was once where you are now.

Setting realistic career goals for your next promotion is not about thinking small. It’s about choosing goals that are big enough to stretch you while still being believable enough that you’ll commit to the journey. As your confidence grows, what feels realistic will grow, too.

Your Next 7 Days: Put This Lesson into Practice

To turn this chapter into real-world progress, take these simple actions over the next week:

• Write down one realistic career goal for your next promotion, using the S.M.A.R.T. approach so you’re crystal clear about your career goals for promotion.
• Complete a Total Compensation Worksheet to understand your true current value.
• Share your goal with a trusted mentor, manager, or colleague and ask for honest feedback on whether it’s realistic—and how you might refine it.

These small steps will help you move from “thinking about” your career to actively shaping it.

Next Steps: Put Your Realistic Career Goals into Action

Setting realistic career goals is one powerful part of your overall personal goal setting journey. In the Goal Setting for Success course, you’ll continue to:

• Clarify what you really want in all areas of your life
• Keep your goals in balance so you don’t burn out in just one area
• Prioritize your goals and create a Master Action Plan (M.A.P.)
• Face fears, respond to setbacks, and stick with your goals over time

As you move on to the next chapters, keep your realistic career goals close at hand. Update them as you grow. Refine them as you learn more about yourself and your opportunities.

And remember: success is not an accident. It’s the result of clear direction, realistic goals, consistent action, and the self-confidence to believe that you belong at the next level.

You have the tools. You have the ability. Now it’s time to use them and move steadily toward the promotion and career you truly want.