As we bid hello to 2012 with a sip of bubbly and a few rounds of Auld Lang Syne, many of us will be thinking about which career changes to make starting January 2nd. Whether you want to earn a promotion, get a raise, be a better manager or increase your profitability, setting realistic goals is crucial for long-term success throughout the year.

We've asked seven professionals to share the job goals they hope will propel their careers to the next level in 2012.

Job Title: Author

Median Annual Salary: $47,385

Resolution: This working mother and grandmother is also the founder and CEO of a communication training firm and author of 44 books. But Booher's resolution for 2010 is to finally finish the novel she's been working on for 20 years that her agent doesn't like.

Reaching the Goal: "To accomplish this, I plan to schedule another of my 12-hour day writing marathons, for the month of July (where speaking engagements are at their fewest), and seclude myself entirely from my training business. Before that July, I'll be rethinking how to change the point of view of the novel from omniscient to third-person limited to make the male character more likeable (what my agent doesn't like). If my agent doesn't like it then, I'll submit the novel directly to a movie producer whom I've just met."

Job Title: Motivational Speaker

Median Annual Salary: $46,230

Resolution: As CEO of Knowledge Capital Consulting, Engel spends a lot of time on PR and marketing efforts because of his expertise in those areas. However, he wants to help more students in his new venture Project Be the Change and the only way that will happen is if he markets less and focuses on the activities that directly drive sales.

Reaching the Goal: "I will dedicate at least five more hours a week to telephone prospecting and network with my target audience. I will seek more opportunities to speak to audiences that have prospective clients among them such as state student council association meetings and other education related associations. And I will hire a part time sales representative to compete against. I am very competitive so having someone to compare my efforts to will drive me to be more focused on this activity."

Job Title: Personal Assistant

Median Annual Salary: $40,500

Resolution: Cassidy works with Simon Hayward, managing partner of Cirrus, a leadership development and employee engagement specialist. She resolves to play more of a strategic role in growing the company.

Reaching the Goal: "Cirrus is a young organization and there is a lot of opportunity for personal growth. Over the last year I've become more involved in marketing and business development and in our invitation-only learning and networking events. To take on more strategic responsibility for this business development activity, I'll be identifying and researching target clients, marketing to them, and contacting them to arrange meetings for colleagues. I also plan to take more of a lead role in developing presentations and new business proposals."

Job Title: Creative Director

Median Annual Salary: $108,973

Resolution: As creative director and co-founder of Design Army, Lefebure wants to "do more with less but better."

Reaching the Goal: "Taking on additional projects that challenge us and producing the best possible product in less time by utilizing less people, but the right people. Our goal has always been to produce a better quality of work than anyone else and we're planning on being more efficient both in time and manpower in 2012."

Job Title: Manager of Content and Community Outreach

Median Annual Salary: $53,545

Resolution: As one of a team of 17 colleagues who work from home offices across the country, Weiler Reynolds manages social media, writes the blog, and interacts with job seekers for FlexJobs, so time management is a skill she wants to strengthen.

Reaching the Goal: "I plan to pick up some new time management tricks online from articles on sites such as RealSimple.com, LifeHacker.com and DumbLittleMan.com so that I can spend more time exploring and learning about new social media technologies and how we can incorporate them to better serve our job seekers."

Job Title: Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Median Annual Salary: $183,429

Resolution: Lachs just launched GiftSimple's web site in December to let users register for gifts they want and tap into their Facebook network to pool contributions from friends and family. She's resolved to get the business off the ground this year by expanding GiftSimple's user network.

Reaching the Goal: "To provide our customers with a world-class user experience for giving and receiving gifts, I will need to find new and innovative ways to reach potential customers. To support future growth, I must continue to hire top talent."

Source: All salary data is provided by PayScale.com. Salaries listed are median, annual salaries or median, hourly rates for full-time employees with 5 to 8 years of experience. Salaries listed include all bonuses, commissions or profit sharing.