The business world is always attaching itself to the latest "in" topics and buzzwords. In the new millennium, every corporation, large and small, has developed a company mission statement. Not that they did not have a mission before. Just that it was usually never published or publicly articulated. A mission statement is a short, descriptive statement of the common objective and focus of the organisation. It is their purpose for existence.

In developing your personal career focus, spend the time to build your personal career mission statement. It will help you in crystallising your vision of who you are and where you want to go in your career. Keep your career mission statement limited to no more than two sentences and no more than thirty words. Begin your statement with the words, "My personal career mission is . . . " and finish with qualifying words and phrases to describe your mission. Following are some examples:

• "My personal career mission is to become a world-class aeronautical engineer in the commercial aviation industry."
• "My personal career mission is to gain experience in the public accounting field toward earning my CPA designation."
• "My personal career mission is to master the leading software development tools and gain greater understanding of business applications development."

Your personal mission statement should be tightly focused toward the first three to five years of your career. You can give specifics about the job type and/or industry, as appropriate. This personal career mission statement will form the foundation of your career focus and will guide you toward successful completion of your entry-level job search. The material developed here will be utilised again in the development of your resume and cover letter, in interviewing, and in all future job search contacts.

Your personal career mission statement needs to be changed or modified over time, go ahead and make the change. But keep your career mission statement sharply focused in your mind. As you focus in on your larger goal, your short-term goals will also become clearer.

First published in JobsDB Hong Kong