Don't be too specific about your career objectives or you may shoot yourself in the foot. Always go with a "less is more" approach to how you communicate your professional goals.

Your basic rule of thumb should be this..."If you don't know if what you will say will help your candidacy, don't say it!"

How could being honest about your career goals hurt you, you ask? There are many examples of this. Here are the general no-no's...

Too much detail (translation = you'll be difficult to keep challenged). You've told them all about your detailed and elaborate game plan for your career and now the manager is afraid they will not be able to provide you with such a path or keep you happy in the long term. General rule of thumb is to describe in general what you want in your career over the next 12 months. Keep it simple!

Titles (translation = you're obsessed with power). You come across as that person who won't be satisfied unless they get promoted and now the manager may fear that you'll constantly be after their job. Instead of using titles, use verbs like "lead, manage, direct, architect". When you really think about it, it isn't the title that attracts you, it's the focus of the role. So, talk about this instead and leave yourself open since many times one title in one company can mean something completely different in another.

Fast Track Ambitions (translation = you're irrational). You're a mid-level player and are talking about being a Director within the next 2 years and now the manager questions your intelligence if you think that you can achieve this so quickly. This is a universal bad call to place some sort of egg timer on your career (like the single girl who says "I need to be married by the time I am 30!"). Don't communicate such hard and fast deadlines or you risk coming off as delusional and/or desperate.

Self Employment (translation = you're a threat). You tell them that you're real goal is to start your own business or consulting company. Now the manager will be very hesitant to hire you knowing that you could be using company time and resources to plot to do this and/ or eventually might even steal some of their clients or staff.

Whether this is in a cover letter, in your objectives statement on your resume or during an interview, don't generate the wrong impression by giving too much (or the wrong type of) detail about your career ambitions. Keep it simple and relatively short term so that managers can feel secure that their growth path is a match for you.