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Whether you want to find a new job, increase your salary, work fewer hours or get promoted, effective preparation can make achieving your goals easier - a lot easier.

Here are a few things to consider:

1. Be realistic
After thoroughly reading thousands of CVs i am sure that more than 90% people set career goals without really knowing how they are going to achieve them, or how long it will take. Make sure your career goals are compatible with your current abilities, and practical enough to reach in a reasonable amount of time. Also If your skills are not enough than what are you doing for achieving your set goal.

2. Dos and Donts Listing
Start by making a list of what you do and don’t like about your current career. Include everything from the basics, like whether your work-life balance needs improving, to more specific issues like whether your current employer encourages innovation, and use it to decide which areas of your career require attention and which don’t.

3. Check your motivations
While it may seem like a nice idea to follow other people’s career dreams for you, take some time out to think about what you really want. Is getting promoted to impress your friends worth working longer hours and spending less time with them? Check the motivations behind your career goals to ensure that you’re not pleasing others at your own expense.

4. Get organised
When it comes to successful, stress-free career goals, organisation is crucial, so it pays to identify the steps required to make things work for you. Revise your list of what you want to achieve this year and then use SMART goals to ensure that your ambitions are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.

5. Know your priorities
In order to make the most of your time you'll need to work out which career goals you want to tackle first and which can wait. Things to think about include which career goals you can break down into smaller, more manageable steps, and in what order you should work towards each step to achieve your major goals.

6. Assume success
Think about how achieving your career goals will improve your life. Will being more dynamic result in a pay rise that will let you enter the property market? Or will learning to say ‘no’ result in more free time to spend with your family and friends? Take time out each day to visualise the pleasures you’ll gain from your success.

7. Take active steps
Remember, your career goals won’t happen by themselves. The best way to achieve them is through commitment, action and sheer hard work. Also, the more structured your career goals are, the greater your chances are of pulling them off, so, where possible, follow your plan to a tee.

8. Review your progress
With your career goals under way, it’s important to monitor your progress to ensure that when you're ready to move onto the next step in your plan, everything that needs to be done beforehand has been done. If you can, evaluate your progress weekly for best results.

9. Ask for help
Is your motivation waning? Enlisting the support of other people can boost your energy levels and help you feel more driven. Consider hiring a career coach, or if professional assistance is not an option, seek positive feedback from family and friends.

10. Celebrate your achievements
Finally, don’t forget to reward yourself for each milestone you reach. No matter how small it is, you're one step closer to achieving your career goals.