What do candidates for a specific position say about what they aspire to accomplish? Many interviewers want to know this. Motivational interviewing seeks to identify candidates' aspirations, beliefs, personal dreams and goals, aspirations toward career success and future growth. Candidates discuss their aspirations in terms of what they aspire to get out of the job; the skills they hope to acquire; and the experiences that they hope to gain. This section focuses on each one individually.
What do candidates who aspire to be CEO say they hope to achieve? Candidates frequently ask this question as a way to ascertain if your aspirations match the company and role. For example, do you aspire to become the CEO someday? If you do not already have a long-standing leadership position, you might aspire to be a top manager someday. Answer truthfully and describe how the current role fits into your future aspirations and goals.
What are skills candidates wish they had? A key strategy for building aspiration is to keep us moving toward our short-term and long-term aspirations. It is important for candidates to articulate their skills and abilities in writing. Examples include: communication skills, leadership skills, teamwork skills, problem-solving skills, adaptability, creativity, and problem-solving skills.
What are resources that you use for reaching your short-term and long-term aspirations? There are many resources available for those who are trying to attain their aspirations. Leaders, students and professionals often utilize online therapy and/or in-person therapy. Consider resources you typically utilize when pursuing your goals.
What do you do if you feel you don't have the right skills or the right resources to meet your aspirations? Often, aspirants will try to enroll in online therapy or in-person therapy. These can both be effective avenues to reach your short-term and long-term aspirations. However, they are very different from aspirants who simply do not believe in themselves. Keep in mind, these two types of therapy have different goals, methods and outcomes. Therefore, it is important to understand and consider the differences between the two.
How should you structure your work to reach your short-term and long-term aspirations? You should first set attainable goals. Many people get caught up in setting smaller, more easily achievable goals. This leads to an accumulation of "work Ethical Pressure" that takes a toll on personal and professional lives. The reality is, the "work Ethical Pressure" associated with setting smaller and more easily achievable goals often serves as a springboard to achieving your larger ambitions.
Once you have your short-term and long-term career goals figured out, then it is time to set a framework for how you will work towards those goals. A good way to do this is to break down your career aspirations into mini-goals. For example, if you want to become a social worker, set up mini-goals of things you need to learn to become a social worker such as reading, listening skills, the law, community organizing and psychology. You can even break your career aspirations into different mini-goals: being an advocate for one group or another, being a leader in a given field, becoming an academic leader, working with the mentally ill, etc.
Setting and accomplishing your short-term and long-term career aspirations is only part of the process. In addition, it is essential that you work towards your aspirations by making sure that you are moving in the right direction. For example, if you have set a goal to become a teacher, but feel stuck in teaching elementary school, try something different, such as working as a teacher's aide in a private kindergarten. By making sure that you are always on the move toward your career aspirations, you are setting yourself up for a fulfilling life.
