Why do most career resolutions fail? ambitious career goals for 2025

As we approach 2025, American workers are once again embracing the time-honored tradition of setting New Year’s resolutions. This time, it’s not just about hitting the gym more or cutting back on coffee – it’s about transforming their careers. An impressive 85% of workers plan to set career goals for the coming year. Yet, this eagerness is overshadowed by a striking reality: less than 1 in 10 employees managed to fully achieve their career dreams in 2024. 

The recent survey* shows that US workers are setting ambitious career goals for 2025, but many face challenges. Here are the key findings:

• More than four out of five US workers set career resolutions in 2024 and will do so again in 2025.
• Less than one in ten manage to complete them in 2024.
• Still, over half are confident in accomplishing most of their goals in 2025.
• The top obstacles for the next year are job market competition and limited resources.
• Workers expect AI to help them overcome career challenges in 2025.
• Skills development and work-life balance are top priorities the coming year

This gap between expectations vs. reality is not just an employee problem – it represents both a challenge and an opportunity for employers. In the competitive landscape of the upcoming year, understanding the career goals and needs of workers could be the way for employers to achieve growth: retaining talent and improving productivity by simply aiding them in achieving their goals and making them happy.

How successful were US workers in achieving their 2024 goals?

While New Year’s career resolutions are popular among US workers, many workers fall short of achieving their objectives in full. For 2024, only 9% of survey respondents had completed all their career resolutions for the year.

• Four in 10 workers (41%) had only managed to achieve half of their objectives or fewer, although, in positive news, half did manage to complete most of what they set out to achieve (50%).

The ability to achieve most or all of your career goals appears to be linked to your career stage. 

• 58% of those in entry-level or mid-level roles reported achieving most or all of their goals during the year. This increased to 68% for senior-level employees, 66% for managers or team leads, and 71% for directors or C-level executives.

This could be a reflection of the challenges junior and mid-level employees face in prioritizing their career development in their busy lives. However, it may also suggest that senior workers find it easier to set realistic and achievable goals, or that junior employees set ambitious or unclear targets that are harder to meet.

What are the top career resolutions for 2025?

The most popular priorities for career development in 2025 are skills development and work-life balance. Both hard and soft skills development are high on the agenda for US employees, indicating that workers feel the need to continue adding skills to remain relevant and competitive in the job market. Meanwhile, improving work-life balance is a priority for most groups, but particularly among older workers:

• Nearly half of US workers (48%) want to focus on improving their work-life balance in 2025.
• Developing hard skills is the top priority for US employees, with 53% of survey respondents mentioning this as one of their top three career resolutions for 2025.
• Almost as many respondents (44%) wish to improve their soft skills in the coming year.

What stands between employees and their career goals in 2025?

When asked about obstacles to achieving their 2025 career resolutions, workers consistently point to three major challenges. Job market competition and limited resources tie for first place, with 60% of respondents citing these as primary concerns. Work-life balance follows closely behind at 54%.

Unclear goals potentially prevent career advancement for 34% of Gen Z workers and 38% of Millennials, while lack of time was perceived as the biggest threat to Boomers not completing their 2025 career plans (50%).

Concerns over job market competition may be a driving force in the plans of younger employees to focus on skills development in the coming year. With the job market becoming an ever-more competitive place, those who focus on their skills put themselves in the best position to advance.

The AI Wildcard

A technological revolution is quietly reshaping career development. In 2025, 85% of workers plan to leverage AI, transforming how they approach professional growth. This isn’t just casual experimentation – 57% of employees specifically intend to use AI as a skills improvement tool.

AI represents more than a productivity hack; it’s becoming a career development accelerator. Workers see artificial intelligence as a strategic solution to overcome traditional barriers like limited resources and skills gaps. Younger generations lead this charge, with 88% of Gen Z and Millennials comfortable integrating AI into their professional toolkit, compared to just 52% of Boomers.

How to Achieve Career Goals in 2025?

As we approach 2025, the message is clear: career resolutions aren’t just personal commitments – they’re business imperatives. Organizations that recognize and support their employees’ career aspirations won’t just help close the achievement gap; they’ll position themselves for success in the competitive business landscape. 

The question isn’t whether to support employee career resolutions, but how best to do so. After all, in the race for talent and productivity, helping employees achieve their career goals might be the smartest resolution any business can make. Going into 2025, here are a few things business owners and employers can do to help their workers upskill and cultivate a healthy team:

1. Introduce a time-blocking software: Give your employees access to productivity apps to help them manage their time and maintain focus on key tasks.
2. Plan for personalized development: Work with employees to create tailored growth plans that align with their career aspirations and the organization’s goals, ensuring skill-building efforts are relevant.
3. Establish quarterly career chats: Schedule brief, quarterly check-ins to discuss progress on career goals, provide feedback, and make adjustments as needed.
4. Organize skill swaps: Organize informal skill-sharing sessions like “lunch and learns” or mini-workshops to encourage knowledge-sharing among team members.
5. Create goal-setting templates: Provide structured templates that help employees set clear, achievable goals for the year, broken down into manageable quarterly milestones.