Recently Women in Nuclear launched a "Talk about Opportunities" talent contest. The contest provides anyone working in our industry the opportunity to reflect upon and state why they love coming to work each day. Their submission can either be by the production of a video clip or they can put their thoughts onto paper.

I started thinking about how I would express my passion for the nuclear industry and realized that this is probably the first step in any good goal setting exercise for your career. I’ve often said that you must have a good understanding of where you came from to know where you are going. Career planning is no different.

To completely understand what goals you want to accomplish in your career in the next year, you should reflect on why it is you enjoy working in your chosen industry. Perhaps if you take the time to reflect on why you chose your industry you may just come up with some really creative and interesting goals and ways to achieve them.

So here is your task assignment for this week. Find a quiet corner and go and reflect on why you chose the industry and career you are currently working in. Put those thoughts into words. From there think about where you want to be within the next year. Are you looking for something different either inside or outside your industry? Do you want to get that promotion to the next level? Do you want to have greater success at an annual project? Do you want to take on more responsibility? Whatever your goal is write it down and remember to go back and review it from time to time. Chart your progress along the way and then you will be ready for that next salary review or interview. No one is going to sell your accomplishments for you. Make sure you set the groundwork to be able to sell yourself.