Reading: Develop a Personal Vision Statement

Reading: Develop a personal vision statement

Develop a personal vision statement

Inside this reading:

What is a vision statement?

What should I write about?

How do I write my vision statement?

A career vision statement

Career paths

The next step

Summary

What is a vision statement?

Most modern businesses and organisations have a vision statement-a short description of what the organisation wants to be like in the future. For example:

’We are Australia’s best provider of mobile phone handsets. We provide friendly and reliable service every time and enjoy the loyalty of both our customers and our staff.’

Businesses use vision statements because they know they work to motivate their employees to achieve the organisation’s goals. Vision statements can help to focus the organisation's image and goals for both clients and staff. They can also be seen as part of a broader quality improvement strategy within an organisation.

Individuals can also benefit from having a personal vision statement that describes how they want their life to be in the future. Being able to see something in your ’mind’s eye’ is an important step towards making it a reality. Your vision statement provides a goal to focus on and to work towards.

What should I write about?

Your values, interests and aspirations should be reflected in your vision statement. Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. Your vision statement won’t be useful unless it describes what you really want.

When thinking about your vision statement, you should try to:

Make the scene you describe in your vision statement achievable, but be ambitious!
Stretch yourself! If you don’t aim for it, how will you ever achieve it?
Choose a time in the future that your vision statement will describe. Often people choose one year, five years or ten years in the future. (It can be a good idea to write a different statement for each of these!).

Before writing your career vision statement you need to consider all the important aspects of your life. For a lot of people these will include such things as:

Lifestyle
Finances
Personal relationships
Spiritual life

When deciding what to write it can also be helpful to ask yourself the following questions:

What work do I love doing?
What is really important to me?
What am I good at?
What skills do I have now?
What skills do I need to gain?
How can I improve my skills?
When will I have all the skills I need?

How do I write my vision statement?

It’s best to keep your vision statement short and to the point. Make your meaning clear and use strong words that can’t be misunderstood.

Write your vision statement in the present tense, as if it is happening to you right now. This makes your objectives seem more real and achievable.

Be specific. Don’t say ‘I am successful,’ say ‘I am running my own software development company.’

Here’s an example of one young learner’s vision statement about their life one year from now:

’I have completed my TAFE course and I am getting good experience in my entry level computing job. I am fit and healthy. I enjoy regular time with my friends and family and am earning enough money to save regularly.’

Once you have a vision of yourself as a person and of the lifestyle you want, think about the career that will help you achieve this. Your work gives you financial security but also helps define your identity.

A career vision statement

The way we work is changing. Most people now experience several changes over the course of their career. These changes might be:

different employers,
different job roles,
different industries.
changes from full time to part time work,
change to contract work or self employment.

It is worth keeping in mind that our work life and our personal life are closely connected. Sometimes our work life affects our personal life and vice versa. Lifestyle factors that could create change in your work life might be:

getting married, divorced or separated,
having children,
moving to another town, interstate or overseas,
your partner’s work,
health problems or disabilities,
caring for a partner or relative.

The visions you describe at one year, five years and ten years will reflect your anticipated career path. In the past a career path might have meant moving upwards in the same company and being groomed for higher roles by your employer. These days you will probably have to be more proactive. Following your career path will mean keeping your career progressing in the direction you want by moving across organisations, moving sideways when necessary - and even changing careers.

Some job applicants begin their resume with their personal vision statement to show their attitudes and goals and to help sell themselves. They then reinforce their vision and create a consistent image when giving answers in the interview. Your career personal vision statement shows how you are different from others in the field.

Here’s a career focused vision statement:

’I am a desktop publisher of 5 years experience with special expertise in Photoshop and PageMaker. I am running my own business that provides timely and professional documents for the local manufacturing industry. I am keen to grow the business by expanding my client base into the businesses in the CBD.’

Career paths

Think about the group you are studying this course with. Students are brought together as a group to learn about particular subjects. However within that group there will be a wide range of experience, expectations, age, status, wealth etc. For each person careers may mean different things.

For those just starting out from school a ‘career path’ may be the first step in a planned journey. It could also be seen as a vague idea that does not seem very relevant or important because immediate goals are much easier to focus on than a long-term view - particularly in times of change or in uncertain living situations.

For those who have spent quite some time in the workforce, a ‘career path’ can be seen more as a point in a continuing journey. For example they may say ‘So far I have worked my way up from this job, changed to this job and now I would like to work towards this promotion or this change of career’. For many, career paths may be staggered or broken by periods of unemployment, parenting, disability, etc.

Setting a career path can help us focus working towards goals, or make sense of an unsatisfying position by allowing us to explore the options that are available.

The next step

The process of creating a personal and/or career vision statement can help you to identify your strengths and help set goals for the future. However, identifying where you want to be in the future may raise as many questions as it answers! Questions like:

What skills will I need?
How do I learn to do that?
Who can help me along the way?

If your vision statement includes your desired goals, you may want to take the next step to outline how you are going to get there. Take a look at the Public Service Association's organisational vision statement on the web (

Note that there are two parts :

First their vision statement
Second their strategies for achieving their goals

Once you have created your vision statement you may want to think about strategies for achieving your goals. In your career vision statement this may help you to identify areas where you could use some training or other help.

Summary

Creating a personal vision statement can help you decide what you want from life and from your career. It can also help you sell yourself to employers. Identifying your goals means that you can take action to achieve them.

You will probably need to review and revise your personal vision statement throughout your life and your career.

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